If you are the owner of a fire-damaged house there are a lot of things you have to decide.

You have to decide how to secure the site of the damage and how to remove debris. You have to contact and work with an insurance agent to get your settlement.

One of the biggest things you’ll have to decide is what to do with your fire-damaged property – whether to restore or sell your fire-damaged house.

Do you want to repair it? Or sell it?

Having to decide what to do with a fire-damaged so soon after a fire can be difficult and stressful. But it is important that you make a decision that is best for your family.

Here are some things to consider:

If you want to repair a fire-damaged house

If you are thinking about repairing a fire-damaged house there are a few things you’ll want to be sure to think about with the first being:

How bad is the fire damage?

This is important because the worse the damage the more the inconvenience for you and your family.

Significant repairs could require significant repair time. That means you are going to have to either find somewhere else to live for that period of time or you are going to have to be OK with living in a house while major repair work is done.

Living in a house while repair work is going on means loud noises at various times of the day and a huge lack of privacy.

Something else to consider with more serious fires is smoke damage.

Smoke damage can be very hard – and expensive – to get rid of but it is a necessary time and expense because smoke damage can also be very dangerous to you and your family’s health.

In fact, few things are more toxic than house fire smoke and soot. You absolutely must get rid of all smoke damage and that means being willing to endure the time and money involved to accomplish that.

Remember, smoke damage can extend far from the actual site of the fire. Smoke can get into furniture, walls, flooring and more – all of that will have to be repaired or removed.

Another thing to consider when deciding whether to repair a fire-damaged house is:

Am I OK with hiring a contractor?

A big part of repairing a fire-damaged house is hiring a qualified contractor. That means searching the Internet and getting recommendations for qualified individuals and then interviewing them.

The decision of who you hire to make repairs to a fire-damaged house has a huge impact on the success or the failure of the project.

Ensure diligence and thoroughness dominate your search process. Accepting the first contractor recommendation without scrutiny could lead to unsatisfactory outcomes.

Identifying a contractor who not only upholds quality but also harmonizes with your personality and the unique demands of your project is crucial.

This can often be very difficult to do.

Now here’s one more thing to consider about repairing a fire-damaged house:

Are we OK living in a house damaged by fire?

One thing that many homeowners don’t spend much time thinking about is what happens after a house is repaired and they are once again living there.

Are you and your family members going to be OK with living in a house that was damaged by fire?

Or will what happened be on your mind and cause you a lot of additional stress?

A lot of people are simply not able to let what happened in the past go. This leads to a stressed out home life where people are constantly thinking about what happened and what could happen again.

This uneasiness then leads to a lot of arguing which adds more stress to an already stressful situation.

That’s why one of the best things you can do before deciding to repair a fire-damaged house is to make sure all family members are OK with living there in spite of what happened.

If it was a small accidental fire then there might not be any issues. However, if it was an electrical fire that occurred at night when family members were asleep then it could be another matter entirely.

With something like an electrical fire it’s only natural to worry about it happening again.

If you are intent on staying in your fire-damaged house here are some things you can do to help family members cope with the situation:

– Make sure the home has numerous, active smoke alarms and check them once a month, also replace the batteries once a year

– Ensure everyone knows at least two escape routes from every room in the house

– Practice house fire drills at least twice a year and make sure everyone knows how to call 9-1-1

Now let’s move on to selling a fire-damaged house

Factors to consider when selling a fire-damaged house

The factors you would consider when selling a regular house are the same factors you must consider now.

What is the local real estate market like? Are homes in demand in my neighborhood?

One thing to keep in mind is that most fire-damaged houses sell for less money than similar houses not damaged by fire. This is true even when the fire damage has been repaired.

Many people simply don’t want to live in a house that has been damaged by fire.

One thing you can do here is to talk to a few local real estate agents. Most will be happy to provide you with a market analysis so that you can have an idea of what your house may sell for and how long it will take.

There is one more option …

Turn your fire-damaged house into immediate cash

You can do this by selling the home directly to We Buy Fire Damaged Houses.

We buy fire-damaged house “as is” so you don’t have to go through any frustrating repair process. We also pay all cash so you can get your money fast.

Then you can take that cash payment and your insurance settlement and get a new house that doesn’t have any previous fire-damage history.

To see if your fire-damaged house qualifies for a free, no obligation quote, just fill out the short form below.