This article covers what to know about fire damaged houses for sale. In other words, don’t try to sell or buy a fire damaged house without reading this page first!

1 – The Market for Fire Damaged Houses

The first thing you need to know about fire damaged houses for sale is that there are more available than what you may think.

The National Fire Protection Association recently released its 2019 Home Structure Fires Report and that report contained some interesting information.

There is an average of 354,000 house fires each year, the report indicates. It also says that those home fires result in 11,220 injuries and 2,620 deaths.

2 – Fire Damaged Houses Hard to Sell

The second thing you need to know about fire damaged houses for sale is that they are not easy to sell.

The truth is most prospective home buyers won’t even consider buying a house that has been previously damaged by fire. It’s a stain that many sellers simply can’t overcome.

One of the big reasons is the many unknowns associated with a house that has sustained fire damage.

For example, there could be unseen damage that nobody is aware of and that the new buyer may not find until they have been living in the house for a while.

There could be fire damage in the air ducts or behind walls. There could also be smoke damage, which should be a big concern to any potential house buyer.

Smoke Damage is Dangerous

Rainbow International Restoration, which services a variety of areas in both the US and Canada, says that leftover smoke and soot can be very dangerous to the residents of a home.

In particular, children, the elderly and others with weakened immune systems can be at risk.

The EPA says here that smoke is composed of toxic fine particles that can penetrate into the lungs and cause numerous health problems, including lung disease, heart disease, skin rashes, runny nose and dry, burning, itchy eyes.

Making matters worse is the fact that smoke damage can be hard to detect. Smoke damage can occur in parts of the house not obviously damaged by the fire, and residents can breathe in this lingering smoke damage, leading to future health problems.

That’s a big reason why buyers won’t consider buying a house that has suffered a fire.

That’s also why, if you are selling a fire-damaged house, you should plan on the house being on the market longer and it selling for a lower price than a traditional house.

3 – Fire Damaged House Repairs

Of course, one of the biggest factors when considering what to know about fire damaged houses for sale is the quality of the repairs.

This, maybe more than anything else, will determine the “sale-ability” of a burned house.

Were the repairs made by an experienced, talented contractor with a good reputation or does the repair work appear “shoddy?”

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to find a high quality contractor who specializes in making fire damage repairs.

Owners of a fire-damaged house may want to ask their insurance agent for recommendations but you should still conduct interviews to get a feel for each candidate.

Interviewing Difficulty Has Gone Up

Now in the wake of the Coronavirus Outbreak you may need to conduct those interviews via the phone or by Skype or Zoom.

This might make it more difficult to get a good “feel” for each candidate. The only solution would be to ask more questions and look at more photos of the contractor’s finished work.

Choosing the Right Candidate is So Important

When it comes to selling a fire-damaged house, choosing a contractor to make the repairs is quite simply one of the most important decisions the home owner can make.

You should not take it lightly.

Choosing a poor contractor can lead to delays and expensive project overruns. Poor quality of work can also damage the value of the home and lead to the owner getting an even lower sales price.

One big risk of repairing and selling a fire damaged house is not being able to recoup the value of the repairs in the sales price.

As we mentioned, most buyers show no interest in buying a fire-damaged house, regardless of the quality of repairs or how great the house looks.

They just can’t get over the fact that a fire happened there and they become worried that it could happen again.

The Bottom Line About Buying a Fire Damaged House

Whether you are looking to buy or sell a fire damaged house there is certainly a lot to consider.

Buyers will want to have the house carefully inspected by a professional that has experience inspecting fire damaged houses.

This person must be able to spot hidden issues that may not draw the attention of regular house buyers.

You don’t want to pay a large sum of money for a house that is dangerous to your health or that may develop problems, like electrical issues or roofing issues or air duct issues over time.

The key word for buyers is “patience.” Be sure to study the house extensively before buying so that you know exactly what you are getting.

The Bottom Line About Selling a Fire Damaged House

On the other hand, sellers need to carefully weigh their options and make sure that they will be able to recoup the value of the repairs when they sell.

If they are concerned about that, another option would be to sell the house “as is” is to a company like We Buy Fire Damaged Houses.

At We Buy Fire Damaged Houses, we are known for buying burned houses from owners quickly and for a great price.

This allows owners to avoid the stress of going through the repair process. Instead they can use their sales money and the money from their insurance settlement to get an even better house in a better neighborhood.

To learn much more about We Buy Fire Damaged Houses and to receive a free quote for your burned house, simply fill out the short form below.