Oct 17, 2022 - 10m read
Selling a House with Fire Damage in Atlanta
While there are many reasons why a home can be damaged, a house fire is likely the most serious of them all. If you were looking forward to selling your Atlanta home shortly, a recent house fire may have increased your worries about how difficult it would be to sell a fire-damaged home.
Anthony Reinoehl
Co-Founder
While there are many reasons why a home can be damaged, a house fire is likely the most serious of them all. If you were looking forward to selling your Atlanta home shortly, a recent house fire may have increased your worries about how difficult it would be to sell a fire-damaged home.
In 2020 alone, the NFPA reported that more than 350,000 home fires took place during the year. These fires resulted in an estimated $8.4 billion in total damages. While home fire safety has improved considerably over the past four decades, there are still numerous reasons why a fire can start in your home.
The primary cause of fires in residential homes is related to cooking. In fact, cooking-related fires account for 49% of all residential fires. It’s always difficult to sell a home that’s been damaged by fire. Even if you’ve made repairs to restore the home to its original condition, buyers might worry about the structural integrity of the property.
If you don’t want to go through the hassle of repairing and restoring your home, you could sell your home “as-is”. While choosing this option means that your profits from selling the home will be lower, it also indicates that you won’t need to spend money on costly repairs. This guide goes into more detail about all of your options for selling an Atlanta home that’s been damaged by fire.
Immediate Action After a House Fire
In the event that you require medication, food, or temporary housing, make sure that you get in touch with a local disaster relief service or the Red Cross. The resources available with these services also include mental health support. The additional steps that should be taken include:
- Make sure that you only enter your home once the local fire department has stated that it’s okay to do so.
- Get in touch with your homeowner’s insurance provider to file a claim.
- Ask that your utilities are shut off.
- Speak with a fire restoration contractor to look at the damage, obtain estimates, and begin cleanup.
- Take photographs and notes of any damage.
- Obtain a report from the fire investor or fire marshal, which can be used with your insurance claim.
- Once it’s safe to go inside, open your windows to vent any remaining smoke.
- Get rid of all items from your freezer and refrigerator after power has been disconnected.
Selling a House with Fire Damage As-Is
If you choose to sell your home in “as-is” condition, it’s possible to do so with a cash buyer. However, this process can be a lengthy one, which is why it’s highly recommended that you reach out to CC Capital. At CC Capital, we can provide you with the best value for your fire-damaged home after assessing your home’s condition. The sale of your property can be completed on your preferred timeline.
Inspect the Home and Assess Damage
The next step in selling your home is to inspect it and assess any damage, which is a process that should be completed by a professional. Before you begin to repair the damage or repaint certain areas in your home, a professional should take a look at it to determine if there are structural issues or hidden damage to the foundation, the deck, the roof, wall supports, or electrical wiring.
Make sure that you always wear work gloves, a face mask, and safety goggles when walking through a fire-damaged home that has yet to be repaired. It’s at this time that you should file a claim directly with your insurance provider, after which a representative will assess the damage.
Decide What to Throw Away After a Fire
There are many items that you should automatically throw away after a house fire. Even if some of these items don’t look like they’re damaged, this damage isn’t always easy to detect. For instance, a chair could be broken as a result of the fire, which you wouldn’t necessarily know until you sat down on the chair. The main things that should be thrown away following a fire include:
- Any electrical equipment that might be affected by heat or water damage
- All burned clothing that’s damaged by smoke and soot
- Larger textiles, which include carpets, drapes, bedding, and rugs
- Fabric furniture and mattresses that might hold onto smells
- Toiletries and cosmetics that might have been damaged by the heat from the fire
- Medications
- Most food items, which include non-perishable foods
If any food in your refrigerator has a distinct odor or poor taste, throw these items away.
Start Cleaning the Home
Before you start cleaning your home, make sure that you:
- Open all of your windows
- Turn on all fans in your home
- Use a standard shop vacuum to get rid of standing water
- Pull up any wet flooring that needs to be disposed
You should then remove all wet items from your home to better assess your home’s interiors. From here, you can begin cleaning the home.
Clean the Exterior of the House
Now that you’ve removed all items from the interiors of your home, you can get started on the exteriors. An inspector may need to be hired to determine that the structures and foundations of your decks, entrances, and roofs are inspected for damage. Following the inspection, you can clean these areas. Make sure that any debris in your gutters is removed.
Once you’ve moved over to the exterior walls, consider getting rid of ash and soot with a power washer. Start at the top of your home to ensure that any water and dirt runs further down onto areas that haven’t been cleaned. All windows should be cleaned with glass cleaner.
Cleaning Interior Finishes
If you find that the interior damage in your home is extensive, you might need to request assistance from a professional restoration and cleaning company. These companies are able to get rid of highly damaged wood and excess water. If the fire was small, opening your windows will increase the circulation in your home. You can also remove all smoke from your interiors with a powerful air conditioning unit.
All interior surfaces should be inspected for soot. You can get rid of soot from floors and interior walls with a solution that combines two tablespoons of dish-washing soap, one cup of chlorine bleach, and 4-6 tablespoons of trisodium phosphate with a gallon of warm water.
Always wear rubber gloves when cleaning. Once you’ve cleaned each area with this solution, you should rinse the interiors of your home with clear water. Your ceilings and walls shouldn’t be repainted until they’ve dried completely, which can take anywhere from 24-48 hours after they’ve been cleaned.
Removing Smoke and Soot from Furniture, Clothes, and Home Accessories
If you want to make sure that all soot and smoke in your home are removed from your possessions, there are some basic steps that you should take to properly salvage these items. If any upholstered furniture in your home has become saturated with water, all padding and fabric should be stripped from the furniture to make sure that mildew and mold don’t grow.
For pieces of furniture, you might need to request help from a professional cleaner to get rid of smoke odors and soot stains. All clothing items with smoke and soot should be taken to a dry cleaner. If you have washable fabrics that consist of soot stains, follow the care label directions when washing these items. The best solutions include oxygen-based bleach and heavy-duty detergent.
All of your leather accessories, clothes, and shoes should be wiped with a damp cloth before being blotted dry. Keep your leather items away from the sun and any other heat sources while they dry. Once the leather has dried, clean it with saddle soap, after which a leather conditioner can help you improve the leather’s finish. All papers and books in your home that are smoky should be placed in a plastic container alongside an odor eliminator powder. This container should remain sealed for 48 hours or more.
Don’t Withhold Information from Buyers
When selling a home, it’s typically required by law that you tell buyers that a home contains fire damage as well as information about how the fire began. Keep in mind that informing buyers of these details could make your home more difficult to sell. CC Capital can help you avoid this situation by presenting you with the best possible offer.
Be Patient!
When you’re trying to sell a home that’s been damaged by fire, be patient. Selling a fire-damaged home is always going to be difficult. The buyer may request a chimney inspection, an electrical inspection, an HVAC inspection, a roof inspection, and a structural home inspection. Getting in touch with CC Capital gives you the opportunity to sell your home without needing to perform these steps.
Selling your Atlanta home after it’s been damaged by fire can be a time-consuming ordeal. If you’d like to expedite this process and avoid having your home remain on the market for months, call CC Capital today to find out how quickly you can receive a cash offer and sell your home.
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