Has your home been affected by a natural disaster, like a fire, tornado, hurricane, flood, or a major storm? If you’re contemplating the time and cost of repairing the damage wondering if it’s better to just sell your home, the right move depends on your individual circumstances.
For some people, selling isn’t the best choice. However, there are several key reasons that indicate selling is your best option.
1. The damage is beyond basic repair
The first thing to consider is whether the damage is easily repaired or if it’s beyond a basic repair job. For instance, after a fire you can expect to incur extensive costs to restore your home structurally, but you’ll also need to hire companies to clean the inside. Water damage can be severe and so can smoke damage. If any furniture survived, you’ll probably need to replace it and that will just add to your expenses.
Selling your disaster-damaged home for cash and starting over somewhere else is an excellent option when dealing with repairs is going to take up too much of your time and stress you out.
2. The entire neighborhood was adversely affected
Was the entire neighborhood impacted negatively by a natural disaster? Even if your home was only mildly damaged by a tornado, for example, it’s possible that the tornado may have hit other areas of your community harder. Unlike floods that affect every house in its path, tornado damage isn’t as consistent, although it can be severe.
Even when your home is still standing and/or needs minor repairs, you may not want to live in a neighborhood that will take months or even years to rebuild. For example, if your town was struck by a tornado that demolished key buildings like the post office, grocery stores, and other businesses, you might be better off selling, even if your home hasn’t been damaged much.
3. Your insurance won’t cover much
Another good reason to sell your damaged home is if your insurance won’t cover much of the damage. When it comes to natural disasters, in certain areas you need specific disaster coverage because your homeowners’ insurance policy won’t cover the damage. This is true mostly in areas where specific natural disasters are likely. However, in some areas – like flood zones – you can’t even get flood insurance.
If you don’t have insurance policies that will cover your damage, it might be better to sell. It wouldn’t make sense to go into debt to repair a home you still have to pay the mortgage on regardless of its condition. Not to mention, the value of your home will decrease.
The longer you allow a disaster-damaged home to sit, the more damaged it can become from wind, animals, and vandals. If you can’t start repairs fast, you may be better off selling your home quickly for cash.
4. You don’t want to deal with squatters
In the United States, squatters generally have the same rights as tenants and dealing with them is every landlord’s worst nightmare. In many states, if someone starts living in your vacant property without your permission, you have to go through a formal eviction process to get them out. The eviction process is very specific and if you do anything wrong, your case can be thrown out.
If you end up having to evict a squatter, you can expect it to take a few months for the process to complete. Meanwhile, you’ll be frustrated and stressed out. If you don’t want to deal with the possibility of squatters, sell your damaged home quickly. The good news is you don’t need to put your home on the market and hope someone sees the value despite the current condition. There are companies that buy damaged homes as-is for cash.
There are many benefits of selling your home for cash as-is. The biggest benefit is that you don’t need to make any repairs. This makes it possible to close the deal quickly and without hassle.
5. You don’t want to bother with repairs
Are you exhausted just thinking about fixing the damage to your home after a disaster? This might be a good opportunity for you to build a new life in another area. There is a lot of work involved in fixing a home after it’s been damaged. If the idea of working on the damage seems too tiresome for you, or if you don’t have the time, selling is a great option.
6. You’re not attached to your area
If you’re not attached to living in your specific area, consider selling your home. There’s no sense in rebuilding a home in an area you don’t care for, or that you feel indifferent about. If you’ve always wanted to move to a new area, take your current situation to be a blessing in disguise and an invitation to rebuild your life somewhere better.
You’ll also have to pay for a hotel or rent somewhere else while the work is being done. You’ll probably need to rent somewhere for at least a month while repairs are being done. If this is your situation, it would be cheaper to sell your home for cash and move to another area you like.
Need to sell your home? We’ll buy your home as-is for cash!
If your home has been damaged in a natural disaster and you’d like to know what you can get for it, contact us for a free cash offer. We’ll give you an offer for your home and if you like the offer, we’ll start the buying process quickly.
When you accept a cash offer from Light Street Residential for your home, we can get you cash in as little as seven days. You won’t have to perform any repairs or maintenance – we’ll buy your home as-is.
If you’re not familiar with how cash offers work, read our article on how we buy homes to learn more about our process. When you’re ready, contact us to get your free cash offer and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours.