In 2023, water damage cost the insurance industry $13 billion, accounting for 14% of all property damage claims.
Water damage is a major issue for homes all over the country, whether you live near a water source or an area that gets a lot of storms. Even homes damaged due to fires are often subject to more water damage than fire damage.
If you’ve got a home that’s been devalued because of a flood, it’s going to be difficult to sell. In today’s post, we’ll explain just how flood damage hurts your home’s value and how selling a water-damaged house is still possible.
It’s not easy to make the best of this type of situation. Keep reading, however, and you’ll see that you’ve got viable options for selling your flooded home in 2024.
Types of Water Damage
The three most common causes of water damage in our homes involve leaking pipes, damaged appliances, and floods. Leaky pipes and broken appliances most often cause minor damage that can be fixed relatively easily by the homeowner or a restoration specialist.
When it comes to flooding, however, it’s a bit more intensive. Floods can happen for various reasons, such as burst pipes, inclement weather, an overflowing water source, and leaky roofs.
You’ll still need a restoration company, but the job is far more time-consuming and costly. Residents often have to vacate their homes due to the potential health risks that water damage causes.
Depending on where you live, you may have flood insurance built into your homeowner’s insurance policy. If not, however, you could be on the hook for the costs associated with the water damage. This leads many homeowners to decide to sell their homes rather than undergo a costly and lengthy restoration process.
Water Damage Classes and Repair Costs
The extent of the water damage is measured in 4 classes. Class 1 water damage involves minor leaks that cause partial water damage to one or more rooms of your home.
Class 2 water damage encompasses medium leaks that involve porous materials, such as carpets, wood floors, and drywall. Class 3 water damage is when the flooding soaks into the support and construction materials of the room. These floods are usually due to burst pipes or leaks from upper floors.
Finally, class 4 water damage occurs when water has been trapped in important areas of the room’s construction materials. This is challenging for restoration specialists to deal with, making it very time-consuming and costly to remove.
Cost of Water Damage
On average, the cost of water damage is around $10,000. The higher the class of water damage, however, the higher the repair costs will be. It’s thought that 99% of American households will experience basement water damage at some point.
Difficulty of Selling a Flooded Home
If you don’t want to go through the restoration process, you may be tempted to try and sell your home. Another costly aspect of water damage, however, is the effect it has on your home’s selling price.
Estimates state that minor water damage can decrease a home’s value by 15%, while major water damage can decrease its value by as much as 60%. Sometimes nearby home values will even be affected, depending on the nature of the flooding.
There’s no denying that it’s difficult to sell a home under these conditions. Finding a real estate agent willing to take on a sale like this might not be possible. In the event you do find one, the process of listing and marketing the home will look much different.
For starters, your pool of interested buyers shrinks significantly. You’ll be looking for property investors who are looking to buy cheap property to restore or tear down, then flip it or rent it out.
Not only do these people make up a small percentage of the real estate market, but they’re only going to buy your home if the price is right. Combine this with realtor fees, which are around 5% under normal circumstances, and you’re losing a lot of money on your flood-damaged home.
Find the Right Cash Buyer for Your House
Your best bet when you’ve got significant water damage is to do a “for sale by owner” transaction. Taking on the selling duties might seem daunting, but if you seek out a cash buyer for your water-damaged home, it makes it easy.
Firstly, an FSBO sale takes the realtor out of the equation. You won’t have to pay thousands of dollars for a realtor to market the home and handle the closing paperwork for you. When you sell to a cash buyer, they handle all of the legal stuff for you.
The actual selling process is easier with a cash buyer because they buy homes as-is. Selling a home as-is means that you don’t have to worry about any repairs, or in this case, restoration. Cash buyers will take homes in any condition for a fair market price.
When you sell to ibuyhomes.com, you simply head to our website and fill out a secure online form. This tells us more about the home, including the extent of the water damage. We’ll do a bit of market research and take a look at your home before sending you a cash offer.
Should you accept our offer, we can have the transaction completed in a matter of days. If you decide to restore the home before selling, you can simply decline our offer, as there’s no obligation on our end.
Selling a Water-Damaged House Is Possible
Dealing with water damage in your home can be a nightmare. If you don’t feel like committing to a restoration, it’s important to know that selling a water-damaged house is possible. The best way to do it isn’t by traditional means, but when you sell to a qualified cash buyer, you’ll get a fair price under these troubling circumstances.
At ibuyhomes.com, we’re one of the nation’s leading cash buyers. We’ve helped countless homeowners navigate difficult situations, whether it’s trying to sell a damaged property or dealing with foreclosure. Contact us today to fill out our secure online form and get a no-obligation cash offer within minutes.
