Should you Sell a Flooded House in Houston?

Has your house recently been flooded? Coming home to soaked floors, stained walls, damaged furniture, and large pools of standing water is what every homeowner fears.

Depending on the extent of the damage, some household residents are no longer willing to dwell in the house they’ve always called their home. Most homeowners are too grief-stricken to remodel the place from scratch, thus deciding to sell it.

Fortunately, there are numerous cash buyers who take the burden off homeowners’ shoulders by making a cash offer for flooded homes.

These are the most important steps to take if your Houston home floods and you decide to sell it to a cash buyer.

Safety first

After experiencing the initial shock of seeing your home in a catastrophic condition, you have to think about the safety of everyone who sets foot on the flooded property. Most homeowners are unable to stay in their residences after the flood but the place still has to be safe in order for them to deal with the consequences.

The combination of water and electricity is life-threatening, which is why residents are advised to switch the power off by ensuring the main breaker is turned off. There’s supposed to be neither standing water nor moisture when the power is turned back on. Residents of flooded houses in Houston are suggested to contact an electrician to perform an inspection and make sure the fuse box is completely dry prior to restoring the power.

Put a stop to the water source

When coping with house flooding, Houston residents are advised to stop panicking for a moment in order to stop the water source. Preventing more water from damaging your property is possible in cases when the flood is caused by a faulty household appliance or a burst pipe. Turning the main valve off is essential in such moments to impede further damage.

Nevertheless, when residential floods are triggered by a natural disaster, there’s nothing homeowners can do to prevent water from penetrating through the roof, windows, and doors. The only reasonable action to take is contacting the local authorities to clean the storm drains to the best of their abilities. Visit this URL to see some practical tips about preparing yourself and your family for natural disasters.

Wear protective clothing

Although no homeowner cares about clothing when seeing his/her home flooded, household residents are supposed to take precautions. Rubber gloves and boots are essential to wear when coming in contact with floodwater due to the risk of contamination. This water is everything but clean, contaminated with rubbish and debris.

An even worse scenario is when the floodwater contains chemicals, which makes it highly toxic. Therefore, wearing rubber gloves and boots is required to prevent your hands and feet from touching it. It’s crucial to avoid touching your nose or mouth while wearing the gloves, as you might get infected with some bacteria.

Take pictures

Prior to taking any further action, homeowners whose houses have sustained flooding are encouraged to take pictures of the flooded property. All forms of property damage are supposed to be documented in the form of photographs and videos, which would later serve as evidence provided to the insurance company.

The process of collecting photo evidence should be practiced in the course of the cleanup procedure as well. The more photographs you provide to demonstrate the damage, the higher the chances of getting full coverage by the insurer.

Get in touch with your insurer

After documenting the damage, it’s high time to contact your insurance company. The majority of homeowner’s insurance policies reimburse policyholders for the damage done by flooding, caused by a plumbing issue. Some policies even provide coverage in the event of natural disasters if requested by policyholders. Check out this link, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/homeowners-insurance.asp, for a better understanding of homeowner’s insurance.

In addition, the insurer is expected to dispatch an adjuster whose job is to assess the sum of money you’ll gain as compensation for the property damage you’ve sustained. Make sure you postpone the restoration process till the adjuster gives the green light for it to commence. In the meantime, abide by the instructions provided by the insurer to increase your chances of gaining better compensation for your losses.

Hire professionals

Even if you can no longer imagine yourself living in a house that has no resemblance to your beloved home, you need to go through a cleanup process before selling the property. In the event of demolition caused by flooding, Houston residents are suggested to hire water damage restoration professionals to handle the process.

Furthermore, these technicians use sump pumps and wet vacs to remove standing water in the fastest possible manner. Besides eliminating the standing water, restoration experts detect the sources of hiding water, accumulating in walls and flooring. High levels of moisture stimulate the growth of mold unless detected on time. In case the mold has already affected the house, these professionals will locate the source and remove the visible damage.

Find a cash buyer

The removal of water, mold, and debris isn’t sufficient for homeowners to move back to their flooded homes. Such properties have to undergo a complete renovation in order to restore their previous look. Therefore, a large number of homeowners aren’t willing to spend plenty of time and money on remodeling but decide to invest their budget in a new home.

Despite the unattractive appearance of your home, cash buyers are interested in purchasing flooded houses for a reasonable sum of money. You can’t expect house buyers to give you a solid offer, as the value of homes drops after being flooded. These professionals require homeowners to make no repairs to the property, as they make changes to the existing condition themselves. Collaborating with a cash buyer is the quickest way for residents to sell their flooded properties and move on with their lives.

Final thoughts

Cash buyers are the right professionals to call when planning to sell a flooded house!

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