How to sell a house with water damage in Mango, Citrus Park and Temple Terrace

Have you ever been in a position where your house suffered water damage? It seems like this is a common occurrence in the cities around Tampa like Mango, Citrus Park and Temple Terrace. Not only can the periodic hurricanes cause water to seep through your roof, there is the risk of flood damage to your basement and first floor.

The most disastrous result of flooding to a house is mold. Once mold starts to overtake the space inside the walls you won’t be able to stand living there anymore. In fact, there can be serious consequences to your health.

I’m aware of one situation where a family in Temple Terrace was steadily getting sick and didn’t know why. So they decided to sell their house to an investor. Fortunately, the investor was experienced and decided to do a check of the A/C ducts. There he found deposits of mold so before buying the house there had to be a discount so that the A/C ducts could be replaced.

Various discounts off the market price can expected when an investor purchases a distressed house. If you prefer to sell your house at full price with no discounts then you will need the cash to do the repairs yourself. You also must have the expertise to get the job done in a professional way. If not, then selling your house to a real estate investor is the best way to walk away from your situation with cash in your pocket.

The pictures above were taken by me recently and I decided to include them to drive a point home. That is, when powerful hurricanes come your home can suffer from water damage even if it is above the floodplain.

Nature can manifest itself in some pretty disheartening ways but you have to realize that a water damaged home doesn’t have to be overly burdensome. Freedom from that situation can come after carefully discussing your options with a real estate investor.

If you choose, you can find a better home and neighborhood because starting another mortgage will be possible. Even with little equity there are ways to structure the sale of a water damaged home so that you can land on both feet financially.

Since a realtor probably won’t be effective in finding a buyer for your home you can turn to a real estate investor who can either buy the house outright or do creative financing before the sale. With creative financing the mortgage note would still exist under the sellers name. This would allow the investor to bypass closing costs. He would then make your mortgage payments as well as do repairs out of his own pocket.

In a couple of months or years he would have the option of selling the house to make a profit. Though this process sounds complex, you should know that you the seller wouldn’t have a lot of responsibility. Most of what you would have to do is move out so the water damage can be repaired.

Houses in Temple Terrace have seen considerable water damage due to hurricanes but with a knowledgeable investor the homeowners have been able to avoid bankruptcy and foreclosure.

To a lesser degree, houses in Citrus Park have had water damage but still real estate agents were not the best way to sell. The reason? Even with minor damage the retail buyers want steep discounts or avoid the house altogether. That is why an agent will always ask the homeowner to do the repairs himself before the house is shown on the open market.

If you have encountered a water damage problem the most important thing to do is to let air circulate around your home. This step should be done quickly. Also, be sure to take out any soaked furniture so that they don’t contribute to the moisture problem. Sometimes the water damage is so extensive that it’s quickly evident that you need to sell the home. Other times, the damage is small and contained so that you have some choices.

Maybe after surveying the damage your first impulse is to call a water damage remediation specialist. Before you do this you should realize that a real estate investor can do this work if you were to sell the house quickly. So the the crux of this scenario is either way, someone will have to pay the money. If you don’t have it then selling your house to an investor is the best option.