Selling a Flood-Damaged House: 7 Steps to Follow
An estimated 18 million homes in the U.S. are at substantial risk of flooding, according to Spectrum News. Furthermore, twice as many homes in the U.S. are at risk of flooding than the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) currently estimates.
In 2023, weather and climate-related disasters including hurriances and severe storms caused roughly $93 billion in damages, $7 billion of which was caused by flooding alone. According to ABC 7 News, 20.8 million properties across the nation have an 80% or greater chance of flooding by 2053, and 10.5 million of these properties are currently designated to be within “low-risk” flood areas.
If your home has experienced a significant flood event, it can impact your course of action when it comes time to sell the property, even if you’ve done full remediation and repair. The truth is, a home that has flooded carries a bit of extra baggage. That’s not to say you won’t find a buyer, just that there are some extra steps and considerations that will come into play.
To provide you with the best information about selling a flood-damaged house, we spoke with top real estate agents Steven Kinne of Houston, Texas, and Nathan Strager of Las Vegas, Nevada. We also consulted with flood restoration and mold remediation expert Michael Rubino, Founder of HomeCleanse and President of the Change the Air Foundation.
In this post, we’ll review the key factors to consider when making decisions about a flood-damaged house and seven actions that can help you move forward with plans to sell your home.
