Water penetrating inside your home—and causing some sort of damage—is indeed every homeowner’s nightmare. Not only that it can cause serious health hazards, but it can also significantly lower the value of your home.

Moreover, water damage treatment can often take a toll both on your time and money. This can be especially troublesome for those trying to put their house on the market. So if you have been wondering about, “how can I sell my house with water damage?“—then this article is for you.

Here, we’ll guide you on how to sell your home with water damage as-is, meaning without even paying for costly repair. Let’s start first by discussing the categories of water damage and the biggest challenges of selling a home with such a dilemma.

Categories of Water Damage

Selling your house entails a thorough home inspection. Home inspectors on the lookout for major safety issues like water damage. And there are many possible causes of water damage such as rusty pipes, leaky toilets, water sewer issues. Hence, regularly assessing the condition of your home can help you better decide on what course of action to take.

Many homeowners, by default, will try to review their policy to see if the issue will be covered by home insurance. This makes water damage claims one of the biggest and frequent home insurance claims. However, it’s important to remember that while most policies cover water damage—there are certainly some exceptions. For instance, wear and tear, and gradual damage (like water damage caused by leaky pipes and deteriorating roof parts) are usually excluded in insurance policies.

Note that insurance companies usually refer to the categories of water damage when deciding on a claim. The following are the main categories of water damage, but reading the comprehensive Water Intrusion Guide will be highly beneficial for you.

• Category 1

The water comes from a clean source and does not pose a substantial risk even when unintentionally ingested, touched, or inhaled. Examples: sink overflows, falling rainwater, and melting ice.

• Category 2

The water usually contains significant contamination (unsafe levels of microorganisms, may have chemical or biological matter) and can potentially cause discomfort or sickness when accidentally ingested or inhaled. Examples: discharge from dishwashers, overflow from toilet bowls with urine (but no feces).

• Category 3

The water is highly contaminated and toxic. It can cause serious adverse reactions when touched, inhaled, or ingested. Example: sewage or overflow of a toilet with feces.

Biggest Challenges of Selling a Home with Water Damage

As mentioned earlier, when selling, a thorough home inspection is required. When a major issue is detected like water damage, it could lead to buyers negotiating an offer, requesting repairs, or may back out from the sale.

If you are selling your home with water damage, this could cause a buyer to hesitate as issues like this often necessitate costly and labor-intensive repair. This is because water intrusion can lead to eventual deterioration of your home’s structure; it can destroy home appliances, walls, furniture, electronic equipment, upholstery, and other parts of your home’s interior and exterior. Water damage can also lead to mold growth which is a known health hazard. Another serious effect of water intrusion is electrical system damage.

If you’re selling your house through the traditional method—chances are—it could be hard and time-consuming. Not only that you will need to find a good real estate agent, but you also have to consider the realtor fees. Moreover, you must fully disclose your property’s history of water damage, else, you are subjecting yourself to litigation. Also, when selling through the traditional real estate process, you will be required to spend on repairs or let the buyer ask for a price reduction for estimated restoration.

How to Sell Your Water-damaged House “As-is”

When your house is bogged down with water damage issues, or if you are in dire need to sell it for other reasons such as divorce and overwhelming mortgage payments—you’d want to sell it fast. If you can no longer afford to pay for repairs, or you don’t have the luxury of time to wait for possible buyers, then it’s best to sell your home as-is to investors.

There are credible Real Estate investment companies that are willing to buy your house as-is for cash. These investors will buy houses, in any condition, without much hassle, and with a fair cash offer. The process too is fast, it usually involves three steps:

1. Request for a no-obligation quote. Give them your home’s details and current condition.
2. Set a home visit schedule. They will assess your home before coming up with a fair cash offer.
3. Pick your desired closing date.

Victor is an acquisitions assistant for Prospect Group company. He has over three years of experience in the company. Victor currently settles California, and loves starting his day with a shot of espresso and cycling through his neighborhood.