Are you interested in selling a flooded house in Arlington? Although floodings can cause significant water damage to your property in Arlington, Texas, selling a flood-damaged house is still an option. However, it does involve a lot of preparation and planning. If you want to sell a flooded house, you’ll need all the information you could use for the process. Regardless of whether your property is located in a flood zone or is in an area that doesn’t frequently suffer from floods, you may still be exposed to the risk of flood damage.
There are certain steps that home sellers who’ve had their house damaged by flooding can take to recover the real estate and make a successful sale. In this article, we’ll share with you everything you need to know about how to sell a flooded house. We’ll look at some of the most popular ways to recover the property before selling a flood-damaged house, explore the Arlington real estate market, and more.
Understand the Arlington Real Estate Market
If you’ve tried selling your house but you’ve ended up asking yourself questions like why doesn’t anyone want to buy my house in Arlington, maybe it’s time to do some research. When it comes to the real estate market, nothing should be left to chance. Regardless of whether you’re a home seller or home buyer, you want to know everything about the Arlington property market, the house prices, the remodeling costs, the cost of repairs, and any other factors that may be relevant.
For instance, the Arlington real estate market has already shown a few interesting trends in 2021. Experts reveal that there is a lack of single-family homes at a time when the demand for such properties is dramatic. Furthermore, the average house price has been growing over the past year, with 2021 starting with an average house price of $236,401 in Arlington, Texas. The Texas real estate market is generally considered among the great ones to invest in as the average house prices are relatively lower than other US states. Before listing your property for sale, make sure you’ve done a bit of research on the best time to sell a house in your area.
Great, now that you know that selling your house in Arlington is an achievable task as the market is attractive for home buyers, it’s time to think about repairing your flooded house.
Make Necessary Flood Repairs
A flood or other factors like a broken pipe, faulty plumbing, and others can cause severe water damage problems that demand instant flood damage repair. Flood damage can destroy your furniture, textiles, wood surfaces, and even the foundations of your property. If you’re about to indulge in flood repairs in order to make your house sellable and increase its property value, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Repairing flood damage always starts with an inspection and a check on your flood insurance claims. Repairing flood-damaged houses can often be covered by your insurance and it’s worth contacting them as soon as you notice the problem. Some of the key areas that you’ll need to focus on when it comes to repairing flood damage on a house include:
- Electrical systems – schedule a check-up with an electrician to establish whether the property is safe to occupy and if necessary, make any changes.
- Flood and water sanitation – make sure you have access to clean water and food. Also, ensure that your utensils are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Flood water carries a lot of bacteria and germs and can pose a risk to your health or that of potential buyers.
- Furniture and carpets – It’s best to replace any carpets or rugs that have suffered a flood as the problem may continue posing threats even when it’s not visible. If possible, you can restore your carpets or furniture using professional services. If you notice that your furniture or mattresses have been contaminated, it’s advisable to get rid of them and invest in new ones.
- Walls – another area of the house that is greatly exposed to damage from water are the walls. They can become the perfect breeding place for mold, they can start peeling, swell up, and cause a significant problem.
Repair Any Mold Issues
One of the most essential steps to repairing your property after a flood or water damage is to repair any mold issues. Mold can not only dramatically bring down the value of your home but can also cause serious threats to your health. Mold is a type of fungus that produces spores that quickly spread throughout the property. Mold from flood damage is a popular scenario as it thrives in damp and moist places. Mold in a house can grow on fabric, paper, wood, glass, and plastic. It can literally invade your space in no time.
When it comes to health concerns, mold can bring along breathing problems, allergies like itchy nose or throat, sneezing, watery eyes, and others, aspergillosis, and other serious conditions. Having this in mind, mold in the house is definitely a barrier to selling your property in Arlington.
Now that you know that mold repair is essential, here is what you can do:
- Make sure all the moisture is eliminated from the house. You can do this by ensuring constant air is running through the property by using running fans and keeping windows open. You can also use a dehumidifier.
- Focus on the large surfaces first. Mix a cup of chlorine bleach with warm water. Clean the walls with the mixture using a rag and let them dry. Use the same mixture for the floor.
- Take out the rigs and any lightly damaged furniture out in the sun until completely dries.
- Make sure your wood furniture is cleaned up and all mold is removed. You can do this by using a rag and denatured alcohol. The denatured alcohol is the ideal solution as it won’t damage the wooden finish but will fight away the mold and mildew.
- Clean any porous surfaces like upholstered or fabric items. All fabrics that can be washed should be sanitised by washing at the hottest temperature possible.
Although most of these tasks can easily be done by a non-experienced individual, calling a professional mold removal company will certainly help you save time and effort.
Renovations to Be Made
Apart from removing the mold and mildew from the house, there are other tasks associated with renovating your house that you need to be aware of. Renovating a house to sell in Arlington doesn’t have to be an expensive endeavor. You can invest a small amount of money into fixing your flooded house, buying new furniture, and turning it into an area that is safe to occupy, fresh, and comfortable for new buyers.
The costs of renovating your house will vary depending on the size of the property and the level of damage. On average, water damage repairs cost somewhere from $1,000 to $4,000. However, the amount can be more substantial. On the other hand, the costs of remodeling your house are higher. For instance, the average cost of remodeling your house can be somewhere between $10,000 and $60,000. Again, the cost depends on the size of the property and the remodeling project.
Some of the remodelling and redecorating projects that you may need to invest in are:
- Kitchen upgrades
- Bathroom upgrades
- Countertop improvements
- Cabinet installation
- Fixtures and hardware upgrades
- Roofing
- Flooring
When it comes to redecorating your house for sale, make sure that you also pay attention to the details. Enjoy a fresh coat of paint over the walls once they’ve been restored after the flood. Put up a nice wall art or small decor items that will make house viewers feel at home and will give them an idea of what the place could turn into once it becomes theirs.
Revaluing Your House
Once the flood damage has been eliminated and your property is once again ready to go up on the market, it’s time for revaluing your house. Revaluing your home after renovations and repairs will help you with pricing your house for sale. The current condition of the property will be put against other similar homes in the same area and you’ll be able to see how it compares. Having this information will be of use for pricing your property correctly.
One of the biggest deal breakers in selling homes is an unrealistically set price. You may have spent money and time on repairing your flood-damaged home and you may be tempted to put a price on the house that is too high for the current real estate market. This may mean that your property won’t attract any potential buyers or that you’ll need to have expert negotiating tips when selling a house. Pricing your property correctly can help you sell your house quicker to the right buyer.
Working with a Cash Home Buyer
One of the options that you have when selling a flooded house is finding a cash buyer. Experienced buyers are usually investors who are ready to make a fair cash offer for the purchase of your property. Finding a legitimate and reliable cash home buyer is no easy task but once you do, you’ll discover that the wait was worth it. Cash homebuyers don’t rely on lenders or financial backing by other institutions or people. They have the stability to pay for the property with their own money. For you as a seller, this means a quicker sale process, a more straightforward sale, a possibility to sell the home as-is, and not as much reliance on a high property valuation.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to sell a flooded house in Arlington and you fear that the mission may be impossible, fear not. In this article, we’ve shared with you some tips and useful information regarding the sale of a house that has been damaged by a flood. Water damage is a serious concern that causes significant damage but as a home seller, you can still take a number of actions to restore your property and attract potential buyers. We hope that you’ll find this information useful and it will help you make the right decisions when selling your home in Arlington, Texas. If you’re interested in finding out more on the topic, check out our case study.