When you own a home in the Baton Rouge area, sinkholes are a chronic threat. According to local news outlets, East Baton Rouge Parish has suffered more than 11,600 sinkholes since 2016, many of which have damaged or threatened roadways and buildings. And unfortunately, there’s virtually no way to protect your home from this potentially devastating natural disaster.
If you own a Baton Rouge–area house that has been damaged by a sinkhole, it’s possible to sell your home. But doing so may require considerable work on your part, depending on how you choose to sell.
So what are your options? Here are three ways you can sell your sinkhole house.
1. Pay for Repairs With Insurance, Then List the House
If you have homeowners insurance (you should and are likely required to if you have a mortgage), it may cover home damage caused by sinkholes. If your policy includes this type of coverage, you can file a claim and use your insurance to pay for the bulk of the repairs your home needs.
Throughout the repair process, document everything thoroughly because you’ll need this documentation to assure prospective buyers that your home was properly repaired. You’ll also need it for inspection purposes and to help prove the market value of the property. And when you eventually list your home, you must disclose the sinkhole — it’s illegal not to.
Be aware that even fully repaired sinkhole houses generally experience a 10% drop in value from their presinkhole market value. When you list your house, be prepared to list it at a lower asking price than what you may previously have listed it for.
Keep in mind, too, that many Louisiana homeowners insurance policies exclude earth movement or catastrophic ground cover collapse — insurance-speak for a sinkhole — from coverage. If that’s the case with your policy, you must have an add-on endorsement for sinkhole damage. If you don’t, your insurance won’t pay for repairs to your home.
2. List the House As Is
If insurance won’t pay for repairs to your sinkhole house, and you don’t want to invest in repairs with your own money, you can list the house as is. But keep in mind that most traditional buyers aren’t looking to purchase properties in serious disrepair or those that may be at risk of further damage.
If you list your house on the open market, chances are you’ll wait several months or longer to sell it. Or you may not sell it at all because lenders generally won’t approve mortgages for properties with unrepaired sinkhole damage or those lacking engineer safety reports. Your chances of selling a sinkhole house to a traditional prospective buyer are pretty slim, but if you’re optimistic, give it a shot.
3. Sell Your Baton Rouge Sinkhole House for Cash
If you don’t want to deal with repairing a sinkhole-damaged property and simply want to sell your house fast, sell it to a Baton Rouge cash home buyer. These are buyers who can purchase properties in any condition, in any location.
Cash home buyers have the capital on hand to buy your house outright in cash and will make you a fair offer that reflects both the damage and repair work that must be done. You can get a no-obligation offer within 24 hours of contacting such a buyer, and if you need to sell quickly, you can typically close the sale within a matter of days.
Need to Sell Your House Fast? We Buy Houses in Baton Rouge
Do you own a sinkhole house that you just don’t want to deal with anymore? Then get in touch with our team at Geaux Home Buyers to get a no-obligation, cash offer for your property! We buy houses throughout Baton Rouge, LA, and the surrounding areas and can purchase your sinkhole home no matter what kind of condition it’s in.
Ready to find out what we can offer you for your Baton Rouge sinkhole house? Then give us a call at 225-330-8416 to get started! You can also contact us online to request an offer, and we’ll get in touch promptly with more information.