The Story of John & Vivian & How Letting A “Small Fire” Damage Reside Cost Them Big!!

Smoke and fire have huge ramifications on the livability and the resale value of your home. Akin Developers had a lovely couple come into our doors to discuss selling their home but with a minor dilemma, fire damage. Vivian and John Newton had the ideal 3 bedrooms, 2 bath home, and a lovely life with 2 children in college and 1 in private school. However, their home had unexpectedly the kitchen caught fire after a freak crockpot incident following a Superbowl party. Vivian and John called a local contractor who came out and took a quick look and told them that the damage was not “too severe”. With three children and a limited disposable income, they opted to only perform minimal repairs such as paint instead of replacing the entire wall.

Fast forward to the present day, Vivian and John officially became empty nesters and ready to sell and move south. They tried to first sell their home on the open market, however, when they reached out to an agent they were notified that the house still needed a lot of repairs to be sellable. Following the initial inspection, they were never explicitly told what could happen if they only went with the minimal treatments, Vivian and John had been sold a service and we’re now paying the price.

The minor painting repairs that Vivian and John had done to their kitchen just ten years prior were hiding major issues. The wall had begun eroding and the smoke had spent ten years sneaking into small cracks and crevices since the particles are so fine. The damage had spread and now the kitchen needed to be almost gutted along with the adjoining den. The renovation costs before their realtor could sell it without any disclosures were upwards of $62,000.

That is when Vivian and John decided to seek help. They called Akin Developers and we sent an expert property management team and home inspector to view the property and assess the damages at once. Our experts agreed with the original assessment of the property value and explained the situation, how they got to this point as well as some options from this point forward.

The Fire Damage Facts:

When the treatment process is extended, the damages begin to get worse and more difficult to deal with. If smoke goes untreated for a long duration, the odors become more persistent and difficult to neutralize. In addition, the original damage can begin to spread and seep. Although the wall may be painted white, the damage underneath had made the wall unstable over time. These challenges make the treatment process harder and more time-consuming and ultimately more expensive. As a by product of burning, smoke contains gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, acid gases, nitrogen oxides, benzene, toluene, styrene, aldehydes, and dioxin. Many of those gases can be deadly with prolonged contact, and some are known carcinogens. John and Vivian had become accustomed to the smell but potential buyers would see these conditions as unsafe and unsanitary

Smoke and ash can mix with water to produce a very corrosive element. If not cleaned quickly, this corrosive substance begins to slowly corrode away walls, floors, ceilings, and any other surfaces in your home. Cleaning up quickly with soap and water is not enough. The substance requires proper cleaning with appropriate chemicals to remove it completely to contain the damages. It had occurred to John that the areas that he had touched up with paint like in the kitchen pantry had suddenly needed to be replaced with new sheetrock.

ohn and Vivian Newton did not realize that the neutralizing of soot residuals and deposits is an effective first clean-up step. If left for long, soot can easily travel and penetrate other rooms that weren’t affected by the fire, staining the wall paint, carpet, furniture, drapes, clothing, and any other household items. Vivian had noticed minor issues in the master bedroom and bath and did not realize that the damage there was from the issue in another part of the house. Family heirloom furniture that had been handed down to the Newtons needed extensive repair and to be refinished despite not being present in the same room as the small kitchen fire.

The Final Fire Report

The Newtons came to Akin Developers knowing that they could not take on the burden of having to not only replace all the sheetrock in their home, new electrical wiring, and new furniture but they wanted to be in their new home sooner rather than later. The cost to turn the home around and make it turn-key ready was much more than the market price of the home.

The prospects of looking to get cash fast for the Newtons were exactly why they began looking for investors. They knew the odds of having to spend unnecessary funds just to try to sell their house was high. Getting them immediate liquidity is why investors like Akin Developers plays such an integral role in saving you money. They eliminate the need to hire a realtor, removing commission fees, so your money stays in the bank, where it belongs.

The next benefit to selling to an investor is that: more likely than not, your home is not nearly perfect, so, with having an investor taking over your property, you can sell your house in its present condition. The Newtons had the ideal location just not the ideal home.

Finally, selling to an Investor can present you with a quick turnaround on closing. In the majority of cases, closing on a home can be months away on the calendar. Since investors eliminate realtors, there is significantly less paperwork to track and organize. You may even be able to close on your house (and claim your equity) within a week! The speed is because of the elimination of realtors and their lengthy paperwork. Investors allow you to sell your house and move forward with your life, within a speedy time frame by offering you cash.

Akin Developers took the worry off of them! They were previously thinking of their health,
money, etc, and now they were going to be able to move on and get a smaller place for just the two of
them. After they decided to sell to us we were able to seamlessly enter in and take over for them so they could be sipping drinks poolside in no time at their new condo.