Selling:
- If the home was damaged, the seller should remove all wet drywall and dry the house out
- Fill out a seller’s disclosure listing all known damage
- Don’t cover water stains with paint – no cosmetic coverups
- Do the necessary repairs and disclose all repairs
- Get your own mold inspection done
- Do a pre-listing home inspection to make sure you didn’t miss any repairs
- Choose licensed Florida contractors to provide estimates and repairs
- Don’t assume your home will sell only at a discount; many damaged homes are sitting on valuable land and many may even sell at the full market value of the home before it was damaged in the hurricane
Buying:
- Get both home and mold inspections
- Choose licensed Florida contractors for estimates and repairs you are considering having done
- Get it in writing – if the seller wants to sell “as is” – get it in writing what repairs the seller will have done and what potential credits they may give you
- Ask to see written evidence of the insurance proceeds and when they were disbursed to the seller
- Make sure the property can be insured!
- Ask if they have had the home treated for mold and whether they have a mold certification
- If it looks like there’s no damage from the hurricane, ask if there was damage that was repaired
- Ask for the seller’s disclosure and be sure to read it very carefully – ask questions about anything that seems vague
- Know what has been repaired and what hasn’t – if repairs have been done ask what comany did the repairs and be sure to check whether the proper permits for the work were pulled from the local building department
- If purchasing a condominium (this applies just to hurricane damage, not the new requirements) ask aboiut hurricane-related assessments, hurricane related insurance claims and if there are additional fees ask whether the seller will cover the fees or if the responsibility will be yours as the buyer
