Sell a Fire-Damaged House in Florida

The claim deadlines Florida sets

Florida bars a property insurance claim unless the insurer was notified within one year of the date of loss, and for a fire that date is simply the day it burned. A supplemental claim, for more damage from the same fire after the insurer has already adjusted it, must be reported within 18 months. Smoke and heat damage in rooms the flames never reached is often found late, which is what the second deadline is for.

Once the insurer has your proof-of-loss statements, it must begin investigating within 7 days and complete any physical inspection within 30 days. It has 60 days from notice of the claim to pay or deny all or part of it, unless factors beyond its control prevent that, and it must explain any denial or reduced payment in writing.

If you disagree with the result, the Department of Financial Services runs a mediation program for residential property claims. It is available before appraisal or a lawsuit, and the insurer pays the cost of the mediation conference.

How a fire claim pays out in Florida

On a partial loss under a replacement-cost policy, Florida requires the insurer to pay at least the actual cash value first, less the deductible. The rest is paid as repair work is performed and the expense is incurred. If you sell without rebuilding, the contract needs to say who is entitled to pursue that remainder.

A total loss is handled differently. Under Florida's valued policy law, when a covered peril destroys an insured building, the insurer's liability is generally the amount the building was insured for, though never more than it would cost to repair or replace it. A replacement-cost policy must pay a total loss without holding back depreciation.

If there is a mortgage, the settlement check is generally made out to you and the servicer together, and the servicer releases the money in stages as the work is done and inspected. In a sale, the loan payoff and whatever claim money the servicer is holding have to be dealt with together. Our Florida insurance guide covers why an uninsured, unrepaired house cannot be financed by a buyer's lender.

You can hand the claim to the buyer

For residential policies issued on or after January 1, 2023, Florida prohibits assigning post-loss insurance benefits, and an attempted assignment is void. A restoration company cannot take over your claim with an assignment-of-benefits form on one of those policies.

The same statute expressly excludes a transfer to a subsequent purchaser of the property who has an insurable interest following a loss. That is what lets a buyer step into an open fire claim. Whether unpaid proceeds stay with you, come to us, or are split is written into our contract, and it turns on what has been paid, what the servicer holds, and what is still in dispute.

Public adjusters often arrive within a day of a fire. In Florida they must be licensed and may solicit only Monday through Saturday between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. For a fire that is not part of a declared state of emergency, their fee is capped at 20 percent of what the insurer pays, they can take nothing on amounts the insurer paid or agreed to pay before you signed, and you can cancel their contract within 10 days without penalty.

In a flood zone, fire can trigger flood-code rebuilding

The Florida Building Code defines substantial damage as damage of any origin where restoring the structure to its pre-damage condition would cost 50 percent or more of the structure's pre-damage market value. Fire counts, and the land's value does not. In a special flood hazard area, a building the local official finds substantially damaged must be brought into compliance with current floodplain rules, which can mean elevating it.

That is harder to fund after a fire than after a flood. The Increased Cost of Compliance benefit in an NFIP flood policy is for buildings substantially damaged by flooding, so it does not help here. The coverage that matters is law and ordinance coverage in your homeowner's policy: Florida policies include it at 25 percent of the dwelling limit unless the owner rejected it in writing, a 50 percent option must be offered, and it pays only for the damaged portion unless total damage exceeds 50 percent of the structure's replacement cost.

Florida's concrete block houses make this easy to misjudge. The block walls can stand after a fire has taken the roof framing, wiring, and interior, so the house looks repairable. Before paying for detailed repair bids, ask the building department whether the lot is in a flood zone and how it measures market value. Our repair cost worksheet helps you set rough numbers side by side.

Condo fires: the association's policy and yours

Florida law makes a condominium association insure the condominium property as originally installed, and excludes from its policy everything inside a unit that serves only that unit: floor, wall, and ceiling coverings, electrical fixtures, appliances, water heaters, water filters, built-in cabinets and countertops, and window treatments. Those items and your contents are for your own policy.

The association repairs the portions it must insure as a common expense, deductible included. The exception is damage caused by a unit owner's intentional conduct, negligence, or failure to follow the declaration or rules, or by family, tenants, or guests. Then the owner can be responsible for whatever insurance does not pay.

If the building levies an assessment after the fire, a unit owner's policy must carry at least $2,000 of loss assessment coverage. That claim is due within 1 year of the fire or within 90 days after the board votes the assessment, whichever is later, and no more than 3 years after the loss. We buy the unit that burned, units with smoke damage from a neighbour's fire, and units in buildings still waiting on the association's repairs.

Fire-damaged mobile and manufactured homes

In Florida a mobile home is treated as real property only when the owner of the home also owns the land and the home is tied down and connected to utilities. It then carries an RP sticker and passes with the land. Otherwise it is titled through the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and transferred by certificate of title, much like a vehicle.

A destroyed home cannot keep its RP sticker. FLHSMV requires the sticker to be removed and surrendered to the county license plate agency for cancellation. Florida's valued policy law also covers mobile homes, but a total loss is paid according to whether the policy was written on actual cash value, replacement cost, or stated value.

We buy fire-damaged mobile and manufactured homes on owned land and in parks. Tell us which kind of title you have, whether the land is yours, and, in a park, what the community has said about removal.

Property taxes and homestead after a fire

If a fire leaves your house uninhabitable for at least 30 days, Florida allows a partial refund of that year's timely paid property taxes. Apply to the county property appraiser by March 1 of the year after the fire, with documents such as utility bills, insurance information, or contractor statements. The refund depends on how many days the house was uninhabitable and how much the loss of the dwelling reduced the parcel's value. A fire the owner set on purpose does not qualify. Ask the property appraiser how a sale during the year affects your application.

Homestead is the bigger decision. If the house is still uninhabitable on January 1, you keep the exemption only by telling the property appraiser you intend to repair or rebuild and live there again, and failing to start the work within five years counts as abandoning the homestead. If you sell instead, portability can carry up to $500,000 of your Save Our Homes benefit to a new Florida homestead, provided you had the exemption on January 1 of one of the 3 preceding years. Our Florida property tax guide explains the cap in more detail.

Unsafe-structure cases in Florida cities

Under Chapter 162, a Florida code enforcement board can fine for each day a violation continues. If the local government makes repairs itself, it can add the reasonable cost to the fine. Once recorded, the order becomes a lien. It cannot be foreclosed against homestead property, but it stays attached to the property until it is paid or released. A burned, open house is exactly what starts these cases.

• Miami-Dade: the county's unsafe structures program, run under the Florida Building Code and Chapter 8 of the County Code, lists fire among the causes and can lead to demolition orders, civil fines, and liens. Cases can be started by county inspectors or municipal building officials, and appeals go to a quasi-judicial panel.
• Jacksonville: Municipal Code Compliance enforces Chapter 518, the Property Safety and Maintenance Code, and can board or demolish a structurally unsound, open structure. The contractor and administrative costs are placed on the property as liens.
• Tampa: the Code Enforcement Board and special magistrates impose fines under Chapter 162 and Chapter 9 of the City Code, and the city publishes a list of condemned properties. Under its 2022 lien settlement policy, accrued daily fines can be negotiated, including with a new owner in an arm's-length purchase who agrees to bring the property into compliance, but the city's own abatement costs must be paid in full.
• Orlando: the city lets you look up code enforcement cases and liens online, which is worth doing before you agree a price with anyone.

An open case does not stop the sale

A demolition order, a boarding charge, or a recorded fine does not prevent us from buying. Send the case number and any notice you have, and the municipal lien search fills in the rest. Our guide to liens and title problems on Florida property explains how these are paid from the proceeds at closing.

Disclosure, and what to send us

Florida sellers must disclose known facts that materially affect value and are not readily observable, the rule from Johnson v. Davis, and an as-is clause does not remove that duty. A past fire counts even after repairs, because charred framing and smoke residue can sit behind new drywall.

You do not need to board, fence, clean, haul debris, or demolish anything first. We buy as-is with no commissions, before or after the claim settles, and can close in as little as 10 days when the title is clear, on the date you choose. Whatever of the following you already have makes the offer firmer:

• The fire department's incident report, or at least the date and the report number
• The claim number, the adjuster's estimate, and a record of payments made
• Any letter from the servicer about claim funds it is holding
• Unsafe-structure, boarding, or demolition notices, with case numbers
• For a condo, the association's letters about repairs or a special assessment
• For a mobile home, the title or RP sticker details and any park correspondence

Frequently asked questions

This page is general information about selling property in Florida, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Laws change and every situation is different, so talk with a qualified Florida professional about yours.