The local housing market was blazing hot before Ida rolled through, but the storm did a number on tens of thousands of houses across the region. That has some buyers thinking they might be able to score a deal right now, and some sellers wondering if they should take their home off the market until repairs are completed.
Real Estate Analyst Wade Ragas told WWL that dealing in any storm-damaged property, whether buying or selling, is a risky move. Some buyers may think they can scoop up prime real estate on the cheap, but Ragas said unless you have some real expertise there’s no way you can properly assess real storm damage.
“They need to have all of the skills that a renovation company ordinarily possesses,” said Ragas who added that buying storm damaged homes is even tougher if you can’t do it in cash. “It’s going to require a lender who is willing to take on renovation lending, and that is not all lenders, not everybody wants to do that work.”
If you’re thinking of selling your storm damaged home before you get it repaired, and before you get reimbursed for that repair, you might want to think twice.
“There’s a lot of money in the renovation work of those houses, but also a lot of expense,” said Ragas. “You don’t want to leave the insurance company out of this, or FEMA.”
Ragas said if you sell without first repairing the damage, you’re going to get seriously lowballed.
“You have buyers who are bargain shopping and are going to driving down prices at this point,” said Ragas.
