Dealing with a fire in your home can be devastating, even if it is insured. One St. Charles resident recently found out that it can be a blessing in disguise.
Irvin is 93 years old and lived very comfortably in his St. Charles life. Despite persuasion from his son to move closer to him in Kansas City, Irvin didn’t want to leave his routine. He had friends to socialize with and still drove himself to lunch and other social outings.
Unfortunately, his 3 bedroom/2 bath ranch home was becoming difficult to manage. He was no longer able to navigate stairs, so doing the laundry in the basement and getting into the house from the garage were impossible. Taking care of the basic cleaning and routine maintenance issues were also problematic.
To avoid the stairs, Irvin moved his washer and dryer into the garage and had a ramp built so that he could drive his scooter from the garage to the house. One night while Irvin was sound asleep, an electrical fire that started in the garage quickly burned through the roof and began creeping through the attic. Fortunately, a neighbor saw the smoke, broke into the home, woke Irvin, and helped him get out safely. After the fire department, the next phone call was to Irvin’s insurance agent.
Irvin had been with the same insurance agent for over 20 years and his agent knew him personally. When his agent looked at the fire, smoke and water damage in the home, and knowing the physical struggles Irvin had been having getting around his home, he suggested Irvin talk with Bryan Schroeder at FasterHouse about selling his house as-is.
“Bryan made Irvin an offer to buy the property,” said his insurance agent. “Bryan’s purchase offer, in addition to the settlement the insurance company was paying Irvin, totaled more than he probably could have gotten if he rebuilt the home. And he didn’t have to do anything except pack some clothes and hand over the keys.”
Irvin decided to rent a one bedroom apartment on the ground floor with no steps and easy scooter access. Life has gotten much simpler. He doesn’t have to think about yard work, cleaning or any maintenance in his new home. His son has peace of mind knowing his dad is living independently but safely.
So what did FasterHouse do with the property? The next 6 months after purchase were spent doing a major rehab on the house. Major structural work had to be done on the garage and roof and the interior of the home was gutted due to the smoke and water damage. Rather than an eye sore in the neighborhood, this beautiful home is now the newest house on the block, with all new cabinetry, flooring, appliances, windows and more. It is ready to welcome new owners to create life stories in the home.
“When we tell people we will buy homes as-is,” said Schroeder “we really mean as-is. We don’t ask for anything to be done to the home after we make an offer. We pay cash for homes and don’t do any appraisals or inspections, so no issues will crop up that have to be repaired on the home in order to close. We really are the easy, no hassle solution to selling your home fast.”
If you are like Irvin or just want to sell your house, please call us at 314-926-0660 or fill out this form
