A fire is bad enough without the six months after. Adjusters, contractors, permits, a lender sitting on the insurance money, and a house you can’t live in.

If you’d rather be done with it, we’ll buy it as-is – smoke damage, partial burn, total loss, red-tagged, doesn’t matter – with a cash offer in 24 hours and close in as little as a week.

Smoke and water damage from a kitchen fire. A partial burn, but half the house is still standing. A total loss where what’s left is a foundation and a debris removal bill.

We buy all of it. You don’t clear the site, pull a permit, or get a single contractor quote. If it needs demolition, that’s our problem after closing, not yours before it.

This keeps happening in California. You get the number back and the policy limit rebuilds about two-thirds of the house at what construction actually costs now. The rest is expected to come from you.

Selling the lot and the claim is often the better math. We’ll tell you what the property is worth as-is so you can put that next to a real rebuild quote and decide with actual numbers instead of guesses.

This is the question we get most, and the honest answer is that it depends on your policy, your lender, and your equity.

The claim check is usually made out to you and your mortgage company together, and the lender holds those funds and releases them as repairs get done. If you sell instead of rebuilding, the payoff comes out first. Sometimes there’s money left over for you on top of the sale price. Sometimes there isn’t.

Tell us where your claim stands when you call, and we’ll walk through your situation specifically. We buy houses with claims open, claims settled, and claims still being argued over.

A red tag doesn’t stop a sale. It stops a listing.

A conventional buyer can’t get a mortgage on a condemned structure, so agents won’t touch it, and the few buyers who would are paying cash anyway. We don’t need a lender or an appraisal. A code violation or a demolition order is a detail we work around, not a reason to walk.

1. Tell us about the property. Address, rough condition, where your insurance claim stands. Two minutes.

2. We take a look at the house. We’ll be pricing the lot, the structure, if any of it’s salvageable, and what demolition and debris removal will run.

3. You get an offer in 24 hours. A number, not a range. No obligation and no follow-up unless you want one.

4. You pick the closing date. Seven days if you need out fast, longer if you’re waiting on the claim. A title company handles it, and you’re paid by wire or check that day.

We buy across Fresno, Tulare, Kern, Sacramento, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin counties, including the foothill communities where wildfire risk is highest.

We’ve been buying houses in California since 2004. Family-owned, BBB accredited, thousands of properties closed.

Can I sell before my insurance claim settles?

Yes. We buy houses with open claims regularly. Depending on how your policy and lender are set up, the claim may transfer with the sale or settle separately. Tell us where things stand, and we’ll work out which applies.

Who gets the insurance money if I sell?

Your lender has first claim on those funds up to what you owe. Beyond that it depends on your policy and your equity. Some sellers keep the remainder on top of the sale price. It’s worth asking early, because it changes the math on whether selling or rebuilding is better for you.

Do I have to disclose the fire?

In California, yes – known material facts about the property go on your disclosures, and fire damage qualifies. Selling to us is simpler on that front because we already know. There’s no buyer to lose when an inspection turns something up.

What is a fire-damaged house worth?

It depends on how much of the structure survived, what demolition and debris removal cost, and what the lot alone is worth in your area. In a total loss, the land value minus site cleanup is often most of the number. We’ll show you how we got there.

Can you buy a house that’s been condemned?

Yes. Red-tagged properties, open code violations, standing demolition orders – none of it stops a cash sale.

My mortgage company is holding the insurance check. What now?

That’s standard, and it’s not a problem. Lenders escrow claim funds and release them against completed repairs. In a sale, those funds go toward the payoff at closing. The title company coordinates it.

How fast can you close?

As little as seven days. If you’re waiting on a claim or an estate, we’ll close on your timeline instead.

What if the house burned completely?

We still buy it. At that point, we’re buying the lot and handling the cleanup, and that’s a deal we’ve done many times.