A tree through the roof, shingles peeled off in a derecho, a basement full of water after a tropical storm. Maryland gets all of it. When the damage hits a house you were already thinking about selling, or a house you can’t afford to fix, the decision gets tangled up with insurance, your mortgage company, and contractors knocking on the door.
I’m Evan Weissman. I buy houses around Maryland, including ones with open storm damage. Here is how I’d untangle it: protect the house, get the claim right, then decide whether to repair and list or sell as is.
The first few days
Before anyone talks about selling, stop the damage from getting worse. Insurance policies generally expect you to take reasonable steps to protect the property, and buyers will pay much less for a house where a tarp went up two weeks late and mold took over.
- Make sure everyone is safe and utilities are shut off if there is a hazard.
- Take photos and video of everything before cleanup, including the outside, the roof if you can see it from the ground, and every wet room.
- Put a tarp on the roof or board windows if needed, and keep receipts.
- Start drying out wet areas quickly. Water left sitting leads to mold.
- Report the claim to your insurer and write down your claim number and adjuster’s name.
Getting the claim right
The claim is often the biggest dollar figure in the whole decision, so it’s worth slowing down.
Read your policy for what’s covered. Wind and falling trees are commonly covered under homeowners policies. Flood from rising water usually isn’t covered by a standard homeowners policy, and needs a separate flood policy, often through the National Flood Insurance Program. Sewer backup is sometimes an add-on.
Know who’s on the check. If you have a mortgage, the insurer often makes the claim check payable to both you and your lender. The lender may hold the money and release it in stages as repairs get done. Call your servicer’s loss draft or insurance claims department early so you know their process.
Consider help if the claim is large or disputed. Maryland licenses public adjusters through the Maryland Insurance Administration, and they work for you, for a fee, rather than the insurer. If you think your insurer is handling the claim unfairly, the Maryland Insurance Administration takes consumer complaints.
Watch out for storm chasers
After a big storm, out of town roofers and contractors show up fast. Some are fine. Some take deposits and disappear. In Maryland, contractors doing home improvement work generally need a license from the Maryland Home Improvement Commission, and you can look up a license on the MHIC site. Get written estimates, don’t pay large amounts upfront, and be cautious about signing anything that hands control of your insurance claim to a contractor.
Selling with an open claim
You don’t have to finish repairs before selling, but you do have to be clear about what happens with the claim.
Questions to answer before you sign a contract:
- Has the claim been paid, partly paid, or not yet settled?
- Is the money sitting with you, with your lender, or still with the insurer?
- Will you keep the insurance proceeds and sell at a lower price, or will the buyer receive the benefit somehow?
The cleanest approach in most cases is for the seller to keep the claim proceeds and sell the house at a price that reflects its damaged condition. Arrangements where a buyer takes over a claim are more complicated and depend on your policy and your insurer. Talk to your insurer and a real estate attorney before promising a buyer anything about claim money. If the lender is holding funds, find out how they’ll be released at payoff, because the mortgage gets paid off at settlement.
Disclosure after a storm
Maryland’s disclosure and disclaimer form asks directly whether the property has ever had flooding or a fire, and it also asks about roof leaks, basement moisture, and structural defects. If you use the disclosure side, answer from what you know, including repairs that were done.
If you use the disclaimer side and sell as is, Maryland law still requires you to disclose latent defects you actually know about that threaten health or safety and wouldn’t be found by a careful visual inspection (section 10-702). Hidden structural damage from a fallen tree or water in wall cavities can be exactly that kind of issue. When in doubt, disclose and let the buyer price it.
Weighing a repair against an as-is sale
Here is the honest comparison.
Repairing makes sense when:
- The insurance payout covers most or all of the work.
- You have a reliable, licensed contractor and the time to oversee the job.
- The rest of the house is in good shape, so once fixed it will compete well with other listings.
Selling as is tends to make sense when:
- The claim was denied, underpaid, or tied up, and you can’t front the repair cost.
- The storm damage is on top of a long list of older problems.
- The house is vacant, inherited, or a rental, and nobody can manage a rebuild.
- Mold or structural concerns make a repair scope uncertain.
An as-is buyer prices in the repair work, the risk of hidden damage, and their holding time. You trade some price for speed and not having to manage the project. My as-is selling page explains how I look at these houses. If the damage came from a fire rather than a storm, my fire damage page covers that version, and the water damage and mold article goes deeper on drying and remediation. Dealing with storm damage on a North Carroll property? See selling a house in Hampstead. If the house is in 21222 or 21219 and you’re dealing with storm damage, see how I buy houses in Dundalk.
A hypothetical to make it concrete
Picture a large oak coming down across the back half of a 1960s rancher. The insurer pays for the roof and framing, but the furnace, windows, and kitchen are all original. The owner can collect the claim, hire a contractor, and list months later, or keep the claim money and sell the house as is right away. If the repair would fix the storm damage but not the age of everything else, the second path often nets out closer than people expect. An owner with a newer house and a full payout might reasonably choose the opposite.
Can I sell a house with storm damage in Maryland before repairs?
Yes. You can sell as is at a price that reflects the damage. Disclose what you know and settle how the insurance proceeds are handled before you sign.
Who gets the insurance money if I sell before repairs?
Usually the seller keeps the claim proceeds and sells at a lower price. If your lender is a co-payee, the funds may be held until payoff. Check with your insurer and an attorney before promising claim money to a buyer.
Does homeowners insurance cover flood damage?
Standard homeowners policies usually don’t cover flooding from rising water. That generally requires a separate flood insurance policy.
How do I check a contractor’s license in Maryland?
Home improvement contractors generally need a Maryland Home Improvement Commission license, which you can look up on the state’s MHIC license search.
Do I have to disclose past storm damage that was repaired?
The state disclosure form asks whether the property has ever had flooding or a fire, and about roof, basement, and structural issues. Answer from what you know, including repairs, and keep the invoices.
Talk through your situation
If a storm left you with a damaged house and a decision to make, call or text me at (410) 498-7473. I’ll look at it with you and give you an as-is number to weigh against repairing.