Where our experience with storm damage on Long Island helps
Storm damage on Long Island usually comes with an insurance file, a half-finished repair, and at least one open permit. Each of those frightens off an ordinary buyer and none of them frighten us.
We take open permits and violations on and resolve them after closing. We can work around an unresolved storm damage claim, and the contract will say plainly who receives the proceeds. If you are mid-claim and unsure whether to settle before selling, we will talk it through with you rather than rush you into the answer that suits us.
Storm damage that was never fully repaired
Owners often feel they should complete the storm damage repair before selling, on the theory that a finished house sells better. Sometimes that is true. Frequently it is not, because the remaining work costs more than it adds.
Run that arithmetic before you spend another dollar. We will give you a written number on the Valley Stream house exactly as it sits today, so you can compare it against the cost of finishing.
Why local knowledge changes the number
A four-bedroom on State Street. In Valley Stream, bought and paid for by us.
Valley Stream is roughly 40,634 people in Nassau County, ZIP 11580, and the housing stock is mostly cape cod, colonial, tudor. Around Green Acres Mall and Sunrise Highway, most of it is old enough that the mechanicals are on their second or third life. The Valley Stream stop pulls buyers who commute, which supports the good houses and does very little for the ones that need a roof. We have been buying across Nassau County for 15+ years. We know what the Valley Stream Central High School District does to a resale price, which blocks still have oil tanks in the ground, and what a house like yours is actually worth here.
Selling in a flood zone after storm damage
Flood zone status is the quiet reason a lot of storm-damaged listings stall. A buyer who loves the house runs the premium, and the payment no longer works.
We do not carry that constraint. We have bought Nassau County houses in flood zones with unrepaired storm damage and closed them on schedule. If you have an elevation certificate, bring it. If you do not, we will work without one.
Tree and roof damage after a storm
A tree through the roof produces the same problem as a fire: the lender will not finance it, so the retail market disappears and you are dealing with cash buyers whether you intended to or not.
The useful question stops being what the house is worth and becomes which cash buyer puts a real number in writing and then closes on it. We buy storm damage of that severity regularly, tarps and all.
What you do not pay when you sell a storm-damaged house
Listing a storm-damaged house the usual way brings each of these costs with it. Selling to us brings none of them.
- Agent commission
- $38,750 at 5% of the Valley Stream median none
- Seller closing costs
- About $15,500 on a $775,000 sale. We can cover these. none
- Repairs to make it listable
- Whatever it takes to make it listable, paid in advance none
- Cleanout and removal
- Per truckload, before anyone views it none
- Carrying costs while it waits
- Taxes, insurance and utilities through the 78 to 93 days a listing takes to sell and close none
Open storm damage claims on a Valley Stream house
People assume they have to close the claim before they can list or sell. In practice a great many storm damage claims are still open when the house changes hands.
The part that matters is documenting the assignment of proceeds properly. Your attorney will want to see it, and so will ours. We have run Valley Stream closings both ways and neither one is unusual.
What the two paths cost in Valley Stream
These are the two routes open to you with a storm-damaged house, priced against what Valley Stream houses actually sell for.
Work it against Valley Stream's own numbers. The median sale here is $775,000. A 5% commission on that is $38,750, and seller closing costs of about 2% add roughly $15,500. Those are costs we can cover on our side. That is $54,250 gone before anyone counts the repairs it took to get the house listable.
There are two waits in a listed sale and people usually only count the first. In Valley Stream the median house takes about 33 days to go from listed to a signed contract. Then it waits again, typically 45 to 60 days, while the buyer's lender orders an appraisal and underwrites the loan. Call it 78 to 93 days from sign to keys, assuming nothing goes wrong.
The part worth understanding is what a signed contract actually guarantees, which is less than most sellers assume. A retail buyer with a mortgage contingency can walk away right up to the end. If they do not qualify, if the appraisal comes in under the price, if they change their mind and let the financing lapse. A share of deals die exactly there, after months of waiting, and the house goes back on the market with time on it. We are not borrowing anything, so there is no lender to satisfy, no appraisal to come in low and no contingency to exercise.
| Listing with an agent | Selling to us | |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price | $775,000 (Valley Stream median) | Our written offer |
| Commission | −$38,750 | None |
| Seller closing costs | −$15,500 | We can cover them |
| Repairs before listing | Out of pocket | None |
| Cleanout | Yours | Ours |
| Showings | Until it sells | One visit |
| Listed to signed contract | 33 days (Valley Stream median, once listable) | 24 hours to a written offer |
| Contract to closing | 45 to 60 days (waiting on the buyer's lender) | A date you choose |
| Total wait | 78 to 93 days if nothing falls through | Yours to set |
| Can the buyer walk? | Yes (mortgage contingency runs to the end) | No financing to fall through |
| Before repairs and carrying | $720,750 | The number we put in writing |
The agent column uses a 5% commission and about 2% of seller closing costs, which are typical rather than fixed. It leaves out repairs and holding costs because no two houses are alike there. Where a house is in good condition, listing with a capable agent can beat our number, and we will be upfront if that is the case.
Why storm-damaged Valley Stream houses sit on the market
Storm damage removes financed buyers from the equation, and financed buyers are most of the market. What is left is contractors, investors, and people willing to take on a project.
So a Valley Stream house with storm damage can sit for months collecting price reductions rather than offers. Selling is what we do, and we do it well. If your damage is cosmetic enough that a lender would still fund, we will tell you to list it.
Common questions
There is an open storm damage claim. Can we still sell?
Usually yes, though who receives the claim proceeds has to be agreed and written into the contract. Your attorney will want to see it.
Do you need an engineer report?
No. We have engineers we use across Nassau County when a structural question comes up, and that is our cost rather than yours.
The storm repairs on our Valley Stream house have an open permit. Is that a dealbreaker?
Not at all. Permits attach to the property, so they come along with it. We handle the Valley Stream building department side ourselves once we own it.
The damage is from a storm years ago and was never finished. Do you still want it?
Yes. Old unfinished storm damage is one of the most common situations we buy, and the age of it does not count against you.
Can you close before the next storm season if we need to be out?
Usually. We set the closing date around you, and with storm damage already present there is rarely a reason to wait.