Burn Houses

[Yale Hamrick]

Hello All,

I am new to Bigger Pockets and this is my first post. I am looking to learn more about burn houses to rehab. I have been rehabbing for a couple of years now, and am interested in starting these type of projects, What is the experience some of you have had with the rehab? More importantly what are the best strategies for buying these homes? Are there list I can buy, or contact the county? I am in Dallas,TX and I'm looking for direction on how to obtain these homes. Any help or advice is greatly Appreciated!

Thank You,

Yale

[Jeff S.]

Hi @Yale Hamrick . You are a glutton for punishment aren't you? Yes, I did buy a burn house and it was an experience. My next one is carpet and paint. There are some issues working with houses that suffer from burnt materials and smoke damage.

The one I did was an auction house. First, you need to get it cheap. My fire was started on an inside wall from a fireplace being over-used and a leak in the metal chimney. We had to rip out the chimneys and ended up taking out the entire middle wall-long story.

Some things you need to do are: take out all the insulation. Chances are it is on the floor and it is wet and burnt. It is so nasty to clean-up. Next: clean. I used TSP on every inch of sheetrock and woodwork. Then: paint with shellac based primer. Spray the entire attic area and the rest of the house too. Obviously, rip out all burnt wood and materials. While the cabinets in the kitchen might look ok they will emit smoke smells for a long-time. Best to take out and replace with new. This is an opportunity for a major rehab.

I was going to use this as a rental but by the time it was finished so much was new that I decided to move into it. It is like a new house.

Another issue though, is I believe you will need to disclose that it is a fire house. That could be a turn-off for some. Good luck man.