Friend needs advice on selling

[Dare Lamberson]

Hello BP, I have a friend that has just been through a divorce and owned a house with her husband. They didn't own the house for very long and didn't have much equity when they split up (about a year ago). She has been in charge of the house and will get all, if any, of the returns. During the last year it was rented it to tenants that put a lot of damage in the house. Upon inspecting the house she found that all the upstairs flooring (carpet) would need to be replaced door to severe pet odor. The tenants replaced the floor in the living room without asking and did a poor job with a cheap vinyl. There are also a good amount of smaller things. There was a deposit but not nearly enough to cover the damages. What would legal action look like to recoup some of the costs? Then to make matters worse, she went on a work trip and when she returned the water heater busted and had a small leak that ended up flooding the pantry and kitchen which ruined the flooring. By the time it was cleaned up (2-3 days) mold had grown on the floor and some areas of the drywall. I'm a contractor and have done a lot of remodeling and have dealt with mold before. Once we started cleaning up the area I noticed that the area under the cabinets also has mold. The cabinets and drywall need to be removed so mold remediation can happen. She has home owners insurance and has filed a claim because the water heater was still under warranty. The claim is still pending. Does anyone have advice on how to navigate the insurance claim to maximize payout? At this point I'm trying to make sure she doesn't get screwed even more from this whole situation. My thoughts are to try and sell it to someone who wants to rehab it. She doesn't have the experience or the capital to do the rehab herself. I worry that even though the rehab could be done with a profit that if things go wrong she could end up in debt after the selling of the house. This property is in north San Antonio and she would like to be done with it in the next month or two. I would like to hear everyone's thoughts about this situation. I'd also like some advice about finding a local investor that would want to buy the property as-is to rehab it for a rental or flip. Thanks in advance for your help!