The roof is tarped and the adjuster has come and gone.
Kentucky storm seasons produce more damaged roofs than the region has roofers, which is why so many houses sit under blue tarp for months.
Sell it tarpedWhy storm repairs stall
After a significant hail or wind event, every roofer in the region is booked and material availability tightens. Add an insurance settlement that came in below the actual bid, a deductible you did not budget for, and a mortgage servicer holding the proceeds in escrow, and the job does not start.
Meanwhile a tarp is a temporary measure that fails. Water finds its way in, and a roof problem becomes an interior problem over the following winter.
Insurance proceeds and your lender
If your loan is escrowing the settlement, the servicer releases funds in draws against inspected progress. That is a reasonable system that becomes a trap when you cannot afford to front the first phase.
Selling with an open claim is possible and common. How the proceeds get handled is negotiated as part of the deal, and it needs to be settled up front rather than at closing.
Storm chasers and the contracts they leave behind
After a hail event, out of area contractors work neighborhoods door to door. Some are legitimate. Others take a deposit or an assignment of benefits and never return, leaving a contract or in some cases a lien attached to the property.
If you signed something after a storm and are not sure what it was, tell us. It shows up in the title search either way, and we would rather know before than discover it.
Five questions. That is the whole thing.
We already know your situation from this page. Change it if it does not fit.
Question 1 of 5
What people ask about this
Can I sell with an open insurance claim?
Yes. The question is who receives the settlement, and that gets addressed in the purchase agreement. Do not assume either answer.
I already got the check and spent it. Does that matter?
It can, particularly if your lender was supposed to endorse it or if the repair was a condition of the settlement. Be upfront so we can structure around it.
Do you buy houses with tree damage to the structure?
Yes, including trees still on the house. Impact damage to framing is a normal repair category for us.
Often it is more than one thing at once
Sell it tarped.
No cost, no obligation, and nobody shows up at your door unless you ask them to.