First 48 hours
The fire service will have made the structure safe to leave; your insurer's loss adjuster will arrange a make-safe contractor to board up, prop and secure. Don't throw anything away until the adjuster has visited. Photograph everything.
Reinstate or sell?
If you're insured, the insurer pays for reinstatement to pre-loss condition, either through their contractor or as a cash settlement you can spend with a builder of your choice. A full reinstatement of a terraced house takes four to eight months including the claim. Some owners would rather not go through it, and some properties weren't insured at all.
How we value a fire-damaged house
We price the house as if finished, then deduct the real cost of the rebuild plus a margin for risk and time. For a Northwich terrace worth £180,000 renovated, with £70,000 of fire reinstatement needed, an offer would land around £85,000 to £95,000. If a cash settlement has already been paid, that money stays with you.
Smoke damage without structural loss
Often better handled as a renovation than a sale: strip-out, ozone or thermal fogging, replaster, rewire if the loom was affected, and redecorate. We quote both options.