Sell a Fire Damaged House in Washington State
We Buy Fire Damaged Houses Across Washington State.
If you need to sell a fire damaged house in Washington State, this page walks you through what the law here requires, what the sale actually costs you at closing, and who buys these homes.
You had a fire. Now people are calling you, and most of them want something.
We are one of those callers. We buy fire damaged houses, so read this knowing that. But most of what follows is just information about Washington, and it stays true whether you sell to us, sell to someone else, or keep the house.
Two things first:
You do not have to clean up, repair, or empty the house to sell it. Not for us. Leave whatever you don't want.
You do not have to be in Washington. Many of the people we work with have already moved away.
5.0 stars from 26 reviews. BBB Accredited. A+ rating. We pay all closing costs
Fire Damaged Home in Washington? Get a Fair Offer Today
Request a cash offer from Fire Cash Buyer and we'll give you a call to scheduled when we can walk it. Then give you an offer in 24 hours
Contact Us
This page is about Washington State. If your property is in Washington, D.C., call us and say so — the rules there are different.
Start Here — Pick The One That Sounds Like You
"My insurance company is dragging this out."
Washington has a law that helps you. Go to Your insurance company and Washington law.
"I don't have insurance and I need to sell my fire damaged house."
You are not stuck. Go to Fire damaged houses we have bought in Washington.
"My contractor started and then stopped."
This is the most common story we hear. Go to Fire damaged houses we have bought in Washington.
"I live out of state and I just want this over."
About half the fire damaged homes we look at, we can look at without the owner there. Go to How we make an offer without you.
Your Insurance Company And Washington Law
This is the part most sellers don't know, and it is worth reading even if you never sell the house.
Washington has a law called the Insurance Fair Conduct Act, at RCW 48.30.015. It says that if your insurance company unreasonably turns down your claim, you can take them to court. If you win, the court can award you up to three times your actual losses, plus your lawyer's fees.
Most states have nothing like this.
There is a step you take first. Before you file, you give your insurer written notice and wait 20 days. Notice also goes to the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner. That waiting period pauses the clock on your filing deadline.
Attorney review required. Confirm the notice procedure, who it must be sent to, current deadlines, and that the description of available damages is accurate.
We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. What we can tell you is that in the fires we have handled, the owners who did best with their insurer were the ones who put everything in writing. If your claim has stalled, it costs nothing to ask a Washington attorney or a public adjuster whether you have a case.
You can still sell while the claim is open. It happens often. Who keeps the insurance money is something you and the buyer agree in writing before closing. It is never automatic, so don't assume it follows the house.
What Washington Takes When You Close
Washington charges a tax when property changes hands. It is the real estate excise tax, under RCW 82.45, and in almost every sale the seller pays it.
It is not a flat rate. It steps up with the price, and your county adds a smaller amount on top. The state share starts near 1.1% on the first part of the price and rises from there. Counties commonly add another 0.25% to 0.5%.
Confirm current brackets and rates with the Washington State Department of Revenue before publishing figures. County rates vary and must be checked for King, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane, Clark, Thurston, Kitsap, Grant, Cowlitz and Kittitas counties individually
Why this matters: people who moved here from Texas or California often see this line for the first time at the closing table. Texas has no transfer tax at all. It is real money.
When we make an offer, we tell you what you walk away with after this, not before it. We also cover the normal closing costs.
Will Anyone Buy A Burnt House?
Washington uses a seller disclosure form, usually called Form 17, under RCW 64.06. On most home sales you fill it out and give it to the buyer, and the buyer then has a short window to back out after they receive it.
Some sales are exempt — certain estate sales and sales by a trustee, for example.
Attorney review required. Confirm which exemptions apply, the exact rescission window, and how the requirement works when the property is sold as is or the seller never lived there.
Here is the practical part. Some owners worry that a fire makes the house impossible to sell honestly. It doesn't. You write down what happened. We already know there was a fire — that is why we are here. Nothing you disclose will surprise us or change our offer, and we would rather have it written down than not.
Fire Damaged Houses We Have Bought In Washington
Washington is our second-busiest state. Owners here sell fire damaged homes to us most months of the year. Selling fire damaged houses is the only thing this company does.
Between March and August 2026 we worked 798 fire damaged properties across 38 states. Fourteen were in Washington. (Our own records, reviewed quarterly. Last reviewed September 2026.)
We have bought in Lacey (Thurston County), Bremerton (Kitsap), Cle Elum (Kittitas), Moses Lake (Grant), Kelso (Cowlitz) and Issaquah (King). We also work across Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Everett and Vancouver.
Some of what that looked like:
Lacey
A man in his eighties had no insurance and no money for repairs, so he stayed in the house after the fire. By the time we reached him it had holes in the roof, no power, and the shower and toilet no longer worked. It was not safe. He did not want to leave and we did not push. We talked with him and his neighbor for about a month until he decided on his own. We helped move his things and paid his first month of storage. His neighbor, who found us and made the call, received a referral fee of over $1,000.
Bremerton
The owners were investors with other properties and no time for this one, so their property manager called us instead. We looked at the house and made an offer inside a week, then closed a little over a month later. The owners barely had to do anything, which is what they wanted.
Vancouver
An owner was talking to us and to another company that had promised a much higher number over the phone. We told him to look both companies up - reviews, track record, whether either could prove they had the money. He did, then chose us, and we closed in under a month. If a number sounds too good on a phone call, ask them to prove they can pay it.
Owners in Moses Lake, Cle Elum and Lacey have written reviews about working with us. Across all states we hold 26 Better Business Bureau reviews, all five stars, with an A+ rating as an accredited business (as of July 2026). We have evaluated more than 3,500 fire damaged properties in the last three years.
One In Washington We Did Not Buy
In Tacoma we spent five months on a fire damaged condo. The owners' insurer had called it a total loss, but the building's HOA insurance was slow to move and everything sat still. We made several offers. They turned most of them down.
In the end they sold to somebody else, at the same number we had offered.
We include this because it is the honest version of what we do. We don't win every house, and we would rather you got a fair price from anyone than a poor price from us. Most companies that buy fire damaged houses only publish the deals they closed. Ask yourself why.
How We Make An Offer Without You
Many Washington owners have already left — moved in with family, moved out of state, moved on.
That is fine. About half the fire damaged houses we look at, we can get into without the owner present. If somebody can let a contractor in, or you already have photos, we can usually work from that.
Everything else runs by phone and email. We have closed sales where the seller never once picked up the phone, because that is how they wanted it.
What We Pay For A Fire Damaged House
You are probably worried about being lowballed. Going by our own reviews, that is the single most common fear owners bring to us.
So here is the number that answers it. In the sales where the owner named their price before we named ours, we agreed at a median of 88% of what they asked. (19 sales in our records through August 2026, reviewed quarterly.)
Those are past sales. They show how we negotiate — they are not a promise about your property. Every house is priced on its own condition.
Two things surprise people:
Your online estimate is not your number. Zillow and sites like it guess from square footage and nearby sales. They cannot know about smoke inside the wall cavities, water sitting in the subfloor, or the hole the fire department cut in your roof. In the fires we documented, the fire department opened the roof about one time in five (186 fires, March-August 2026).
Your number depends on the damage, not the address. We have bought houses that needed a deep clean and houses that had to come down. Anyone quoting you a percentage over the phone, sight unseen, is guessing.
How To Check Fire Damaged House Buyers, Including Us
Do this with every company that calls you. Us included.
Look them up on the Better Business Bureau. Accredited? What rating? Any reviews at all?
Ask for proof of funds. A real buyer sends it without being asked twice.
Ask which Washington title or escrow company they use, then call that company.
Search the company name with the word "reviews." If nothing comes up for a company claiming years of experience, that tells you something.
A legitimate buyer never asks you for money up front. No fee, no deposit, nothing.
If a company gets impatient when you ask these questions, that is your answer.
Common Questions About Selling A Fire Damaged House In Washington State
How to sell a fire damaged house in Washington?
There are three routes. List it with an agent, which takes longest and usually means repairs first. Sell it at auction. Or sell it as is to a cash buyer. Selling a house with fire damage on the open market is slow because most buyers need financing, and lenders rarely lend on a burned structure.
Can you sell a fire damaged house that has not been repaired?
Yes. You can sell fire damaged property in any condition in Washington, including a house the city has tagged. You disclose what you know and the sale goes through.
Can I sell my house as is with fire damage still inside it?
Yes, and you don't need to clean it out. Leave what you don't want.
I need to sell my fire damaged house fast. What is realistic?
Two to four weeks with a cash buyer is normal, against several months on the open market. Title problems and open insurance claims are what usually add time.
Do I need to finish my insurance claim first?
No. Plenty of people sell a fire damaged property while the claim is open. We put in writing who keeps the claim money before anything is signed.
Can I still sell if the fire was years ago?
Yes. Owners come to us one year, three years and longer after a fire. The delay does not hurt you.
What if several people own the house, or the owner has died?
Very common. We have closed with owners in four different places, including one outside the country. It takes longer and we handle the coordination.
How fast can this go?
Our records show a middle time of about 14 days from first contact to completed sale, though title and insurance can stretch that (798 properties, March–August 2026).
Who are the cash buyers for fire damaged homes in Washington?
Mostly investors and specialist buyers like us. Very few general "we buy houses" companies will touch a fire. Ask any of them how many fire damaged houses they have actually bought.
Tell Us The Address
That is all we need to start. We will call you, arrange to see the property, and give you a number within 24 hours of walking it.
If you decide it isn't for you, that is a fine outcome too.
Fire Damaged Home in Washington? Get a Fair Offer Today
Request a cash offer from Fire Cash Buyer and we'll give you a call to scheduled when we can walk it. Then give you an offer in 24 hours