How We Sold a Fulton Ranch Home With a Fire in Its History Without Losing the Buyer
A Chandler seller needed to sell her $1M+ Fulton Ranch home after a garage fire a couple of years earlier that insurance had fully repaired. She found me on Google. We put the fire history in writing, added three specialist inspections to the counter offer, and answered every buyer question with paper. The sale closed 31 days after contract.
Who was the seller, and why was this sale harder than most?
She owned a five-bedroom home in Fulton Ranch, in South Chandler's 85248, and she was moving out of state. She found me through a Google search and hired me to sell it. The house itself was in good shape. The history was the hurdle. A buyer at this price reads a fire the same way every time: what burned, who fixed it, and can I see proof?
What happened in the fire?
It started outside, in a trash bin at the side of the house, and burned into the garage. The garage, the laundry room, and a small hallway were taken down to the studs and rebuilt. Wiring, plumbing, and drywall in the garage were replaced. Smoke and water reached more of the home, so the whole house was cleaned, repainted, and treated for mold prevention. Insurance paid for the work. All of it was finished before she listed.
What did we do before the buyers asked?
I had never sold a home with fire damage before. So I made one rule: every question a buyer asks is a fair question, and every answer goes in writing. I had her write out the fire and repair history in the seller's disclosure and attach her insurance paperwork. That is how I run every listing, fire history or not. You can see how I sell homes here.
What went into the counter offer?
The counter offer did the heavy lifting. The seller agreed to pay for three specialist inspections, capped at $2,200 combined: a structural engineer to look at the repaired area, a mold and air quality test, and a smoke residue assessment by a qualified environmental firm. She also agreed to give the buyer the City of Chandler permit records for the repairs within 10 business days.
The structural engineer found no evidence of structural distress in the framing, exterior wall, second floor, or roof trusses. The mold test came back at or below outdoor levels in all four interior sample locations.
Where did the buyers push back?
The buyers were careful, and they had reason to be. They asked for repair invoices, photos of the work, and the insurance paperwork. Some repairs the seller had done herself, so those had photos and no invoices.
The smoke residue test was the sticking point. The counter said testing by a qualified company. We hired a qualified environmental firm to assess the home. The buyer's side wanted lab samples on top of that. We read the same sentence two ways.
So we stopped arguing about the sentence and kept sending paper. Every report and every receipt went to the buyer's agent as soon as we had it, and every question got a written answer.
How did it end?
The buyers dropped four small items from their repair list on their own. The seller agreed to fix the legitimate ones, including rust in the pool, and explained the few she declined. She offered a credit toward the oven, and we settled at $1,750. The sale closed 31 days after contract.
What would I tell another seller with a fire in the home's history?
Start the file before you list. Gather every receipt, insurance claim, inspection report, and permit record you can find. Call your insurance company and your contractors for copies while it is still easy. Then put the fire history in the disclosure in your own words and attach the paper.
I know that is a lot to ask. Reliving a fire that already cost a family so much is a real burden. The paper does the retelling for you.
And if a counter offer says "testing," spell out what that means. Visual assessment or lab samples? Same word, two meanings, and it cost us days of back and forth.
Frequently asked questions
Can you sell a house that had a fire?
Yes. This Fulton Ranch home sold for just over $1 million, 31 days after contract. It sold because the fire history was written down, the repairs were verified by outside professionals, and every buyer question got an answer.
Should a seller disclose a past fire?
Disclose it. In this sale the fire and repair history went into the written seller's disclosure with the insurance paperwork attached. I am not an attorney, so ask yours about your exact obligations.
Which inspections should a seller expect when a home has a fire history?
Expect the buyer to ask about structure, mold and air quality, and smoke residue. Here, the seller paid for all three, capped at $2,200 combined. Every buyer is different, so plan on paperwork for each.
What if the buyer and seller read the counter offer differently?
Define the test in writing before anyone books it. Name the method, the company, and the report the buyer will receive. Here, "smoke residue testing" meant a visual assessment to us and lab samples to the buyer's side.
Ben Graham, luxury real estate advisor serving South Tempe and South Chandler. REALTOR since 2011 with more than 500 transactions, including homes in Fulton Ranch and Ocotillo.
Read what past sellers say, or see more closing stories.
