Selling a storm-damaged house in Louisiana

You can sell a storm-damaged house as it is, before or after the insurance claim is settled. You don't have to fix anything first, but you do have to tell buyers about damage you know of. Protect your claim before you decide, then weigh what repairs would cost against what the house is worth as it stands.

First, protect the claim

• Report the damage right away, in writing if you can, and keep the claim number.
• Photograph and video everything before you clean up or throw anything out. For a flood claim, keep samples of carpet and flooring for the adjuster.
• Stop more damage with a tarp or a board-up, and keep every receipt.
• Ask for the adjuster's report. Louisiana insurers must send you a copy of the field adjuster's report within 15 days of your request.

Louisiana's claim deadlines

Your insurer's clock:

• Starting the adjustment. Within 14 days of your notice. After a declared disaster it's 30 days, and the insurance commissioner can add 30 more. The commissioner did that for Hurricane Francine in 2024 and Tropical Storm Arthur in 2026, giving insurers 60 days in the parishes those emergency rules covered.
• Paying. Within 30 days of receiving a satisfactory proof of loss, or 60 days for a home claim after a declared disaster.

Your clock:

• Flood insurance. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) wants your proof of loss within 60 days of the flood, unless FEMA extends the deadline for your storm. Ask your flood insurer.
• Suing your insurer. A Louisiana homeowners policy can't give you less than 24 months from the loss to sue (R.S. 22:868). Francine made landfall on September 11, 2024, so that minimum ran out on September 11, 2026. For Arthur, it runs to at least June 2028. Since June 9, 2026, the law says a payment from your insurer doesn't extend the deadline. If your claim is still open or underpaid, talk to a lawyer now.
• Disputes. After the governor declares an emergency for a named storm, you can ask for mediation of a home claim dispute of up to $150,000. It isn't binding, and the insurer pays the reasonable costs. Questions and complaints go to the Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI), 1-800-259-5300.

The mortgage company and your insurance check

"Many mortgage agreements require insurance checks to be made out to both you and the mortgage company or servicer," the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains. The servicer holds the repair money and releases it as the work gets done.

Louisiana law (R.S. 6:337) sets the servicer's deadlines while your loan isn't behind:

• It must promptly endorse the check and keep the money in a separate account.
• Within 10 business days of getting the money, it must tell you what you need to do to have it released.
• Within 10 business days of your request, it must release the money or explain why not and what you still need.
• Once you've asked and met its requirements, it must inspect within 15 business days. It may accept photos or video.
• Money for living expenses goes to you promptly, and so does money for belongings the lender has no claim to.
• If it holds $25,000 or more for over 30 days, interest builds in your favor.

These rules don't apply if you're in default, past due or in foreclosure. If Fannie Mae owns your loan and you're current, the servicer may release up to the greater of $40,000 or a third of the claim money up front. If you're 31 days or more behind, it releases less, in smaller steps.

If you plan to sell, ask the servicer in writing what happens to the money it holds when the loan is paid off at closing. And make sure the sale contract says who keeps any claim money still to come.

FEMA, SBA and flood aid

• Arthur (June 2026). FEMA's aid for individuals covers Avoyelles, Lafourche, Pointe Coupee, St. Landry, St. Tammany and Terrebonne parishes. The deadline to apply was October 1, 2026. FEMA had approved more than $46 million for households by late October.
• Francine (September 2024). FEMA's individual aid went to nine parishes, including Jefferson, Lafourche and Terrebonne, but not St. Tammany. The deadline was November 18, 2024, and FEMA approved $91.6 million.
• What FEMA pays. FEMA covers needs your insurance doesn't. For disasters declared since October 1, 2025, a household can get up to $44,800 for housing and $44,800 for other needs.
• SBA disaster loans. Up to $500,000 to repair a primary home and $100,000 for belongings. For Arthur, the deadline for these loans was also October 1, 2026.
• Selling after federal flood aid. If you got federal flood aid that required you to keep flood insurance, you must tell the buyer in writing, in the sale documents. If you don't, and the house later floods without insurance and gets federal aid, you can be made to repay it.
• Fraud. FEMA never charges for an inspection or for help applying. Its inspectors wear an official badge, so ask to see it. FEMA's helpline is 800-621-3362.

Contractor fraud, and how to check a license

After a storm, some contractors take deposits and vanish. Before you sign:

• Check the license. Louisiana's State Licensing Board for Contractors covers home repairs of $7,500 or more. Since January 1, 2026, roof work of $7,500 or more needs a residential roofing or residential construction license. Use the board's contractor search or call (225) 765-2301.
• Ask about the permit. Roof jobs now need a permit and inspections.
• Get an itemized written estimate, and pay as the work gets done, not all up front.
• Keep the contractor out of your claim. A contractor can't interpret your policy or act as your public adjuster.
• Pay your own deductible. A contractor who offers to waive, pay or rebate it is breaking Louisiana law. A contract of $1,000 or more paid with insurance money must say so in bold type.
• Watch for no-shows. Taking payment and doing no work for 45 days, or working without the required license, can be evidence of residential contractor fraud, a crime.
• Signed at your door? You generally have until midnight of the third business day to cancel in writing, unless you asked for emergency work and it has substantially begun.

Report problems to the licensing board and to the Attorney General's consumer hotline, 1-800-351-4889.

The 50% rule, in outline

If your house is in a high-risk flood zone and repairs would cost 50% or more of the building's market value before the storm, not counting the land, it counts as "substantially damaged," whatever caused the damage. It then has to be brought up to current floodplain rules, which can mean raising it. Your parish or city floodplain office makes that call. Flood insurance's Increased Cost of Compliance coverage can pay up to $30,000 to elevate, floodproof, move or demolish the house. FEMA's substantial damage guide explains more, and we'll cover the rule in its own guide.

Repair or sell as-is?

Repairing often makes sense when:

• insurance, plus any FEMA or SBA help, covers most of the work;
• you have a licensed contractor and the time to manage the job;
• the house isn't substantially damaged, or you can cover the cost of raising it;
• you want to stay, or the repaired house would sell for well over what the work costs.

Selling as-is can make sense when:

• the claim money falls short, or the claim is stuck;
• the house is substantially damaged and raising it isn't affordable;
• you're paying for this house and for somewhere else to live;
• you've moved on, or you don't want to take on a rebuild.

You can list a damaged house as-is with an agent, which lets rehab buyers and investors compete for it. Or you can sell to a cash buyer for speed and certainty. Either way, a damaged house sells for less than a repaired one. A cash buyer's offer is usually lower still, because it prices in the repairs, its costs and its profit. Compare the real costs before you decide.

Selling as-is doesn't end your duty to disclose. Louisiana's 2026 disclosure form asks about storm and flood damage, repairs, insurance claims and federal flood aid. See what you still have to disclose, and check any buyer before you sign.

Free help

• Louisiana Department of Insurance: 1-800-259-5300, for claim questions and complaints.
• FEMA helpline: 800-621-3362.
• State Licensing Board for Contractors: (225) 765-2301.
• Attorney General's consumer hotline: 1-800-351-4889.

If the storm has put you behind on the mortgage, see your options when you're behind. Housing counselors and legal aid are listed at the end of this guide.

How Passkey can help

We buy storm-damaged houses as they are, with no repairs or cleanup: a written cash offer within 24 hours of a short walk-through, and a closing on the date you pick. Our offer will be below what the house could sell for repaired. Ask for an offer with the form on this page, or call (985) 317-2695.

Questions

Can I sell before the insurance claim is settled?

Yes. Tell the buyer about the open claim, and put in writing who keeps any claim money still to come. Ask your mortgage servicer how it will handle money it's holding when the loan is paid off.

Do I have to disclose storm damage I've already repaired?

Louisiana's disclosure form asks whether there has ever been wind, hail or other damage, what was repaired, and about insurance claims. Answer honestly, and keep receipts and permits to show the work.

My servicer is sitting on my claim money. What can I do?

If you're current, Louisiana law gives it deadlines: 10 business days to tell you its requirements, 10 business days to release the money or explain, and 15 business days to inspect. Put your request in writing. If you're behind, those deadlines don't apply, but a HUD-approved counselor can help.

Who decides whether my house is substantially damaged?

Your parish or city floodplain office. It compares the cost of repairs with the house's market value before the storm.

Is it too late to sue over a Francine claim?

Maybe. Louisiana's 24-month minimum ran out on September 11, 2026, but your policy may allow longer. Ask a lawyer right away.