Hurricane-Damaged Houses in Orlando? We buy Orlando houses for cash.

Insurance fight stalled? Citizens dropping you? Roof tarp turning into roof tar pit? We buy storm-damaged Florida homes as-is — with the open claim, after the settlement, or with no claim at all. Cash offer in 24 hours. Close in 7 days at any FL title company.

• 15+ years buying Florida storm-damaged homes — Andrew, Charley, Wilma, Irma, Michael, Ian, Idalia, Helene, Milton
• 500+ Florida transactions, BBB A+ accredited, 4.9 stars from 87+ reviews
• We close with open insurance claims, contractor liens, code violations, and FEMA documentation still in motion
• No commissions, no inspection contingency, no financing contingency, no repairs

Why Sell to Byron After a Hurricane

You did not buy a Florida house planning to spend two years on the phone with a claims adjuster. You bought it to live in it, rent it, retire in it, or hand it to your kids. After Ian, Idalia, Helene, or Milton, that plan got rewritten by a storm that lasted six hours and an insurance process that lasts eighteen months.

Here is what we hear every week from sellers in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, North Port, Bradenton, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Crystal River, and the Big Bend:

• The claim won't close. First adjuster, then a second, then a desk reviewer, then a re-inspection, then a request for receipts you do not have because the contractor disappeared after he cashed the deposit. Six months become a year. A year becomes two.
• Citizens non-renewed me. The state's insurer of last resort is shedding policies under depopulation orders, and roof age plus a 4-point inspection failure means no private carrier will write you. Without a policy, a retail buyer cannot get a mortgage, and the house becomes effectively unsellable on the MLS.
• The roof tarp is older than my dog. A blue FEMA tarp is rated for 30 days. Yours has been up since Ian in September 2022. Every rainstorm pushes more water into the attic, the drywall, the insulation. Mold compounds.
• A contractor put a lien on the house. You paid a deposit, the work stalled, and now a §713 construction lien is sitting on title for $42,000 of work that was never finished.
• The HOA or condo board is breathing down my neck. Special assessments stacking. Milestone inspection deadlines under §553.899. Estoppel letters that come back with five-figure balances.
• Code enforcement is in the picture. The city or county opened a case for the tarp, the unpermitted repairs, the unsecured pool. Fines accruing at $250 a day per violation.
• I'm 1,500 miles away. Snowbird, military PCS, adult child of a parent in assisted living — you do not live in Florida and you are trying to manage a damaged house from another state.

We buy in every one of these scenarios. With the claim, without the claim, with the lien, with the code case, with the tarp still flapping. We are not a wholesaler chasing a fee. We are not an iBuyer who will retrade you the day before closing. We are a family-owned cash buyer that has been writing checks on Florida storm houses for fifteen years.

How It Works After a Florida Storm

Step 1 — Tell us the storm and the status. Call 951-331-3844 or fill out the form. Tell us which storm (Ian, Helene, Milton, Idalia, Michael, Andrew, or another), the address, and where the insurance claim sits — open, partially paid, denied, settled, or never filed. We do not need photos. We do not need a contractor estimate.

Step 2 — We pull title and underwrite the storm picture. Within 24 hours we order a title commitment, pull county property records, check FEMA flood zone (X, AE, VE), check parcel history for prior claims, and review code-enforcement records. We model two offers: one where you assign the open claim to us, one where you keep the claim and we buy the house alone.

Step 3 — You pick the path and the date. Cash offer in writing. No financing contingency. No appraisal. As-is on the FAR/BAR As-Is contract (ASIS-7). Close in 7 to 14 days at any reputable Florida title company in your county. Wire hits your account the same day the deed records.

There is no inspection period that lets us back out. There is no lender requiring repairs. There is no buyer's agent demanding seller concessions. The number we sign is the number that wires.

The Florida Insurance Crisis — Why This Page Exists

Florida's homeowners-insurance market in 2026 is the worst in the United States. Hurricane frequency and severity have spiked since 2017, reinsurance costs have tripled, several major carriers (United P&C, FedNat, Avatar, Lighthouse, Southern Fidelity) have liquidated or pulled out, and the legacy of pre-2023 AOB-driven roof-replacement litigation pushed loss ratios past sustainability for years.

The result, on the ground, looks like this:

• Citizens Property Insurance has ballooned past 1.4 million policies at peak, with mandatory depopulation rules under §627.351(6)(q) requiring policyholders to accept private offers within 20 percent of Citizens premium — even if the private carrier rates the home harder.
• 4-point inspection failures are everywhere. Roof, HVAC, electrical, plumbing — if any one is past expected service life, private carriers refuse to write. After a storm-damaged roof patch, the roof age clock often resets only on full replacement, not repair.
• Wind mitigation forms (OIR-B1-1802) carry enormous premium implications. A house without a hip roof, secondary water resistance, or impact-rated openings can pay 4× to 6× the premium of an otherwise-identical house across the street.
• Mass non-renewals are running through Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Pasco counties. Sellers who never made a claim are getting dropped because the carrier is exiting the zip code.

If your house is uninsurable in 2026, your buyer pool collapses to cash. There is no other path. Mortgage lenders cannot fund without hazard insurance, and if no carrier writes the policy, the deal dies in underwriting. That is the structural reason cash buyers exist for hurricane-damaged Florida homes — we self-insure, we close on our own paper, and we deal with the carrier problem after the deed records.

Assignment of Benefits — What Changed in 2023

Before 2023, Florida had an enormous problem with post-loss Assignment of Benefits. A homeowner would sign over insurance rights to a roofer; the contractor would sue the carrier directly under §627.428 attorney-fee shifting; the carrier would settle for inflated numbers to avoid fee exposure; and premiums went through the roof. Florida had roughly 8 percent of the country's homeowners claims and 76 percent of the country's homeowners-insurance lawsuits at peak.

The 2022 Special Session and 2023 reforms changed this. Under §627.7152, F.S., for residential homeowners-insurance policies issued on or after January 1, 2023, post-loss assignments of benefits are void and unenforceable. Pre-2023 policies grandfathered in but require strict written-compliance AOB agreements. The one-way attorney-fee statute was repealed for property insurance.

What does this mean for you, the homeowner trying to sell after a storm?

1. Roofers cannot chase your insurance check anymore. The "free roof" billboards on I-75 are mostly gone. Contractors who used to work claims aggressively have moved on. That is partly why your job stalled — the litigation incentive that propped up the post-storm contractor economy has evaporated.
2. Public adjusters are still allowed and still useful. §626.854 caps PA fees at 10 percent of declared-emergency claim payouts in the first year and 20 percent otherwise. A good PA can still meaningfully move your settlement number.
3. You can still assign the entire CLAIM (not just benefits) to a buyer at closing. This is a different legal animal from a post-loss AOB to a contractor. A claim assignment to a real-property purchaser, structured through the closing, transfers the right to pursue and collect the proceeds. We do this regularly. Title agents understand it.

When we say "we buy with the open claim," that is what we mean. You assign the claim to us at closing, the deed records, you get a higher sale price, and we take over the file with the carrier.

Public Adjusters and Contractor Liens — The Post-Storm Stack

After a major storm, three different parties end up with paper rights against your house, and you have to clear all three to close any sale, retail or cash:

Public Adjuster Contracts. A PA contract typically grants a percentage of any settlement and survives the sale unless terminated. We honor existing PA contracts and pay them at closing out of recovered proceeds when we assign the claim. If you keep the claim, the PA stays your problem.

Construction Liens (Ch. 713, F.S.). Florida construction liens have a 90-day window from last work to record and one year to perfect by lawsuit. After Ian, Lee County recorded thousands — many for partial-completion work where the contractor cashed the deposit, did demo and tarp, and walked. The lien is on the property until released. We pay legitimate liens at closing. We dispute fraudulent or stale liens through the title agent.

Code-Enforcement Liens. When a city or county opens a case (overgrown lot, blue tarp past local time limit, unsecured pool, unpermitted post-storm repair) and fines accrue, those fines become liens upon recording under FL Stat Ch. 162. Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, Pinellas, and Hillsborough counties all run active post-storm code-enforcement programs. Fines stack at $100 to $500 per day per violation. We have negotiated lien reductions through Special Magistrate hearings on closings before — sometimes cutting a $48,000 accrued lien down to $4,000.

You do not have to clean any of this up before calling us. The whole point of a cash buyer in this space is that we step into the mess.

We Buy WITH an Open Claim — Two Structures

This is the differentiator sellers ask about most. Here is exactly how it works.

Structure A — You Assign the Claim to Us. You sign a Claim Assignment Agreement at closing in addition to the deed and standard documents. The carrier gets a notice of assignment and a copy of the recorded deed. The claim continues in your name as "insured" with us as the assignee of proceeds. Any subsequent settlement check is endorsed to us. PA, attorney, and any contractor with a perfected lien get paid out of the assigned proceeds in priority order; what is left goes to us as recovery.

In exchange for taking the claim risk, we pay you a higher sale price up front. You walk away with cash and zero ongoing claim correspondence — no more adjuster visits, no more recorded statements, no more pre-suit demand letters under §627.70152.

Structure B — You Keep the Claim and We Buy the House Alone. You sell the house to us "as-is, where-is" and explicitly retain all rights to the open claim. The deed conveys real property; the claim is reserved to you under a side carve-out in the closing package. We discount the offer because we are buying without the upside of a settlement, but you keep the right to pursue the carrier on your own timeline. If you settle six months later, the entire check goes to you.

Sellers pick Structure A when they are exhausted, when the claim has been open more than 12 months, or when they have already lawyered up. Sellers pick Structure B when there is a clean, near-final settlement number they want to capture themselves and they would rather sell faster at a lower price than wait for the claim to close.

We model both numbers in writing. You pick.

Mold — The Silent Compounder

Every week a Florida storm-damaged house sits unmitigated, the remediation cost compounds. The timeline, drawn from EPA and Florida industrial-hygienist data:

• 24 to 48 hours after water intrusion — surface mold begins on drywall, carpet pad, wood framing.
• Days 3 to 14 — visible colonies appear; spore counts rise in the air.
• Weeks 2 to 4 — mold penetrates wall cavities; remediation moves from surface treatment to selective demolition.
• Months 1 to 6 — structural lumber softens; HVAC cross-contaminates the entire envelope; remediation requires full envelope teardown plus duct replacement.
• Months 6 to 18+ — full gut rehab territory; remediation cost commonly exceeds 35 percent of post-rehab value, which crosses the FEMA "substantially damaged" threshold and triggers full Florida Building Code current-elevation, current-impact, current-windload requirements on rebuild.

That last line is where many post-Ian Cape Coral and Fort Myers Beach houses ended up: substantial-damage determination, forced full code rebuild, often forced elevation under FEMA flood-zone rules, and a rebuild cost that exceeds insurance proceeds plus equity. That is exactly the seller we close for every week.

We buy at any stage. Surface mold, gutted wall cavities, full hazmat remediation, or post-substantial-damage tear-down candidate. We do not require remediation before closing. We do not require a clearance test.

FEMA and SBA — How Disaster Loans Affect a Sale

After a federally-declared disaster, two different federal programs put paper on Florida homes:

FEMA Individual Assistance (IA) Grants. These are grants — not loans. They do not record as liens. You do not pay them back at closing.

SBA Disaster Home Loans. These are loans, secured against the real property by a recorded mortgage when the loan exceeds certain thresholds (currently $25,000 for real-property loss). The SBA mortgage shows on title commitment exactly like any other recorded mortgage. It must be paid off at closing. We adjust the offer so the SBA payoff comes out of proceeds at the closing table. SBA processes payoff letters in 7 to 10 business days, which fits inside our standard closing window.

Forgivable grants and HUD CDBG-DR programs. Some Florida counties (Lee, Charlotte, Volusia, Hillsborough) have post-disaster municipal repair programs funded by HUD CDBG-DR dollars. These sometimes attach a 5- or 10-year residency restriction or a forgivable lien. We handle them on a case-by-case basis — most are dischargeable at closing with a payoff or partial-release.

Vacant + Storm-Damaged — Where the Stack Gets Worst

The worst situation we routinely buy out of is the vacant, storm-damaged Florida house. Here is why the stack compounds:

1. No one is checking on it. Owner is in Michigan, Ohio, Toronto, or in assisted living three counties away.
2. Squatters or vandals discover it. Florida's 2026 squatter-removal statute (§82.036) gives owners a faster sheriff path, but it still requires a verified affidavit and 24 to 72 hours minimum. Until then, copper plumbing walks. AC condensers walk. Whole kitchens walk.
3. Code enforcement opens a case. Overgrown lot, blue tarp past local time limit, unsecured pool, broken windows. Fines stack daily.
4. Insurance non-renews. Most Florida policies have a 30- or 60-day vacancy clause. Once the house is vacant past that limit, coverage drops or claims get denied. Now the house is uninsured AND damaged AND open to the elements AND accruing fines.
5. HOA or condo dues default. Liens accrue. Foreclosure timelines start under §720.3085 (HOA) or §718.116 (condo).
6. Property taxes get behind. Tax certificate sale by June 1 each year under §197.402; tax-deed application possible 2 years later under §197.502.

A vacant storm-damaged Florida house with eight months of inaction can have construction liens, code-enforcement liens, an HOA lien, an SBA disaster mortgage, an open insurance claim, AND a tax certificate on title — all at once. We have closed exactly this situation more than once. The title commitment reads like a horror novel and the closing statement runs three pages of payoffs. We figure it out, write the check, and you are done.

Florida Storm Geography — Where We Buy Heaviest

Hurricane Ian (Category 4, Sept 28, 2022) — Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Captiva, Pine Island, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, North Port. Lee and Charlotte counties took the brunt. Storm surge of 15+ feet on Sanibel and the Causeway. Tens of thousands of homes still in some stage of claim, repair, or sell-or-rebuild decision in 2026.

Hurricane Idalia (Category 3, Aug 30, 2023) — Big Bend landfall at Keaton Beach. Taylor, Dixie, Lafayette, Madison, Jefferson counties.

Hurricane Helene (Category 4, Sept 26, 2024) — second Big Bend strike with a much larger Tampa Bay surge footprint. St. Petersburg, Treasure Island, Madeira Beach, Indian Shores, Clearwater Beach, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs. Pinellas County water-damage claims still working through the system.

Hurricane Milton (Category 3, Oct 9, 2024) — Siesta Key landfall, then a tornado outbreak across Tampa Bay through the Treasure Coast. Manatee, Sarasota, Hillsborough, Polk, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin counties. Tornado damage compounded the wind/water claim mess.

Hurricane Michael (Category 5, Oct 10, 2018) — Panama City, Mexico Beach, Lynn Haven, Callaway, Springfield, Marianna. Bay, Gulf, and Jackson counties still have rebuild and claim-tail work running six years post-storm.

Hurricane Andrew (Category 5, Aug 24, 1992) — south Miami-Dade. Homestead, Florida City, Cutler Bay, Kendall. Andrew is mostly a legacy claim and title issue now, but its building-code legacy — Florida's modern wind-resistant building code was rewritten because of Andrew — affects every post-1994 home in the state.

If your storm-damaged property is anywhere in Florida, we are interested. We close most heavily in Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, Bay, and Miami-Dade — but we close statewide.

Florida-Specific Legal Hooks for Storm Sales

§627.7152, F.S. — AOB ban for post-2023 policies. Post-loss assignment of benefits to a contractor is void on policies issued on or after January 1, 2023. This is the law that ended the "free roof" economy and is part of why so many stalled storm jobs cannot be re-mobilized.

§627.351(6), F.S. — Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Citizens is the insurer of last resort. Depopulation orders require Citizens policyholders to accept private-market offers within a 20 percent premium band. If you have been non-renewed by Citizens or pushed into a depopulation takeout, that is the statute that governs.

§626.854, F.S. — Public-adjuster fee caps. PAs are capped at 10 percent of declared-emergency claim recoveries in the first year after the disaster declaration and 20 percent otherwise.

We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. For case-specific questions, especially on a complex multi-claim file, we recommend a Florida-licensed property-insurance attorney. Current as of May 2026.

What Sets Byron Apart on Storm Houses

• We have closed on every major Florida storm of the modern era — Andrew (1992), Charley (2004), Wilma (2005), Irma (2017), Michael (2018), Ian (2022), Idalia (2023), Helene (2024), and Milton (2024). Pattern recognition matters.
• We buy with the claim attached. Most cash buyers will not. Most retail listings cannot. We have the underwriting, title-agent relationships, and assignment paperwork to make it work.
• We pay legitimate construction liens, code fines, SBA payoffs, and HOA arrears at closing. You do not clean up the title — we do.
• No commissions, no fees, no closing costs to you in counties where seller customarily pays — we cover them as part of the deal.
• We do not retrade. Iron-clad As-Is contract, no inspection contingency, no financing contingency, no appraisal. The number we sign is the number that wires.

(Rendered from the FAQ schema in the page frontmatter — expandable accordions on the live page.)

Internal Resources

• Sell a Florida house with code violations — common companion when post-storm tarps, unpermitted repairs, or overgrown lots trigger county fines.
• Sell a mold or water-damaged Florida home — deeper dive on remediation cost timelines.
• Sell an inherited Florida house — many post-Ian and post-Helene sellers are out-of-state heirs.
• Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte — Ian recovery zone.
• Tampa, St. Petersburg — Helene and Milton zone.

Ready to Sell Your Storm-Damaged Florida House?

If you are reading this, you have probably had two or three claim adjuster visits, at least one contractor cash a deposit and disappear, a non-renewal letter from your carrier or a depopulation notice from Citizens, and a HOA or city letter you have not opened yet. You are tired. You did not sign up for this part of Florida homeownership.

Call 951-331-3844 or request your offer online. Tell us the address, the storm, and where the claim sits. We will pull title and underwrite the file in 24 hours. We will model two offers — one with the claim assigned, one without — and put both numbers in writing. You pick. We close in 7 to 14 days at any title company in your county. The wire hits your account the same day the deed records.

You walk away. We take over.