Stage One: The Address and the Damage
Two things start the process. The address tells us which authority governs the building, since crossing the city boundary changes the permitting office, the demolition process and the tax stack. How far the fire got tells us which of two very different assessments we are running.
Neither answer has to be precise. "The back of the house and up through the roof" is enough to begin with.
Stage Two: Structure First, Then Permission
This is where the days go, and in Chicago it runs in a specific order because the second question depends on the first.
What Decides the Figure on a Chicago Fire Loss?
Is the shell standing and sound? Chicago's brick two-flats, three-flats, greystones and bungalows frequently keep their masonry walls through a fire that destroys everything inside. That shell removes both the demolition cost and much of the structural rebuild. A frame building with heat-damaged framing has no such advantage. This single question moves the number more than the extent of the fire does.
May it be demolished at all? Where clearing the lot is the better route, the 1996 historic resources survey rating matters, because an orange or red rating triggers a hold of up to 90 days before a demolition permit may issue. Whether the city has made a dangerous-condition determination changes that answer entirely.
What does the lot support? Zoning governs the replacement, and Chicago land values differ sharply between neighbourhoods a mile apart.
Who can convey, and what is attached? Ownership of record, whether the owner is living, mortgages, mechanics liens, unpaid water charges, and any open building court matter.
What the city already knows. Citations, inspection records and any dangerous-condition finding are useful to us and often useful to you, since they can remove the preservation hold.
Stage Three: A Written Figure, With the Arithmetic
You get a number and the reasoning behind it: finished value of what can stand there, reconstruction cost with the shell credited or not, demolition and clearance, carrying cost across a realistic permit timeline, the three layers of transfer tax, and margin. Every line is arguable and we would rather you argued with them.
What If the Arithmetic Says I Should Keep It?
Stage Four: Your Decision
No deadline and no expiring offer. Compare if you want to, and use the checks on our page about how to tell local cash buyers apart on us as much as on anyone else.
Closing runs through attorneys on both sides, as Illinois transactions customarily do, with a contractual review period. Title is what drives the timeline: a living sole owner with clean title closes quickly; an estate that has not been through probate does not.
What We Do Not Do
- We charge you nothing. No fee for the figure, no commission, no repair contribution.
- We do not ask you to clear or board anything first. Both are costs we price in, and you would pay retail for work a buyer values at wholesale.
- We do not assign the contract. Given how tightly Illinois regulates contract assignment, that is worth stating plainly rather than leaving you to ask.
- We do not need your claim settled first. Proceeds and property are separable and who keeps the claim is negotiable.
- We do not tell you to conceal anything. Illinois disclosure duties are set out on our page covering Illinois disclosure and claim requirements.
Common Questions About the Process
How Long Does It Take?
Address to written figure is usually a few days. Agreement to closing depends on title and on attorney review. The damage itself rarely drives the timeline.
Do I Need to Be in Chicago to Sell?
No. Out-of-state owners are common on inherited buildings, and Illinois closings handle remote signing routinely.
Can I Get a Figure Without Committing?
That is the only way we do it. The figure is free, carries no obligation, and declining costs nothing.