Today I’m coming to you live from a home that’s been vacant for two weeks to show you what can happen when a listing sits vacant.

I came in on closing day to turn on the lights for the buyers and found some major water issues. In the video above, you can see the extent of the damage. It looks like the source was a blown seal on the washing machine, and there’s not much you can do about it if the home is vacant and you don’t know about it.

First, I came in and turned off the water main to prevent more damage, then I talked to the buyer’s agent and the buyers to let them know the next steps. We were able to save the deal and ensure everyone will be happy in the end, but it’s a good lesson to show that some agents may not know how to handle certain issues. They may blow things way out of proportion.

The insurance company immediately came out to this property to assess the situation. They brought out dryers that dried the place out for a week straight, and when that was done, they went through and removed all the materials with water damage. They cut back all the wood floors that were damaged, and they’ll feather in new wood floors, sand it all down, and re-stain it to match. Some cabinetry and drywall had to be replaced, too. The nearby bathroom also had to be cleaned out, from the flooring to the sink and the toilet.

Down in the basement—basically ground zero of all these issues—you can see that the wood basement floor will be replaced, as well as the drywall at ground level. They’ve also removed all the trim and the ceiling drywall.

Next time, we’ll have an update for what it looks like when we’re closer to the final product. What I wanted to show you is that it’s not really a big deal and that anything can be fixed. Most importantly, the insurance company is taking care of it.

Stay tuned for the finished product!