Why the Policy Comes First
Four figures on your declarations page decide whether you have a real alternative to selling: the dwelling limit, whether extended replacement cost was purchased and at what percentage, whether law and ordinance coverage was purchased, and how many months of living expense remain.
Colorado sets floors on all of it. At least 12 months of living expense with 24 offered. Extended replacement cost of at least 50 percent of the dwelling limit offered, raised from 20 percent in 2023. Law and ordinance coverage of at least 20 percent offered, raised from 10.
An owner who bought those has funding for a rebuild. An owner who did not is in a different position, and a cash sale is genuinely the better route. We would rather establish which you are before quoting than after.
Are You Asking So You Can Work out How Desperate I Am?
Two Things Worth Asking Your Insurer
The contents minimum. On a total loss of a furnished owner-occupied residence, the statute requires an offer of at least 30 percent of the contents limit without a written inventory. Where the loss arose from a governor-declared wildfire disaster, that rises to 65 percent. Many people complete a full inventory without being told the floor exists.
The depreciation methodology. Insurers must make available the method used to depreciate personal property. Worth requesting where a settlement looks low and no explanation has come with it.
The statutory position is on our page covering coverage minimums and demolition review.
Then the Building
The year built. From the assessor's record, free. More than 30 years puts landmark potential genuinely in play; below it, demolition review should be immediate.
The framing. Whether the era means dimensional lumber that repairs in sections or engineered assemblies that come out whole. This decides between a repair and a rebuild more often than the visible extent of the fire does.
The zoning. What the parcel now permits. On rezoned Denver land that can exceed what burned, which changes who the right buyer is.
What Are You Looking for in the Demolition Position?
What Comes Back
A written figure with every line showing: what a finished house on that parcel is worth, or the parcel's value where the zoning supports more, the cost of getting there, carrying cost, the documentary fee, and margin.
Where your coverage funds a rebuild, the email says so and shows the comparison, because that is the number you should be weighing ours against.
What If the Numbers Say Rebuild Rather Than Sell?
Then It Is Your Call
No deadline from us. Colorado closes through title companies and a clean file moves quickly. What slows a Denver file is a policy nobody has read properly, a demolition question nobody has asked, and title.
Compare figures if you want to. The questions on our page about how to tell local cash buyers apart work on us as much as on anyone.
Things That Never Happen
No fee at any stage. No request that you clear the site, board it, obtain a certificate or make any repair first — where a certificate is worth having we say so rather than requiring it. No requirement that your claim be settled. No assignment of the contract to a third party. And no suggestion that you accept a settlement without checking it against the statutory minimums first.
Common Questions About the Process
How Long Does It Take?
Address to written figure is usually a few days. Closing depends on title and on whether the demolition position needs establishing. The claim does not have to be resolved first.
Do I Need to Be in Colorado?
No. Out-of-state owners are common on inherited property and remote closing through the title company is routine.
I Cannot Find My Declarations Page.
Your carrier will send another copy and the Division of Insurance can help if they are unresponsive. It is one sheet and it answers most of what decides your options.