Document Your Home Before the Storm
It's the cheapest, fastest thing you can do before a hurricane — and the one that protects your largest asset when the water's gone and the adjuster shows up.
Joseph: Keri, if I could get every homeowner in Houston to do one thing before hurricane season, it wouldn't be buying plywood. It'd be walking the house with their phone and hitting record.
Keri: Because you've seen what happens when they don't.
Joseph: Every time. After a storm, a homeowner files a claim and the adjuster asks, “What did this look like before?” And they've got nothing. No proof the floors were new, no proof the roof was sound. Now it's their memory against the insurance company's checkbook.
Keri: So today we're going to fix that for you. It takes about twenty minutes and it can be worth thousands.
Why documentation is a real-estate issue, not just an insurance one
Here's the lens nobody else gives you: your home isn't just where you live. For most Houston families it's the single biggest thing they own. A hurricane is a threat to that asset's value — and the way you prove its condition is what protects your equity.
When you can show exactly what the property looked like before a storm, three things get easier: your insurance claim is faster and fairer, your future resale disclosures are honest and defensible, and any repairs you make can be documented as improvements rather than mysteries a buyer's inspector flags later.
Keri: Think of it as a “before” photo for your house's health. You'd never sell a car without service records. Same idea.
Joseph: And the federal preparedness folks agree on the basics — ready.gov literally lists taking photos or video of your home and belongings as a step to do before a disaster so you have proof for insurance.
Source: ready.gov — FEMA/DHS, “Financial Preparedness” and “Document and Insure Your Property.”
The 20-minute walkthrough method
Do this on a calm day, in good light, with a charged phone. You're building a time-stamped record.
Exterior first
- Slow video of all four sides of the house, narrating as you go (“south wall, no cracks, gutters clear”)
- The roof from the ground — every slope you can see, plus any prior repairs
- Fence, gate, detached garage, shed, and any outdoor systems (AC condenser, pool equipment)
- Mature trees and limbs near the house — this also flags what to trim
- The street and drainage in front of your lot, so you can show pre-storm conditions
Then room by room, inside
- Pan slowly across each room: walls, ceiling, floors, windows
- Open closets and cabinets — show built-ins and finishes
- Capture big-ticket items: appliances, electronics, HVAC, water heater (get model/serial numbers)
- The attic and garage — where damage often hides and proof is often missing
- Anything recently upgraded: new floors, remodeled kitchen, replaced roof. That's value you want on the record.
Joseph: Narrate out loud while you film. The date stamp and your voice describing condition is gold if a claim is ever disputed.
Keri: And don't trust one copy. Phones drown too.
Where to keep it (the part people skip)
A perfect video that lives only on a phone that floods is worthless. Store it in at least two places that aren't your house:
Your document survival kit
- Cloud storage (Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox) for all photos and video
- A waterproof, grab-and-go folder with the paper that matters: deed/title, mortgage info, homeowner's and flood policies, recent appraisal, ID, and a home inventory list
- Email yourself the video links so they're recoverable from any device
- If you've made major improvements, keep the receipts and permits with this set
Source: ready.gov — “Safeguard Critical Documents and Valuables”; Texas Department of Insurance — home inventory and claims guidance.
If you're selling — or about to
Keri: Joseph, what about the folks who are mid-listing when a storm rolls in?
Joseph: Pre-storm documentation is even more important for them. If a named storm touches your area while the home is on the market, you may have new disclosure obligations and buyers will ask questions. Being able to show the property's condition before and after — and any repairs done properly — keeps the deal honest and on track. That's a whole post on its own, and it's coming later in this series.
Keri: Short version: document now, thank yourself later.
Want a pre-storm property checklist for your specific home?
We'll help you build the documentation and the document kit — the same one we keep for our own properties and our listings.
Contact The Property Joes GroupNext in the series: Part 2 — The Houston Prep Kit & Evacuation Plan That Actually Works. And the full guide lives on the Storm Ready hub.
Sources
- ready.gov (FEMA / U.S. Department of Homeland Security) — Financial Preparedness; Document and Insure Your Property; Safeguard Critical Documents (ready.gov/financial-preparedness)
- National Hurricane Center (NOAA) — Hurricane Preparedness Week guidance on protecting property and records (nhc.noaa.gov/prepare)
- Texas Department of Insurance — home inventory and storm-claim guidance (tdi.texas.gov)
The Property Joes Group — Keller Williams Memorial
1220 Augusta Dr Ste 300, Houston, TX 77057
HAR: JDIOSANA | [email protected]