How I Built a Home-Rescue Business by Accident — and Fight the Insurance Company for You

My name is Ana, and I own Total Home Rescue — a water damage restoration, mold remediation, and build-back company in Washington, DC that serves Virginia, Maryland, and DC. When a home floods or fills with mold, my team removes the damage and rebuilds the house back to what it looked like before. But the part most people don’t expect is that I also fight the insurance company on the homeowner’s behalf, so whether the claim is $200,000 or a million dollars, they never feel the cost.

Here’s the honest version of how I got here: I never planned any of it. I’ve built a dentistry clinic and a clothing brand before this, all by accident. I started this company from basically zero dollars after hearing that water damage can be covered by insurance, and I’ve run it the same way I run everything — on paperwork, systems, and numbers. This is what I told Jeremy Rivera on the Unscripted Small Business Podcast.

The $200,000 Mold House

“Once we had a house, it was a three-story house, probably around 4,000 square feet, and it was all mold everywhere. Like personal belongings, walls, floors, ceilings, everywhere.” — Anastasiia Schwab

“So in total, all that project cost them about $200,000. I don’t know how that person actually lived there, because after you spend maybe 30 minutes at that house, you really get sick.” — Anastasiia Schwab

“We also help homeowners to talk to the insurance, because insurance, they don’t really like paying out to people. Before we started, the insurance did not want to cover anything. But luckily, we did solve this issue and the insurance agreed to pay.” — Anastasiia Schwab

Reading the Signs — and Why Bleach Is Not Remediation

“If they had even a small leak somewhere, even 10 years ago, even five years ago, because sometimes even a tiny small leak can lead to a huge problem. And the second one is definitely smell.” — Anastasiia Schwab

“Many people think mold is not something serious. You can use a bleach, right? To get rid of it. It’s not true.” — Anastasiia Schwab

“Sometimes you can just spray and wipe out this mold and cover it with special anti-microbial products. But sometimes we have to demolish everything to the ground.” — Anastasiia Schwab

The “Legal Freak” — and Why Insurance Is the Real Job

“This is not my first business, and I’m a legal freak. What I mean is I wouldn’t do anything until you sign something that covers my interests and your interests.” — Anastasiia Schwab

“Even if I talk to the homeowner on the phone, or with a landlord, or with insurance, I still send an email and ask for the confirmation. Because when you talk on the phone, that’s your word against his word.” — Anastasiia Schwab

“We do have issues with insurance, because they do want to cut your estimate. They do want to cut your invoice all the time. And they do try to delay paying out to you.” — Anastasiia Schwab

A Business Built by Accident

“When I tried to think everything through to create a business plan, it never works out for me. But when I do a business by accident, it works very well.” — Anastasiia Schwab

“Since everyone has to have insurance, you do not have to talk to the homeowner and tell them, hey, you need to pay me this much. You just make this homeowner feel confident and safe, because even if it’s two hundred thousand dollars or a million dollars, they don’t have to pay anything.” — Anastasiia Schwab

“It was by accident, as I said. I just heard from someone and started, and I started with basically zero dollars.” — Anastasiia Schwab

Marketing and SEO That’s Already Paying Off

“I started to do our website SEO probably two months ago. And I can tell you that I receive at least two leads per week, only from SEO, and I invested zero dollars in that.” — Anastasiia Schwab

“You convert 20% of people who call you from paid advertising, and you convert 30% of people who call you from SEO. Because people who read through your website come more prepared, and they already trust you.” — Anastasiia Schwab

“Recently the law was changed, and those people who did not invest in their SEO lost probably 45 to 50% of their revenue.” — Anastasiia Schwab

Systems Over Yourself

“A system is the most important thing that you can have in your business. You should not rely on yourself only. You should rely on your documents, on instructions that you have for your employees, and on numbers.” — Anastasiia Schwab

“Please check your house for mold at least once a year, and check if you have any leaks under your kitchen right now.” — Anastasiia Schwab

That’s the whole philosophy: keep the homeowner out of the money conversation, get everything in writing, and treat marketing as an investment instead of an afterthought. You can find Total Home Rescue at totalhomerescue.pro and as “Total Home Rescue” on Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and YouTube.