So you have listed your home for sale on the market and already spending the profits in your imagination. But have you taken a count of all of the possible funds you’ll need on hand before the house ever sells? It can be expensive to hold your property during the listing process, and the longer it’s on the market the more expensive it can get. If you’re in a hurry to sell for personal or financial reasons, the wait can be excruciating. If you’re already struggling with your bills, spending money to prepare for viewings by touching up the paint and updating your decor, staging the home, and marketing expenses may be out of reach. Today’s standards for online listings can include hiring professionals for drone footage and high-quality digital photography.
There are many reasons homes may spend an extremely long time on the market. Perhaps the buyer’s financing fell through, the house is in a distressed condition, the price is too high, or the property is out of step with the type of property buyers are searching for, or it doesn’t conform with the surrounding properties and stands out like a sore thumb. However, no matter why your home is empty and lingering on the market, the longer it is listed, the less the final sales price is likely to be. So read on as we explore how much your empty house in the North East is really costing you.
Monthly Expenses
In addition to your mortgage payments, your empty house in the North East is also costing you in utilities each month, and your agent wouldn’t appreciate it if they couldn’t turn on the lights during a viewing! Besides, even if you did turn off the supply you would still be charged a standing charge (yep, these utility companies always get their bit!) Unfortunately, when you list with a real estate agent, the one thing they can’t provide is a completion date, so these charges could continue for several months, putting a big dent in your profits. By selling directly to North East House Buyers instead of listing on the open market, you can stop the slow leak of funds for continual monthly utilities; we offer guaranteed completion dates, usually within weeks.
Insurance and Taxes
Ongoing taxes and insurance are another way your empty house in the North East is really costing you. Bare in mind too, that your insurance premium will increase while the property is vacant, and if you fail to notify them of this the company will refuse to pay out incase a claim is made. On top of this we have council tax to pay, and nowadays you don’t even get a discount for an empty property; in fact many councils now will actually INCREASE your council tax if the property is empty! For example Gateshead council charge an extra 50% on top of your normal council tax for empty properties. Then County Durham has the 4th highest council tax rates in the country, so this is no small cost! Working with a direct buyer from North East House Buyers is another option that will allow you to pay your taxes off and end the ceaseless insurance payments is working with a direct buyer from North East House Buyers.
Repairs
If there are obvious signs of disrepair, your empty house in the North East is really costing you more than you could imagine. Buyers are scrolling by listings at lightning speed, and you need to catch their attention with your marketing. If you can’t afford to make necessary repairs and the home’s condition is evident in your listing photos, you aren’t likely to get many offers. In this case, any offers you receive are very likely to be far below your home’s actual market value. When it comes to starting repairs on the house, especially if it is an older home, it can be highly stressful and become very costly because you never know just what you may discover as you dig deeper into the project. At North East House Buyers, we’re ready to buy your home for cash in as-is condition. Let the direct buyers from North East House Buyers relieve you of the risks of making repairs on your property and allow you to keep more of your money in your wallet.
Maintain
Maintaining your empty house in the North East is another often overlooked expense. If you made a long-distance move for work or personal reasons, you might be paying to travel between residences, which is costly and stressful. Alternatively, you may be paying to have your property watched over, with regular checks for signs of trouble and care for your landscaping.
When you add up the holding costs, it makes sense to sell your empty house in the North East directly to North East House Buyers and keep more of your profits. You’ll save even more by working with the direct buyers at North East House Buyers, we never charge commissions, and you won’t pay any legal costs. In addition, our transactions at North East House Buyers are straightforward and fully transparent; there are never any hidden fees; we show every figure used in our offer, which you’ll agree is a fair market value. The direct buyers at North East House Buyers won’t pressure you, we are proud of our work helping our community and neighbours here in the North East, and we want you to feel good about the deal long after completion. Call North East House Buyers at 0191 462 0160.