Homeowners often find themselves spending thousands of dollars in prepping their property before selling in Port Orchard. Once the property is ready to list, even it offers are made fast and a sale contract is signed, it often takes several months to finally close the sale. Unfortunately, somewhere along the timeline of listing a property, especially one that lingers on the market, owners ask themselves, “why didn’t anyone warn me about this.” While not typically considered as a part of the cost to list a home on the traditional market, holding costs can create adverse economic effects as time passes, decaying the potential profits. In other words, how much does it cost to hold onto the property for the several months to get all this done? Yes, there are financial costs, but what about the other costs? Scheduled plans? Moving dates? The stress of trying to get the work done as soon as possible? Will the property still be worth as much when you’re ready to sell? It could be worth more? It could be worth less?
To help you understand these costs ahead of time, we’ve created a guide for homeowners selling property in Port Orchard for calculating your holding costs.
Price Drops
While difficult to calculate in advance, price drops are a part of holding costs when a listing isn’t moving. A real estate agent will often recommend lowering the asking price to generate more interest. An agent can provide you with probabilities on the right listing price for homeowners selling property in Port Orchard by comparing recent sales of similar homes on the market and how much you will pay in commissions. Unfortunately, when you list your home on the market or with a real estate agent, what they cannot provide you with is a guarantee on the sale price or your closing date. Sadly, even without a price drop, the greater the number of days on the market, the final sales price is likely to be below the listing price and often even below the current market value.
Utilities
Your utility bills can add up to a tidy sum. While it may seem a logical step to save money if you’ve relocated before a sale to turn off the power, I never recommend cutting the power. Not only will your real estate agent be less than pleased, but buyers also will not be able to “flip the switch” and may be turned off by this fact. Additionally, buyers may wonder if all of the systems will be in working order when the power is back on. Discovering issues, such as the heating and cooling systems during the inspection phase, can create turmoil, cause delays and possibly cost you the deal.
Maintenance and Repairs
Maintaining and repairs are holding costs that do not end until closing. Now, more than ever, you’ll want to keep the landscaping sharp and perform any minor maintenance that is required. When selling your property in Port Orchard, the last thing you want is for your home to appear abandoned. Remember “curb appeal” is very important. It will affect the first impression of potential buyers. Also, it could send a signal out to those with less than the best intentions that no one is watching the property. I always recommend that you complete any necessary repairs immediately; as you know, minor problems can quickly grow into significant issues.
Mortgage, Taxes, and Insurance
The holding costs associated with carrying the mortgage, often bundled with your property taxes and insurance, can become highly burdensome as time passes. This is especially true if your circumstances have forced you to relocate before selling your property in Port Orchard. As a result, you may find yourself holding and paying for two properties. Then of course there is the cost related travel between the two homes or hiring a caretaker for the property you have listed.
HOA
If located in a development with a homeowners association, don’t forget to add your monthly HOA fees when calculating your holding costs when selling your property in Port Orchard.
Improvement Loans
If you needed to pull out a loan for the repairs and prepping you did to the property, don’t forget to add in those payments when you calculate your holding costs. You’ve got to spend money to make money, or so they say. Suppose you’ve gone through the headaches of making repairs and find yourself further in debt in the hope of realizing a higher profit. Regrettably, for homeowners selling property in Port Orchard, planning to pay off the loan quickly after the sale, you may find yourself making payments for longer than you originally planned.
Why risk the potentially devastating effects of holding costs when you can sell faster to a direct buyer from Kitsap Home Pro?
With the power of cash, holding costs get wiped off of the closing table. There will be no need to make further deductions from our offer as you may find yourself doing with a listing; we charge no fees, there’s no need to prep or make repairs because we buy homes as-is, this means the offer from Kitsap Home Pro is what you receive at closing. Kitsap Home Pro can provide you with a guaranteed closing date, often in a matter of days or a few weeks. In addition, if you haven’t relocated yet and need a little more time, Kitsap Home Pro doesn’t need to move in when you leave, so our direct buyers have the flexibility to close on a date that works for your move to your new home. The direct buyers at Kitsap Home Pro are straightforward so that you can compare which method of home sales is best for your circumstances and will fully detail what you would earn on the deal through a traditional listing or by selling your property in Port Orchard to Kitsap Home Pro. Call Kitsap Home Pro at (360) 329-4331 or send us a message to learn more.