Thinking about selling your house? Everyone wants to get top dollars when selling their house. It’s easy to understand the excitement of making a big profit on the sale of your home, but usuually it takes money to make money. Unfortunately, when calculating your actual profit on the deal, some sellers forget to consider how expensive it is to list a home for sale on the McAllen market. While the term holding cost is familiar to those in the real estate industry, homeowners who are ready to sell may not have considered the realities of this aspect of the listing process and how important it is.
In addition to the costs to get ready, making any repairs, and marketing along with commissions if you hire a real estate agent, holding costs are unavoidable when selling the house traditionally. And if forced by circumstances to relocate before your house gets sold, your holding costs are doubled.
It makes no difference if you list with an agent or sell your house independently; you’re responsible financially for the expenses of holding the property until it gets sold. While some of these expenses are obvious, it can be eye-opening to see them listed out on paper and realize how quickly they add up. If you have a house in the market, and your potential buyers don’t get the credit or back off after weeks of negotiations and inspections… you have to start the process all over and meanwhile you have to keep paying the bills. You must therefore understand how to accurately calculate the holding costs for your home in McAllen.
Mortgage
The holding costs of listing include the mortgage payment, the largest of your expenses, and the most significant as time passes. It can be challenging to determine how many months of fees you’ll carry for the property once you’ve decided to sell. However, you can take a few clues from the MLS or speak to McAllen real estate agents to learn the average number of days on the market (DOM). Although pricing your home at the right price point from the start is one of the best ways to ensure a quick sale, taking all of the steps necessary to present the home in its best light through your marketing efforts can lower the DOM number even further.
Utility Bills
While it is tempting to turn off the utilities to save on your holding costs, if you have moved out before the sale, you should consider leaving everything in place for the convenience it will offer you or your real estate agent during showings. Can you imagine not be able to show the house when it gets dark or without AC during our Texas Summers? With the utilities on, issues with a primary home system, such as electrical will be brought to light. Because of disclosure laws, it is in your best interest to detect problems before the sale rather than become a discovery after the fact and a bone of legal contention.
And don’t forget to disconnect the utilities on the closing day so the new homeowners start paying the bills.
Taxes and Insurance
While not always at the forefront of your mind when considering the holding costs involved with the sale of your house in McAllen, property taxes and insurance, like the mortgage, will be a given when you own property. You’re responsible for the insurance on the home until it is no longer in your name, as well as the property taxes until the closing date. In addition, you’ll be responsible for any repairs if any damage occurs until the closing date and your insurance does not cover the incident during the listing period.
Maintenance and Repairs
While you may not necessarily consider repairs as holding costs associated with your house in McAllen, sometimes unexpected things happen. These unexpected expenses can add to the listing process and financial urgency to your need to sell. You’ll also need to ensure that the home’s exterior retains the curbside appeal from the first day it is listed until sold. You’ll also need to make sure the interior remains show-ready at all times. Finally, if you’ve had to relocate, you may have the added expense of hiring the work out or traveling from home to home and caring for both.
HOA
Don’t overlook the Homeowners association fees when considering the expenses of listing and holding costs of a property while on the market. These fees are much like property taxes in that you are responsible for them until the home is no longer in your name. In addition, depending upon your agreement, there may also be transfer fees due upon the sale of the property.
Dolfin RGV can save you time and money! Because Dolfin RGV pays cash, closing comes in a matter of days, so you don’t have to worry about having enough funds for the holding costs and start making other plans for your future. A direct sale to Dolfin RGV means you don’t need to make repairs or spend your money on marketing. The fair offer you receive is the amount of cash you’ll have in hand; no hidden fees or commissions will come off the top at closing. Ready to learn more? Contact Dolfin RGV at (956) 904 5234 today!