Vacant house woes

[Guest]

Holly,
Wow, I can’t believe it’s gone on this long. It seems like it would have been better to take some rent even if it wouldn’t have paid the whole thing. At least, it would have been tax free income because you would not be making money but losing money on the rental deal…if I understand that the right way.

But hey, that aside… Have you considered renting it short term to corporations to use for temp housing when other people move into the area? If you had some money coming in on it, you also might have some money to make minor repairs.

Also, sometimes houses look better when they have furniture in them. Sometimes it just takes a little creativity to get by in this world. We’ve sold 3 houses and bought 4.

We did have to make double mortgage payments for 3 months this last time before the other house was sold. Each time we sold a house we put about 5,000 into new carpeting and new paint so that the house sold faster. We just had to include that into the sale and even though we pocketed some money at the time, with all the improvements we made over the years we lived there we did not have to worry about making any capital gains.

Suzi

Quote:

.
Original Message
.
From: nowurcooking75
To: Budget101_@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 12:40 PM
Subject: Budget101.com : Vacant house woes

My son and I reside in Ohio. I own a house (actually the mortgage
companies do) that currently has two up to date mortgages on it for
almost 10 years now. I’ve been trying to sell the house for almost a
year now and so far have had no luck.

I do have a realtor, done open
many open houses, and over 20 showings. I am working my butt off
trying to sell this house with my agent.

My insurer, State Farm, has decided to cancel my coverage due to the
home being vacant. I have to find coverage for the house before the
middle of September. I’m not sure what way to go.

I’m sure the lenders
will try to obtain coverage for my home at an expensive price. I’m
hoping to get it sold within the next year. I can’t refinance because
of my income I’ve been through 3 layoffs in 2 1/2 years with another
one possibly coming next month.

I have kept up to date on my bills in
spite of all of this. It’s eaten up all of my savings to do it.

To rent it out, I would have to get a pretty good rental rate just to
cover the two mortgages. The good news is I owe below market value.
I’ve lowered the asking price $7,000 since May but I still need to
make enough to cover the sales commission and other charges. Every
time I turn around the agent makes suggestions for more improvements
to help it sell which I don’t have the money or the time to do.

I have
contacted private investors and they said that they were looking for
smaller, closer to jobs, and more energy efficient houses. So no luck
there. I am really at the end of my rope.

Sometimes, I think maybe I
should go for “short sale” or consider foreclosure. This house is
costing me nearly 2 checks a month in payments and utilities since I’m
making less money at my job because of cutbacks.

Anybody else have any experiences with this? Insurance company
suggestions? Any advise would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Holly in OH

[Author]

Posts