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I have had properties empty for months at a time. In the UK you get (maybe used to get?) a tax discount for empty properties. There is an opportunity cost of

I have had properties empty for months at a time. In the UK you get (maybe used to get?) a tax discount for empty properties. There is an opportunity cost of course, but the actual money-out-of-bank costs were almost zero. What costs are you talking about?

aksss 3y ago
Utilities, risk of vandalism/squatters (where depending on your location can be a real pain to get rid of), tax, mortgage payments. There are very fringe scenarios where using a such a facility as equity on another loan depends upon maintaining a certain occupancy rate in the building. I can imagine all of the above causing stress depending on your income situation, expense obligations, indebtedness, and proximity to the building in question.
- WalterBright 3y ago
  Insurance problems, too. Insurers do not like to insure vacant homes.
WalterBright 3y ago
One not mentioned is the 6% commission you pay to the realtor. My neighbor did a lot of repairs and upgrades before putting the house up for scale. His family had already moved out. Months of delay and gawd knows how much money he poured into it to just get past the immediate "nope" from customers. There's the rent on "staging" furniture. In the US, I never heard of a break on the property tax for vacant properties. When I sold my previous house, I priced it to sell to minimize vacant time.
- mattlondon 3y ago
  In the UK there is no property value tax - you pay a local "council tax" per property that pays for things like rubbish collection and so on. You get a discount on that if your property is empty since you're not putting any strain on those services if no one lives there. Other costs are essentially zero. Insurance is like £0.50/day. Utilities similar amounts for standing charges and minimal usage since it is empty. You might cost the same as like a Starbucks coffee a day when everything is taken into consideration. If course if you have a mortgage, yes, there is a cost there. But that is not so much about the empty property itself and more about your debts.

aksss 3y ago

Utilities, risk of vandalism/squatters (where depending on your location can be a real pain to get rid of), tax, mortgage payments. There are very fringe scenarios where using a such a facility as equity on another loan depends upon maintaining a certain occupancy rate in the building. I can imagine all of the above causing stress depending on your income situation, expense obligations, indebtedness, and proximity to the building in question.

WalterBright 3y ago
Insurance problems, too. Insurers do not like to insure vacant homes.

WalterBright 3y ago

One not mentioned is the 6% commission you pay to the realtor. My neighbor did a lot of repairs and upgrades before putting the house up for scale. His family had already moved out. Months of delay and gawd knows how much money he poured into it to just get past the immediate "nope" from customers. There's the rent on "staging" furniture. In the US, I never heard of a break on the property tax for vacant properties. When I sold my previous house, I priced it to sell to minimize vacant time.

mattlondon 3y ago
In the UK there is no property value tax - you pay a local "council tax" per property that pays for things like rubbish collection and so on. You get a discount on that if your property is empty since you're not putting any strain on those services if no one lives there. Other costs are essentially zero. Insurance is like £0.50/day. Utilities similar amounts for standing charges and minimal usage since it is empty. You might cost the same as like a Starbucks coffee a day when everything is taken into consideration. If course if you have a mortgage, yes, there is a cost there. But that is not so much about the empty property itself and more about your debts.