The Real Cost of a Vacant House in Minnesota

Do you know what that empty house is really costing you?

People are often surprised when they add it all up. Maybe it's a house you inherited, a rental that's sitting between tenants, or your old place that you moved out of before it sold. Either way, a vacant house is a financial burden without much upside. And here in Minnesota, it comes with a few extra risks.

The dangers of a vacant house

Water damage (and Minnesota winters)

Water damage is one of the most common problems with a vacant house. A broken pipe can run for days or weeks before anybody notices, and by then the floors, walls and ceilings below can be ruined. Sometimes people only find out when the water bill shows up!

In Minnesota, the big one is frozen pipes. If the furnace quits in January and nobody's there to notice, it doesn't take long. A few tips if your house is going to sit empty through the winter:

• Keep the heat on. Most people say around 55 degrees at a minimum.
• Have someone check on the house regularly, especially after a cold snap.
• If it's going to be empty a long time, think about having it winterized (water shut off and the lines drained).

Insurance problems

This is the one nobody tells you about. Most homeowners insurance policies have rules about how long a house can be unoccupied, usually 30 or 60 days. After that, coverage can be cut way back or voided. That means if something happens, you might not be covered at all.

You can get a vacant home policy, but they usually cost a lot more than regular insurance, often with higher deductibles and a requirement that someone inspects the house regularly.

Break-ins, theft and vandalism

Empty houses are an easy target. Break-ins, squatters, broken windows... A common target is copper and the AC unit. Somebody will wreck a several-thousand-dollar AC unit to get a few dollars' worth of copper.

Fire

Thousands of fires happen in vacant buildings every year across the country. With nobody there, a small problem can turn into a big one before anyone notices.

The holding costs add up fast

Even if nothing goes wrong, an empty house costs you money every single month. Here's a few of the costs you'll keep paying until the house is out of your name:

• Utilities. You need to keep the heat and the lights on. A couple hundred dollars a month turns into thousands over the course of a year.
• Property taxes. Your tax bill doesn't care that nobody lives there.
• Insurance. Especially if you need a vacant home policy.
• Lawn care and snow removal. Somebody has to mow in the summer and shovel in the winter. Minneapolis and St. Paul both expect sidewalks to be cleared pretty quickly after it snows, and if you don't do it, the city can do it and send you the bill.
• The mortgage. If there still is one, those payments keep coming.
• HOA fees, if it's in an association.
• Surprise repairs. There's nothing more frustrating than having to put money into a house you don't even want.
• Your time. Driving over to check on it, dealing with contractors, keeping an eye on the mail.

Vacant building rules in Minneapolis and St. Paul

Both Minneapolis and St. Paul have vacant building programs. If a house ends up on the city's list (for example, if it has been condemned or boarded up, or has been sitting empty with code problems), there are registration requirements and yearly fees that can run into the thousands of dollars, plus inspections and repair orders before anyone can live there again. Once a house gets into that program, it gets a lot harder and more expensive to deal with.

What can you do with a vacant house?

Leaving the house empty is far from your best option. You really have two choices: rent it out, or sell it.

Renting can bring in income, but the house usually needs to be cleaned up and repaired first, and you'll be dealing with tenants, repairs and maybe a property manager.

Selling gets you out from under all of these costs. If you list it with an agent, you'll still be paying to hold it while it's on the market. Vacant houses can also sit longer, since they don't show as well as a lived-in home.

Selling your vacant house to Trademark Properties

We buy vacant houses all over the Twin Cities. We'll buy the house as-is, even if it needs a lot of work. There are no commissions and we pay the closing costs. And you pick the closing date, so the holding costs can stop sooner rather than later.

If you're out of state, that's ok too. A lot of the process can be handled without you having to come back to town.

Let us help you end your holding costs once and for all! Give us a call at Call us or fill out the form and we'll be in touch within 24 hours.