5 Ways To Know Your House is More Trouble Than It’s Worth

Are you truly happy with your house in Kansas City? While there are several upsides to homeownership, as with everything in life there is always a cost to benefits. Over time, circumstances can change meaning that what may have once made your dream home is an asset no longer serves you. We will explore these five ways to know your house in Kansas City is more trouble than it’s worth.

Taxes or Fees

Property taxes may rise dramatically, depending on market fluctuations and could outpace any increase in your income over the same time period. Another expense that may be unplanned is tax assessments or homeowners association (HOA) fees for special projects, which can be extremely expensive. If you find that it is costing you a lot of money just to own your property because of these fees or taxes, your house in Kansas City is likely more trouble financially than it is worth.

We worked with one seller many years ago that had inherited a home free and clear. They had no mortgage to worry about and they thought they were all set. They didn’t think about things like real estate taxes or homeowner association fees. And over a 4 year period they didn’t pay any of them. When they called us Jackson county was foreclosing on them for unpaid taxes and the sale was in about 2 weeks. At the same time, their homeowner association was also considering foreclosing for their fees as well. We were able to buy the property from this seller before either of these happened, paying off both the taxes and the HOA and at the same time giving the seller a fair amount of money in their pocket to move and to compensate them for their equity. We then rehabbed the house and sold it and it was a Win-Win for everyone – the seller, us, the county tax collector, the HOA, and the neighbors were quite happy as well.

Repairs

As homes age, the progression of repairs usually increases in both frequency and expense. Eventually, between the effects of time and wear and tear, major systems and appliances wear out. Depending on the age and condition of the major structural elements, you could be facing thousands in structural or foundation issues, or even plumbing or roofing repairs. At the same time, the decor of the home usually needs at minimum a touch-up, if not a complete updating. You may even need to consider major remodeling. If you are facing a lot of upgrades and repairs, your house in Kansas City is probably much more trouble than it’s worth.

Where we have stepped in most often is when the foundation has failed and needs extensive repairs that the homeowner can’t afford or when the furnace and air stop working or the roof is leaking a lot. Each of these items can cost between $5,000 and $10,000 to repair on their own. And the owner just does not have the money to make the repairs that need to be made to continue to live in the house. Quite often we find these issues with sellers that have owned their home for 30 years, raised their family, and are ready to downsize into a condo, or assisted living, or are moving in with family. Selling the home in need of repairs gets the burden of the old house off of them and allows them to move to the next chapter of their lives.

Maintenance

Maintaining a home can become extremely burdensome, especially if your circumstances change. While you may have had the time or the ability to handle all of the responsibilities of caring for your property when you purchased your home, it may have become impossible physically or financially.  Allowing routine maintenance to be delayed for prolonged periods can mean thousands of dollars in damage to your home, or worse. Should an issue such as an overgrown tree cause damage from falling limbs, you could be facing legal fees and penalties as well. Depending on the size of your property, hiring help could be quite costly as well, meaning your house in Kansas City is more trouble than it’s worth.

The home we currently live in had a lot of issues, but the 90-year-old owner and his 70-year-old son had struggled for many years to maintain the yard. At about 90 the owner moved to a nursing home and his son stopped by in his free time for four years to keep the yard up and at least the exterior of the home kept in decent repair. The bushes were taking over the yard and the giant Oak in the front was being choked out by English Ivy. I think the last straw, besides city codes breathing down their neck, was the bid of $5,000 to cut down this tree. Luckily we were able to kill the ivy and save the tree, and after extensive repairs and updates, move into the house.

Downsizing or Upsizing

If your home isn’t working for your current needs, your house in Kansas City is more trouble than it’s worth. As time passes and families grow, they often find the house that worked perfectly when it was purchased has become much too small. Later in life, as homeowners begin to focus on retirement years, they often prefer to live in and maintain much less home. In either event, when your home just doesn’t suit you, it’s time to move on.

Difficult to Rent

If you can afford to hold the property, turning it into an investment property as a rental, your home could become a dependable source of monthly income. Although at the time of this writing, the CDC and the Federal Government are of the opinion that if you have a renter who can’t pay you, you have to let them live there for free . . so you might not want to go the rental route. However, if your home is not in what is considered to be a good location in Kansas City, which would be desirable to tenants, it may be difficult if not impossible to find good tenants. Should you find yourself in this situation, your house in Kansas City is more trouble than it’s worth.

Would you like to avoid paying for these and other expensive costs homeowners face when their homes in Kansas City no longer suit their lifestyle? You can avoid these and many more unexpected costs by selling directly to kcmoHomeBuyer! Please fill out the form below to start the process. We can discuss your house and why you may want to sell.

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This was a great experience. Scott paid us our asking price, and we closed in less than 30 days. It doesn’t get better or easier than this!