6 Hidden Expenses of Owning Vacant Land In San Antonio

Vacant land can be a truly rewarding investment. Vacant land can also have hidden expenses; they might show up right away, maybe in the long run. There are annual taxes and potentially property owner’s association fees to consider, not as many tax benefits, cash flow and property maintenance issues, and market conditions to consider. Call We Buy ALL Houses San Antonio at (210) 300-3307 to discuss the hidden expenses of owning vacant land in San Antonio.

Annual Cost

Purchasing vacant land might not be as expensive as buying a house, but don’t forget about the annual taxes! Depending on the location and zoning of your land, the taxes might be a few hundred dollars or a few thousand dollars. If you hold onto your vacant land and don’t do anything with it, you might end up paying double or triple what you did for the land in annual taxes and have nothing to show for it but the same piece of vacant land. 

Owner’s Association Fees

Another potential expense is the property owner’s association fees. If you purchased land in a community with an association, these fees might also be a few hundred or a few thousand dollars a year, depending on the type of community, the services they provide and what amenities are available. Also, keep in mind that there might be public utility expansion or other special municipal projects that could be added to your annual tax bill that may or may not improve your land directly.

Tax Benefits

Owning vacant land in San Antonio is a nice investment asset, but it has fewer tax benefits than owning a single-family home or a commercial property. There is no depreciation to claim on your taxes, and vacant land does not usually qualify for any type of homestead exemption on your tax assessment.

Cash Flow

Another hidden cost of owning vacant land is a negative cash flow. You do not have a structure to rent out and collect monthly payments. Depending on the zoning of your vacant land, you might be able to recoup some of those annual tax fees by using your vacant lot as an extra rental space. You might want to consider purchasing property owners insurance if you do anything like this. If something happens to someone on your property while moving or occupying your vacant land, they might file a lawsuit against you. That would be a huge cost for you.

Property Maintenance

Owning vacant land can also become costly to maintain. If your property is in a municipality with code ordinances, they may require you to keep your property mowed. If you have a lot of trees, they may require you to clean up the underbrush to guard against fires. If your vacant land isn’t in the best of areas, some dumping might occur on the property that would turn it into a miniature landfill! This dumping ground might cause you to have code violations and can be costly to have it removed. There may also be unknown contaminants or toxic issues on this land that you are unaware of, but once discovered, this might also be costly to clean up.

Market Conditions

Owning vacant land for too long is a big mistake. If you buy your property while the market value is high and hold onto it for a long time, the value might decrease more than you expect. Depending on your purchase price, it might cost even more than your annual taxes to hold onto it year after year. You could be losing hundreds of dollars of market value. 

No matter what your situation, if you own land in San Antonio, Texas, call We Buy ALL Houses San Antonio at (210) 300-3307 or send us a message to discuss the hidden expenses of owning vacant land and what you can do about it. 

lizperez

My name is Elizabeth Perez. The business owner of We Buy ALL Houses San Antonio. I am a cash home buyer in San Antonio, TX. We buy houses, lots, land, vacant land, duplexes, triplexes, apartment buildings, commercial property, and can show you how to stop foreclosure in San Antonio and much, much more. I am happily married and a mother of four and enjoy working for myself and having time for my family. A couple of things I love and enjoy doing are going to the beach, fishing, camping, and good old barbecuing. I enjoy learning and teaching myself new financial opportunities online and am the creator of my own wealth. Having faith and thinking positively has taken me further than I ever imagined. I am the author of my own destiny.

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