There’s no doubt about it – real estate, and especially land, is a great investment. There is huge money-making potential when you own real estate. But how do you know if you’ve held land too long?
Reason 1. They are waiting for peak market to come back.
One of the reasons why people hold onto land too long in Tennessee is they are waiting for the prices of the real estate market to double, or triple! The real estate bubble of 2004-2005 is not bound to happen again any time soon, although with the COVID virus, who knows. Some real estate owners are watching the market regularly and aren’t seeing the huge price increase they were hoping for. They watch it increase for a few years, then it corrects itself and goes back to where they bought it. They have a plan to make a certain profit on their investment, but taking into account the annual taxes and the original investment, it is starting to become more money invested than they will ever see come back through a sale without a land peak market.
Reason 2. They inherited it from family
Another reason why people hold onto land too long is that they inherited it from a really close family member, possibly even their parents or grandparents. They want to hold onto that property forever to keep a piece of them in their lives, even though they never plan to do anything with the piece of vacant land. It might even be in another state! The annual taxes or homeowner’s association fees might even be a little too expensive for their budget, but they don’t care. They want to hold onto the land as long as possible.
Reason 3. They plan to build
A more practical reason why people hold onto land too long is that they plan to build on it, potentially even their dream home. Maybe they’ve done a ton of research on the area and it’s a perfect spot for them and their family, but they don’t have the money to build. Or maybe they can’t decide on the perfect floor plan for their dream home. They hang on to the dream of building, but never actually build. They do, however, pay taxes and maybe even homeowner’s association fees, but they hold on to the land with hopes that one day they will save enough and actually build their house.
Reason 4. They want too much money
A very common reason why people hold onto land too long in Tennessee is very simple: they just want too much money. They have an unrealistic idea of what their land is worth, and are not interested in selling for less than their ideal number. The sellers that have their land listed way over market value probably actually don’t want to sell and will be insulted at anything less than their unrealistic price tag.
Reason 5. They have fond memories
Another reason why people hold onto land too long is that they might have really fond memories. Emotions are hard to deny. Maybe its where their family used to camp. Maybe they have great memories of the first deer they ever bagged. Maybe it’s where they got engaged. Maybe it was their kids favorite fishing spot. These are all extremely strong emotions to override and they are understandable reasons why people hold onto land too long in Tennessee.