Who this guide is from: Mortgage Forfeiture is Roger Choate's local direct home-buying business serving Southern Indiana and the Louisville metro. Informational guides are general education; legal, tax, lending, and court decisions should be reviewed with the appropriate licensed professional.
An empty house in Indiana keeps costing you every month: the mortgage, insurance, taxes, utilities, upkeep, and the repairs that grow while nobody is watching. This worksheet helps you total your own numbers from the property's actual bills, so you can decide whether to keep, rent, list, or sell with real figures instead of a national average.
1. Confirm insurance coverage
Do not assume a standard homeowners policy covers the house the same way once it is vacant or unoccupied. Definitions, exclusions, notice duties, and permitted vacancy periods vary by policy and carrier. Call the insurer, describe the occupancy accurately, and get any coverage change or vacancy endorsement in writing.
2. Record taxes, assessments, and mortgage charges
Use the current county tax statement, mortgage statement, and association statement. Separate the recurring property tax and assessment amounts from delinquency penalties, escrow shortages, interest, and legal expenses. Indiana's Department of Local Government Finance explains the parts of a property-tax bill.
3. Keep the utilities the building needs
Water, electric, gas, heat, alarm, and internet needs depend on the property, the season, the insurer, and the maintenance plan. Shutting everything off can cause freeze, moisture, sump-pump, security, or inspection problems. Use the recent bills and ask qualified tradespeople what the building requires.
4. Add maintenance, security, and travel
Include mowing, snow or storm response, pest control, mail checks, lock changes, alarm monitoring, fuel, mileage, and the value of your time spent visiting. Use actual invoices or written quotes rather than an online range.
5. Inspect for damage that grows unnoticed
Leaks, failed HVAC, frozen plumbing, pests, vandalism, and moisture get worse between visits. An empty house may need more frequent checks than an occupied one. Follow the insurance policy and local rules, and use licensed contractors for unsafe electrical, gas, structural, mold, or roof conditions.
6. Check code and tax-sale notices
Unsafe-building enforcement and tax-sale deadlines depend on the facts and the official notice. Indiana's unsafe-building framework is in Indiana Code Chapter 36-7-9. Tax-sale redemption periods vary by sale type and statutory category, so do not assume every vacant property has the same deadline. Contact the county auditor or treasurer named in the notice and ask an Indiana attorney to review anything time-sensitive. If the house is in Clark County, see how the Clark County tax sale works.
Your vacant-property worksheet
- Mortgage payment and escrow: ______
- Insurance or vacancy endorsement: ______
- Property tax and assessments: ______
- Utilities and monitoring: ______
- Lawn, snow, pest, and routine maintenance: ______
- Travel or property-management expense: ______
- Total monthly holding cost: ______
Then list one-time work separately: cleanout, repairs, title or estate work, legal fees, code compliance, and sale preparation. Keep those out of the monthly number unless you state how you spread them.
Compare four paths using the same assumptions
- Keep: projected holding cost, repair plan, intended use, and available cash reserve.
- Rent: make-ready expense, landlord obligations, vacancy allowance, management, and realistic rent.
- List: preparation, expected marketing time, negotiated commission, concessions, inspection risk, and estimated settlement statement.
- Direct sale: written offer terms, title and payoff work, excluded items, closing conditions, and estimated settlement statement.
What this means if you need to sell
If the monthly total on your worksheet is the problem, a direct sale stops it without repairs or a listing. Roger looks at the empty house as it sits, reviews the ownership and title records, and gives you a written offer. Closing is through a title company on a date you choose, subject to title and payoff. There is no seller company fee or agent commission. Liens, taxes, mortgage payoff, prorations, estate costs, and title requirements still come out of the proceeds and show on the settlement statement, and no closing date is guaranteed before those are known.
See how Roger buys houses in Jeffersonville and Southern Indiana. If you live out of state, read selling an Indiana house from out of state. If the house came through an estate, see selling a house in probate in Indiana. To put all four paths side by side, use compare a direct sale with listing.
Frequently asked questions
Does homeowners insurance cover a vacant house?
Not automatically. Definitions, exclusions, notice duties, and permitted vacancy periods vary by policy and carrier. Call the insurer, describe the occupancy accurately, and get any coverage change or vacancy endorsement in writing.
How long can a house sit empty before insurance is affected?
It depends on the policy. Each policy sets its own definition of vacant or unoccupied and its own permitted period, so read yours and confirm with the carrier rather than relying on a general rule.
Can the city do anything about an empty house?
Yes, if it becomes unsafe. Indiana's unsafe-building framework is in Indiana Code Chapter 36-7-9, and enforcement depends on the facts and the official notice. Respond to any notice and ask an Indiana attorney to review a time-sensitive order.
What happens if the property taxes on a vacant house go unpaid?
The property can end up in the county tax sale. Redemption periods vary by sale type and statutory category, so contact the county auditor or treasurer named in the notice and get legal advice before a deadline passes.
Want a written offer to set beside your worksheet total? Call (502) 528-7273 or Get My Cash Offer.
Want to Compare a Direct Sale With Your Other Options?
Ask Roger to review the property and explain the written direct-sale option. Mortgage Forfeiture charges no company fee or agent commission; title, lien, tax, and payoff items still appear on the settlement statement.
Call (502) 528-7273 or Get My Cash Offer