TOOLS / HOLDING COSTS
Holding cost per month
What every extra month of a project actually costs you.
Uses real Gregg County tax rates by school district, and does not apply the homestead exemption to inventory.
The property
Money and upkeep
Vacant or builders risk policies cost more than a normal homeowners policy.
Costs you every month
$1,920
About $63 a day. Over 5 months that is $9,598.
Per month
Property taxesCombined rate 1.996131 per $100, no homestead exemption$250
Loan interest$1,100
Insurance$200
Utilities$220
Lawn, security, misc$150
Total per month$1,920
No homestead exemption is applied here, and that is correct. The $140,000 exemption is for an owner-occupied primary residence. A property held as inventory does not get it, so your tax bill is meaningfully higher than whatever the last owner was paying. Using their number is one of the most common ways a holding estimate comes in low.
A month of delay on this project costs $1,920. That is the number to hold in your head when a subcontractor wants an extra two weeks, or when you are deciding whether to accept an offer that is $3,839 under asking.
Source: Gregg County Tax Office, 2025 adopted rates · effective 2025
Most people building a flip budget put a number on repairs and forget this one entirely.
This is a planning estimate, not an offer, an appraisal, a quote, or a commitment. Everything runs in your browser: no figure you type here is sent anywhere or stored.