Cache Valley is an awesome place to live. It is beautiful and the weather is really nice during our month of spring, summer, and our one month of fall. However, our winters aren’t exactly the most enjoyable, unless you’ve recently moved from Nunavut. With cold comes potential danger to homes, especially if they are vacant.
A few years ago I showed a vacant house in Providence; it was really cold, and we could actually see our breath inside the house. As we walked into the bathroom, we realized that the water in the toilet was FROZEN! I called the listing agent, and notified them that their listing had a frozen toilet. I’m not sure if the heat was supposed to be on in the house, or if the place was improperly winterized or what went wrong. Because the toilet was frozen, I’m sure the pipes were as well. When water in pipes freeze they expand, and usually break. I am uncertain of what damage was actually done, but am sure glad I didn’t have to deal with it.
Winterization for Vacant Homes
If you own a house that is vacant you want to make sure that the utilities are still on, or that the house is properly and professionally winterized.
To help create a more inviting atmosphere for potential buyers, I recommend keeping your utilities on. A potential buyer wants to have that “warm feeling” about a home. It’s really hard to feel warm, when your teeth are chattering. In addition, if a potential buyer likes your house enough to make an offer on it, they will want to complete home inspections where they will need the water, gas, and electricity to be on so they can make sure the house works properly. You don’t have to have your heater on at comfortable temperatures, but you do need to make sure it is warm enough to prevent pipes from freezing.
If you want your house to sell during the winter you absolutely must keep the electricity on. Think about it, when our potential buyers going to look at homes? Usually after work, during the evenings. What time does it get dark during the winter months…..? It’s really hard to sufficiently look at homes for sale with a flashlight.
via Winter is Approaching: Be Prepared, Winterize It « Logan Real Estate Blog.
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