What to look For If Buying A Vacant Charlotte, NC. Home

As we move into 2012 I started thinking of the cold weather. In fact, this morning they were talking about freezing temperatures as I was driving the kids to school. it made me think of vacant homes I have been looking at with clients. Everyone knows that the bank owned homes are vacant...They have been probably even before the bank got them (not always). The bank goes into these homes and secures them and winterizes them. This is to protect their investment in the home. When you view a bank owned home you will see orange stickers on the faucets and the various tubs and showers telling you not to turn the water on the house has been winterized. It gives a little peace of mind knowing the bank has sent a professional company in to secure and properly winterize a home. But, what if the vacant house that you are looking at is not a bank owned one? Is the water and power still on? Or if they have been turned off, were the lines properly drained and the house properly winterized? These things can make a difference in whether that house is going to cost you an additional sum of unexpected money. Pipes freeze all the time in the winter time when there is no heat on....But not all pipes freezing break and when they do break the expense can be minimal or expensive depending on where the pipe is located. When I visit a vacant home (that is not bank owned) I turn the first faucet I see on to see if there is water running or not. Chances are if the water is on the heat is on and the house will not suffer any damage from pipes freezing. But what if the water is off? If my clients have an interest in the home I check with the listing agent to see if they know how long the water has been off and whether the house has been winterized or not. If not I caution my buyers to the potential of broken pipes and make sure that if they pursue this house that they have an inspection to check the pipes.... Even if the house has been winterized...on the orange stickers they put the date they did it. You want to make sure it was done before the cold weather came in. Because if it was not they may have a broken pipe and are preventing further unknown damage to the pipes. I ran into this experience recently where a home had been vacant for over a year and the homeowner did not winterize the house but the bank did when it got it...however; in the intern the pipes froze and a pipe under the slab of the house cracked....The problem was you would never know until you ran the water for a few days and saw the ground get wet when there was no rain. So, looking at vacant homes check dates on orange stickers for when they did winterize the house and have your Realtor check with the listing agent on ones that you are unsure about....it could save you thousands of dollars..... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker www.davedicecco.com