HUD - plumbing system questions

[Jessica Hood]

Hello friends,

You are all always so helpful so I thought I would ask...

My husband and I are buying our first home. It's a HUD foreclosure that is vacant. Their property condition report says the plumbing system will not hold air, but they do not provide any further information about it.

I have to know how much money to work into our 203k loan for all the repairs so I am having someone come out to try to figure out this plumbing issue.

The home is winterized with antifreeze. The gas/heat will not be turned on until the 29th. The plumber wants to come out tomorrow the 27th and turn on the water long enough to check it out.

I am not sure what to think about that because won't we have to re-winterize the plumbing?

I also heard that sometimes even though the HUD property management says the plumbing system will not hold air, there may not be a real problem.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Any advice or suggestions as to how to handle this situation?

We have checked the whole house and cannot see any visible signs of leaks or broken/loose pipes.

Thanks!

[Jon Holdman]

Around here its common for you to be charged a "dewinterization fee" to get the water on. Typically $200-300. They will come, get the water on, let you do your inspections, then rewinterize the property. If you don't pay the fee, and there's a problem later, you could end up being liable for any damage.

A warning about HUDs, at least from my experience. If you bid on the property and win, your earnest money is gone. Once you've won the bid, you can choose to walk away, but you will not get your earnest money back. So, do you inspections before bidding.

I've seen some great deals on HUDs. As an owner occupant, you have first shot, and a better chance of getting it than an investor.