Winterized, what do I need turned on for inspection?

Question

So I got a house under contract, it's a reo and is currently winterized.  The electric is on for sure, but the bathroom has the tape over the toilet and the usual "don't turn on" signs....

I have 10 days for my inspection, what do i need turned on before I schedule the inspection?

THANKS BP!!!

Kenneth LaVoie · Answer

This might be a bit lazy, but the ONE foreclosure I bought, I simply factored in replacing the heating system. Also, my furance man gives me a very good price for leak fixing. He had to do 57 leak repairs in the fc and it cost less than $400 (3 walls and one floor opened to boot) 2 unit, low income area, total ARC $30,000 including spray foamed basement, new pensotti direct vent boiler, paint, carpet and linoleum every room, etc. etc.) I mention this because it was a low enough price that having no leaks and a good boiler would've simply been a "bonus."

Kyle Thacker · Answer

I recently purchased an REO that was winterized.  I found that most of the plumbing under the house was busted so they came off the price and I re-plumbed the entire underside of the house.

Once you get the water turned on it will be "unwinterized"  If the electric is already on I would check the hot water heater if it has been on without water in it the elements are going to be burnt out.

Steve Babiak · Answer

You might call that "lazy" - I call that prudent and passing the risk back to the seller.

Rick Barker · Answer

Agreed Mitch.  It depends a lot on the age of the house your looking at, type of drains pipes that are used, and their accessibility (in a slab vs. a crawl space).  Once I acquired the house I was speaking of I had to clean out the traps in every plumbing fixture to get them to drain.  A low cost solution compared to bad supply lines.

Kyle Thacker · Answer

So true, most of the properties I have bought that were "winterized" had leaks.  Just make sure you are getting a quality inspection and you will be fine.

Rob Gillespie · Answer

Have a plumber pressure test the lines with air. If there is a leak, which there probably is, you don't want to fire up the water and create a mess. believe it or not, the preservation companies don't do a through job sometimes.

Mitch Kronowit · Answer

There is another discussion going on about this very subject, i.e., pressure testing and winterization.

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/67/topics/61451-inspection-report-said-plumbing-system-would-not-hold-4-psi-

The BIG problem I see with pressure testing ONLY is it doesn't reveal whether or not your pipes will drain.

Rick Barker · Answer

I had a plumber perform a pressure test on the plumbing of a REO I purchased in December that was winterized.  The plumber hooks up a compressor to the plumbing line and fills it with air.  Once it is filled you wait to see if the pressure holds.  If it holds no leaks.

Mark Updegraff · Answer

If you're spending good money on an inspection, I hope it is a good one!  Go with the inspector and learn.  If winterization was done properly you should just need to turn the water on and bleed the air.  Check for leaks after the air is out.

Cheers, mark

Mitch Kronowit · Answer

We had to go through this recently, IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA!!!!

Yep, the noids back east in the "home" office required ALL of their REO's winterized, even if they are on Oahu!

Basically, the listing agent, with authorization from the asset manager, got a contractor out to the property to de-winterize the house for our inspection, then re-winterized it after we were done. Talk about $$$ down the drain (no, we didn't pay for the process).

Winterized, what do I need turned on for inspection?

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