Winterization/Pipe Burst/Home Inspection
Hi, all, the question may have been discussed before, well.
The house is winterized in fall. When I first visit the house, the shut off valve was not shut off completely somehow. The listing agent was notified and it has been shut off completely since then.
It is very cold here in Pittsburgh PA this winter. And I am concerned about the possibilities of pipe burst in the house.
In the contract I would like to put contingency upon home inspection. But in order to do home inspection, I need the utilities up. I know the electric is still on. Does bank normally grant buyer to have water/gas on prior to home inspection? If they do grant me, how do I do that? Do I call Water Company to have it on such such day? Do I need plumber over too? I noticed some pipes are disconnected.
I assume that house is winterized and should not have pipe burst problem but I have a fear that people don’t do a good job and after a long cold winter, it just might happen?
Any input?
Thank you
Banks have different policies regarding utility turn on and home inspections; some allow them, some do not.
You should expect the house to need plumbing work whether it was winterized properly or not. If the house is relatively new with copper pipes and hot air or electric heat, even if it has broken pipes, this is not as expensive of a fix as you might think. Turning on the water and hearing a flood panics many a buyer new to foreclosures; but in a lot of cases the plumbing can be fixed by a plumber in a few hours for a few hundred dollars. If you have a house with a hot water heating system especially an old cast iron system, freeze damage can be expensive. Look at the age of the systems; a good visual inspection with things off can tell you a lot. If it looks old and bad it most likely is. Expect repairs with a foreclosure.
thank you for the reply. The house is about 35 years old and not sure what kind of piping it has, but is forced air heat