Hi Eleanor,

There are so many bank owned properties in and around Conifer right now that "de-winterizing" a home has become almost the "norm" in order to get a home properly inspected.

When a bank takes ownership of a home they pay a plumber to come through the house and drain all of the water from the entire plumbing system including toilets and all incoming water. This is done by leaving all the faucets open, turning off the main water supply and letting all the water run through. Some service providers will go a step further and pressurize the plumbing to force any standing water from the pipes.

In some municipalities plumbers will add an anti-freeze solution to the system to further protect it-- however this is not the norm in Conifer.

As a side note: when you look at a few bank-owned homes you might notice a similar smell in all of them… That smell is caused by the p-traps in the waste lines allowing sewer gasses to come up the plumbing. Normally, when a home is occupied the p-traps are always filled with water and block any sewer gasses! (yuck)

The problem from a buyer stand point is that, in order to get an adequate inspection, the water must be turned back on, so the inspector can determine of there are any water leaks, and to be sure the dishwasher, water heater, humidifier, refrigerator’s ice-maker line, etc, all function correctly. Once the inspection is done the winterization process has to be performed again, and then dewinterized again shortly after closing… Of course the bank won’t pay for any of that!

The good news is that we’ve been helping families buy bank owned properties in Conifer and throughout the Denver metro area at such a discount from what they could have been bought for just a year or two ago—that the nominal +/-$300 total charge for dewinterizing and rewinterizing is almost negligible compared to the savings.

If you’re looking for an experienced Conifer-specific agent to help you please call or email me.

Bob Maiocco
Broker Associate
The Maiocco Team, Inc.
Keller Williams
(720)273-4262 direct
follow me on Twitter: BobTheBroker
blogging at: http://www.DenversRealEstateNews.com

Not to contradict, but rather to expand on the first response:

Antifreeze is not put in the water pipes - or at least I've never heard of that, and actually it would be quite expensive and difficult to do. The pipes are drained completely, and then a cup or two of antifreeze (typically the kind used in RVs since it's environmentally more friendly that the type we use in our cars) may be poured down each drain and in the toilets. The reason is that these are all designed to keep water in the traps, so it's not easy to completely drain them. The antifreeze makes sure they don't crack if a deep freeze happens. In addition the water heater will be probably be drained completely as well.

Hello Eleanor,

Do you live in Deerfield Beach? Are you planning on making a move to Colorado? I moved from Colorado to Florida and back to Colorado. On my street alone there's 3 families that moved from Colorado to Florida and back to Colorado again. I love living in Colorado but I also loved living in Florida a home in each state is my hope.

Here in Colorado, the banks have the homes, winterized. Most banks want the buyer to pay for the home to be de-winterized and re-winterized for Inspections and FHA or VA appraisals. So that you don't have to pay to have it done twice, our Team recommends that you have the Inspector do a pressure test during Inspection. If the home passes Inspection and you decide to move forward the Inspector comes back out on the day of the Appraisal and Inspects the house while the water is on. The Inspector that most of our Buyers use, does not charge to go back to the house the second time. You could have the Inspection and Appraisal done on the same day but if something comes up during Inspection that causes you not to move forward with the purchase then you've just wasted your money on the Appraisal.

We Sell a lot of bank owned properties. If you would like me to send you emails with homes that are currently available, let me know.

Thank you,

Sandy Kinslow
Coldwell Banker
The Kinslow Team

Hello Eleanor,

Alan is correct and additionally the remaining utilities may be shut down and even potentially disconnected as well. Banks are not interested in paying for utilities so the electric and gas meters may have been removed during shut down as well. If you are interested in purchasing a winterized home I would suggest that you make a list of utility service providers that service the area your interested in buying in. Call them and explain your looking to buy and ask what their procedures, costs and time frames are for temporary utility connections. Do this before you find and make an offer on the home. You can then plan for that in your offer contingencies and due diligence time frames.

When you are ready to make an offer on the home and bring an Inspector in you need to make sure the utilities are actually active before the Inspector arrives. If possible have the utilities on 24 hours ahead of the inspection. Even small water leaks may show by then and if it is a large one you may decide not to buy and save money by canceling the inspection. Additionally many Inspectors will charge you their full fee with or without utilities if they are not available when they arrive and/or return fees once the utilities are on.

As an Inspector we can perform a completely visual only inspection without utilities. If a significant issue exists and is visible, or clues to it are, then it can potentially be identified. However, without utilities there are so many issues that can be missed and cost large sums of money later to correct. It is, no doubt, better to have the utilities on.

Good luck!

Emmanuel J. Scanlan
PS Inspection & Property Services LLC http://www.psinspection.com
214-418-4366 (cell)
TREC License # 7593
International Code Council, Residential Combination Inspector #5247015-R5 (Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing and Building)
Certified Infrared Thermographer (ASNT-TC1A Standards)
Texas Residential Construction Commission, Third Party Warranty Inspector #1593
Texas Residential Construction Commission, Inspector, County Inspection Program
Texas Department Of Insurance, VIP Inspector # 08507061016
Hayman Residential Engineering Services, Field Technician
CMC Energy - Certified Energy Auditor

Knowledge is power, but sharing knowledge brings peace!!

When a bank forecloses they will typically winterize a property by draining all water from the pipes and put in antifreeze. In order to inspect a property properly it is wise to put water back in the pipes. Since it does cost to have a contractor do that banks will pass that charge on to buyers. They will want you to put water back in the pipes for inspections (and FHA appraisals) then drain it out again so they don't have to worry about pipes bursting. They want someone bonded typically in case of damage. You may be able to pressure test them to save some expense. Ask your agent. Hope that helps.
-Alan Strange
TheStrangeTeam.com