Don’t Let Winterizing a House Get You Down

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If you live in a colder climate, its time if you have not done so already to remind your sellers with vacant houses that they will need to winterize the property in order to avoid any damage such as cracked water pipes and other problems. Some insurance companies will not cover a claim if the home was vacant and not properly winterized – so you can never be too careful!

There is always someone who will get outraged by the need to winterize their property. If your broker mails letters asking sellers to sign a release that states they are responsible for winterizing the home it may suddenly becomes a huge ordeal when it shouldn’t be, since people usually panic when asked to sign a release. Or in other cases they will fail to winterize the home and naturally think its the agent’s fault for not telling them to do so or to not do it for them!

Occasionally you will get the seller who does not believe they really need to winterize the home – and will argue it and refuse to do it! Whatever your seller’s response may be, make sure you cover yourself – discuss winterizing the home and the discussion is well documented with dates and all communication.

Winterizing a home is relatively easy – there’s a very basic DIY explanation here or your sellers can hire a professional to do it rather inexpensively if they are out of the area. Be sure your sellers also take into consideration things such as swimming pools, hot tubs, and items inside and outside of the house that can be affected by cold weather and/or snow and ice, such as loose gutters, salting paths & snow shoveling, etc.

Have you ever had problems with sellers who refused to have their home winterized? Share it in the comments below!