Mar. 10, 2006: A vacant residential property requires attention, espcially in the Phoenix area
I will walk into a vacant house and immediately the odor hits my nose. Worse than cat urine in the carpet or cigarette smoke in the walls.
"That's just sewer gas," I'll say quickly, trying to take away the objection before it is raised. "This house is unoccupied, so the water in the J-pipes under the sinks has evaporated. All we have to do is run water in the sinks and the smell won't be able to get into the house."
All that is true, but there is more that I won't say if I don't have to: Those giant red cockroaches called sewer roaches can also invade a house through dried-out J-pipes. But if I don't see any sewer roaches, I don't want to talk about them.
This highlights just one of the special problems that go into selling your house when no one is living in it.
Another example: You must maintain all of the utilities.
The water must be on, and not just because of the J-pipes. People will use your bathrooms, and a toilet stores one or at most two flushes without replenishment.
The power must be on. Not only do buyers want to see that electrical fixtures and appliances work, we may be looking at the home after dark.
If the home is plumbed for natural gas, the gas must be on. This one will cause a problem during inspections, too, because, by contract, all major systems must be functional.
The house will need to be looked after, too. Someone, either you or your Realtor, should be in the house at least every few days - once a day is best - to look things over, run water in the sinks, etc. You'll need regular maintenance crews to stay on top of the lawn, the pool, etc.
Moreover, an unoccupied house is a target for thieves and vandals, so enlist one or more neighbors to keep an eye on things.
Frankly, I prefer working in vacant houses. But it takes an effort to make sure the home doesn't look neglected or abandoned.
Greg Swann is the designated broker for BloodhoundRealty.com, a full-service Metropolitan Phoenix real estate brokerage. This article originally appeared in the West Valley regional sections of the Arizona Republic.
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