Locally... it has been cold

Consider this a public service announcement.

It has been exceptionally cold so far this winter in the Kingman area. It has caused some problems for housing that you should be aware of. Many are experiencing broken water pipes throughout the area. Sometimes it's the landscaping sprinkler system, I've been told of a sprinkler system that popped that spouted water up onto a roof of a home that caused a large series of icicles formed at the roof's edge. Wish I had a photo of that.

I currently have a buyer client that is purchasing a vacant home in Kingman. Last month we offered a contract and it was accepted. We then had 20 days to do the inspections which we did (we asked for some repairs and the sellers agreed). Last week, before closing as the sellers were finishing replacing sliding glass doors, they found a the carpet in the hallway wet (and I mean wet).

What happened was the evaporative cooler water line in the attic burst causing a leak. Now the leak wasn't visible anywhere in the ceiling. I know because I looked for what had to be an hour in a small 1200 square foot home. Turns out the leak fed into the house within the walls in the hallway (according to the inspector that the buyer re-hired to assess the situation).

The shame of it is the sellers had the water shut off at the main while the home was being shown waiting for a contract. It was only when my buyer needed to do the inspection was the water main turned back on. It was also left on so that the dishwasher could be repaired. Then on one of the many particularly cold winter nights in the last couple of weeks the pipe to the cooler snapped in the attic and the water leaked into the home.

If you happen to be an owner of a vacant home during this colder winter, you may want to check on the water and any pipe system to make sure something like this does not happen to you.

My buyer still wishes to purchase the home, we are giving the seller the time to assess and disclose the extent of the damages and let us know what they are willing to do to correct whatever damage there may be.