I am pursuing a property that is in foreclosure and have all utility turned off.

Difficult to do inspection without water and electric.

There is no air conditioning (air handlers are removed) so in the middle of summer inspecting the attic of a south Florida residence with 100 degree outside and 100% humidity may be humanly impossible?

How are these issues typically addressed?

Thanks,

Every dwelling presents its own set of issues. I don't know about "how" you'd do it in Florida; but your question reminds me of a comical building inspection I had a few years ago. It was an Estate Sale, and the Attorney handling the Sale had been the Guardian for the Decedent for 15 years or so, and the Owner's residence had been vacant for several of those years, ever since he had been institutionalized. The Estate's coffers were just about drained, and the bulk of any proceeds were likely to go to Medicaid.

When we scheduled the Building Inspection, the Attorney/Executor had no problem turning the electricity on "at the Pole." It had a drilled well, with the pump positioned a few hundred feet below grade.

Problem was that the Circuit Breaker Box was just dripping wet with condensation coming up from the ground. Had the Electric Company known the condition inside, they probably would never have re-activated the power supply to the meter. We couldn't get the breakers to stay in the "ON" position.

You'd want to have rubber gloves and footwear on in order to hold those breakers in place for a few minutes until until they created enough heat to evaporate the moisture around them . . . . one circuit at a time.

About the time one circuit was warm enough to run and check out a few features, or maybe pump some water for a few plumbing tests, moisture from up above would drip down and pop a breaker that had been previously dried out.

So that Building Inspection took altogether too much time . . . . but it got done. These things cannot be rushed. That was back in the early days of electricity. No one got electrocuted; but I now recommend that kerosene heater be used to dry these places out for a few days BEFORE scheduling the Inspection . . . . it make would things go alot quicker.

I really hate those Marathon Building Inspections . . . . especially when there isn't enough light available to read a newspaper while watching to see if someone is going to go "poof".

A good Building Inspector may be able to recommend a "work around" to solve your building's specific hurdles. If it's off the grid, maybe using a separate portable generator would help. If it's on municipal water, then that presents other issues to isolate the system(s) and do pressure tests on the piping . . . . using air before allowing any water to enter the system. (I find that "air" doesn't make nearly the mess or do as much damage as "water" does.)

I'm not a Building Inspector . . . . I've just participated in several hundred. They can always find a way . . . . IF they want to.

It is the responsibiltiy of the seller to turn on the utilities. There are some rules like the gas company will not turn on the gas if you don't have water.

The agents should be driving this issue of getting the utilities turned on. The general concensus of home inspectors is they do not open closed water valves, light pilot lights, or turn on breakers. The liability is just too great. It is presumed that things were turned off for a reason. There are many stories of HI's turning on water in winterized homes and there being active leaks spewing water everywhere.

Purchased alot of foreclosures in my area both from ML and auctions, most had utilitys on at banks expense but a few didnt and those ALL stated so and also stated they would not be on so sale was AS IS CONDITION. Those I just always budget in worst case scenario in my highest offer.

The responsibility for the utilities isn't necessarily on the seller. While that may hold true in conventional sales, it often isn't the case with REOs. Often they're winterized and/or have some damage issues preventing the water, electric/etc from being safely turned on. In spite of the fact that I specifically mention that in MLS, I still get the question "how do you expect me to have a proper inspection". I really don't expect one to have a proper inspection, hence the MLS comments. The statement that the seller has to turn on utilities is totally out to lunch. The seller is under no legal obligation to even allow a home inspection, let alone prepare the property for an inspection. All this is as it pertains to REOs.

I have similar experience as Dave23. However, here in Minneapolis, MN, 95% of the bank-owned properties are sold "as-is", and it is a struggle to coordinate with some banks to get the utilities turned on. Most are okay with it if the buyers de-winterize and re-winterize at the buyers' expense.

I have used a handyman's generator before to power up the house, but typically I pre-warn the buyer there may not be any electric or water, and recommend they have a GC do inspection. After all if there's no HVAC, and no appliances, not too much left to inspect electrically.

[quote=REO Joe]I have used a handyman's generator before to power up the house, but typically I pre-warn the buyer there may not be any electric or water, and recommend they have a GC do inspection. After all if there's no HVAC, and no appliances, not too much left to inspect electrically. [/quote]

Just curious why you suggest a GC instead of a home inspector?

If the sellers won't turn on the utilities, do it yourself. Out here, the utility companies have a special "show and clean" program so agents can turn on utilities for a short time.

As for the heat in the attic, I would get some strong fans and at least circulate the air up there so the inspection could be done.

Since you are probably looking at a great deal on this property, you shouldn't have a problem with spending a little money to get the inspection done.

Nice tip with the utility companies and the "show and clean program," BK. I'd never heard of that before, but it may come in handy some day (assuming the utility companies offer a program similar to that around here). I'll be looking into this further.