How Do I Take Care of an Empty House I Am Selling This Winter in Western New York?

By Merritt Kreutzer, REALTOR® | WNY Metro Roberts Realty

How do you take care of an empty house you are selling this winter in Western New York? As a Western New York real estate agent, I would start with three jobs: protect the house from the cold, keep it ready to show on short notice, and keep everything working that a buyer's inspector and appraiser will need to see.

An empty house in winter is more common than people expect. You may have bought your next home first and already moved. You may be spending the winter somewhere warmer. You may be taking care of a parent's house, or a new job may have taken you out of state before the sale. In each case, the house still has to get through cold snaps, snowstorms and showings with nobody living in it.

None of this is complicated. It does need one person in charge, a schedule, and a few decisions made before the first hard freeze instead of after it.

Why is an empty house harder to manage in winter? Because small problems can grow for days before anyone walks in.

When you live in a house, you hear the furnace come on. You notice a cold room, a drip under the sink, or the drift building against the back door. When the house is empty, a furnace that quits on a cold night or a slow leak in the basement can go unnoticed until the next showing or the next check.

Weather here also changes quickly and unevenly. Lake effect snow can bury one town while the next one over gets a dusting. If you are living somewhere else, you may not know what the driveway looks like until a buyer's agent tells you.

And buyers are still coming. Every showing, inspection and appraisal needs a house that is reachable from the street, lit, warm enough to walk through, and working the way a buyer expects a home to work.

Should you keep the heat on or winterize the house? For a house that is actively for sale, I usually recommend keeping it heated with the utilities on, unless a plumber who has seen the house advises something different.

Winterizing usually means shutting off the water and draining the plumbing so nothing is left in the pipes to freeze. That can make sense for a house that will sit for months with no plan to sell. For a house on the market, it creates a scheduling problem. A buyer's inspector will want to run the water, check the drains, and see the water heater and heating system working. If the plumbing has been drained, it has to be put back into service before the inspection, and that is a job for a plumber, booked ahead of time.

If you keep the heat on, keep it steady. Turning the thermostat way down to save on the bill is a real risk in a cold snap, especially where pipes run along outside walls or through a basement, crawl space or unheated garage. Ask your plumber or heating contractor what setting makes sense for your house, and leave it alone on the coldest nights.

A few more steps help:

• Have the furnace or boiler serviced before winter if it has not been looked at recently.
• Open the cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls so warmer air reaches the pipes.
• Disconnect garden hoses and shut off the outdoor faucets for the season.
• Ask your plumber whether to shut off the main water valve between visits. In some homes, especially those heated by a boiler, that choice affects the heating system, so get advice for your house rather than guessing.
• Consider a thermostat or sensor that alerts your phone if the temperature drops or water is detected. It does not replace a visit, but it can shorten the time between a problem and a phone call.

Who should check on the house? Pick one person and give them a schedule. A house that someone will look at eventually is a house nobody looks at.

That person might be a family member who lives nearby, a neighbor you trust, or someone you pay to do it. How often depends on the house, the weather and what your insurance company expects, which is the next question. After a storm or a deep cold night, an extra visit is worth the drive.

A short checklist keeps each visit useful:

• Is the house warm, and is the furnace running?
• Is there water on the floor, under the sinks, near the water heater or in the basement?
• Are there new stains on ceilings or walls?
• Are the driveway, walk and steps clear, and is ice building at the doors?
• Are the doors and windows locked?
• Has mail, a package or a flyer piled up at the door?
• Are the lockbox and the lights on timers still working?

Ask for a text with a photo after each visit. It takes a minute, and it gives you a record of when the house was last checked and what it looked like.

While the house is listed, agents and buyers are walking through it regularly. If a showing agent tells me something looks wrong, I let you know right away. That is not a substitute for scheduled checks, but it does put more eyes on the house.

What does your insurance company need to know? That nobody is living in the house, and when that started. Call before you move out, or as soon as you can if you already have.

Many homeowners policies limit coverage once a home has been empty for a certain length of time. That time limit, and what the policy expects from you in the meantime, varies by insurer and by policy. Do not assume your coverage carries on unchanged.

Questions worth asking:

• Does my policy still cover the house now that nobody lives there, and for how long?
• Does it require the heat to stay on, or the house to be checked on a certain schedule?
• Is a vacancy endorsement or a separate policy available, and what would it cost?
• Does anything change once the house is listed and buyers are touring it?

Ask for the answers in writing. If the house belonged to a parent who has passed away, there are estate questions on top of these, and my article on selling an inherited house in Western New York walks through that side.

How do you keep showings working when nobody lives there? Plan for the buyer's whole walk from the car to the back of the basement, because nobody will be there to fix anything before they arrive.

Snow and ice. Make sure your snow removal covers the driveway, the walk, the steps and the door buyers will use, and not only after the big storms. A plowed driveway with an unshoveled walk still leaves a buyer stepping through snow to the door. Salt the steps. If your town has rules about clearing sidewalks, follow them.

Light. In December it can be dark before the end of the workday. Put lamps and a few interior lights on timers so the house is not dark when a buyer pulls in. An empty, dark house feels colder and smaller than it is.

Comfort. Keep the house warm enough that a buyer is comfortable taking off their gloves and looking around. A buyer who is cold leaves sooner.

Presentation. Empty rooms can be hard to read, and they show every scuff. You and I can decide whether a few pieces of furniture or simple staging would help a buyer understand the space, or whether clean, bright and empty is enough for this house. Leave a mat and a spot for boots by the door so buyers are not tracking snow through every room.

Access. Showing instructions, the lockbox, alarm codes if there are any, and the person to call if something goes wrong all need to be settled before the first showing, not worked out by text while a buyer waits in the driveway.

What will the inspector and appraiser need? Working utilities and a clear path to everything they have to look at.

That means water, electricity and heat on, and gas if the house has it. It also means nothing blocking the electrical panel, the furnace, the water heater, the attic access or the basement. In an empty house that part is usually easy. The harder part is outside.

Snow can cover the roof, the walkways, the grading around the foundation and the condition of the driveway. An inspector will usually note what could not be seen. A buyer may ask questions about those areas, so it helps to have recent records ready: when the roof was replaced, when the furnace was serviced, and any work done on the outside of the house.

Keep the routine going until closing, not until an offer is accepted. Before closing, the buyer usually walks through the house again to confirm it is in the condition they expect. A frozen pipe the week before closing is still your problem. Western New York closings run through attorneys on both sides, and my article on how closing works in Western New York explains what happens between the accepted offer and the day the house changes hands.

What does it cost to hold an empty house? Add up the monthly carrying costs before you set the price and the timing, because they keep arriving whether or not anyone lives there.

The list usually includes the mortgage if there is one, property taxes, insurance (which may cost more once the house is empty), heat, electricity, snow removal and whoever is checking on the house. If you have already bought your next home, those costs sit on top of your new payment.

That number belongs in the pricing conversation. A price that takes longer to find a buyer has a cost of its own, and you should see that cost next to the price decision instead of discovering it in February. It also belongs in the timing conversation. Some people decide to list now, some decide to keep the house in good shape and list in spring, and both can be reasonable once the monthly cost is on paper. My article on moving this winter or waiting until spring covers that choice.

If you are still deciding whether to buy before your current home sells, the cost of an empty house is part of that decision too. My article on bridge loans, contingencies and rent-backs covers the options for moving without the dates lining up perfectly.

What do people assume that causes trouble? A few things come up again and again.

That turning the heat down saves money. It saves a little on the bill and risks a lot more if a pipe freezes.

That the plow contract covers everything. Some cover only the driveway. Buyers walk on the walk and the steps, so ask what yours includes.

That the insurance company does not need to know. The time to find out what your policy covers is before something happens, not after.

That the checks can stop once there is an offer. The house still has to pass the inspection, the appraisal and the buyer's walk-through before closing.

That draining the plumbing is the safe choice for every house. It can be, for a house that is not on the market. For a listed house, it needs a plan to bring the water back for the inspection.

That empty means ready to show. An empty house still needs light, warmth and a clean path to the door.

Consider two hypothetical situations. These are illustrations, not client stories.

One homeowner bought a home with less maintenance in another part of Western New York and moved in November, before the old house sold. Their adult son lives ten minutes from the old house. Before moving, they set the thermostat with their heating contractor's advice, added a temperature alert, called their insurer, and gave their son a weekly check with a photo text, plus an extra visit after any storm. The plow service agreed to clear the walk and steps along with the driveway. When the inspection came, the water was on and the furnace service record was in a folder on the kitchen counter.

Another homeowner is handling a parent's house from out of state and nobody in the family lives nearby. In that case, a paid house-check service and a clear plan for showings, keys and snow removal matter more, because there is no one to call for a quick favor. They also weigh the monthly cost of holding the house against listing it now, and decide which fits the plan for the estate and the family.

Neither homeowner is doing anything unusual. The difference is that each one decided who does what before winter made the decision for them.

If your house is going to sit empty this winter, or you are trying to decide whether to move before it sells, the order you do things in matters as much as the season.

Get the free Next Chapter Roadmap. It walks through the timing, the money and what comes first, so you can plan the sale, the move and the empty months in between before you are ready to list.

Can I sell my Western New York house after I have already moved away?

Can you sell your house after you have already moved away? Yes. Showings, inspections and the appraisal can all happen with nobody living there, as long as the house is accessible, heated and checked. Your attorney can explain how the closing documents are signed when you are not nearby. I coordinate the local side of the sale with you.

What temperature should I keep an empty house at in winter?

What temperature should you keep an empty house at? There is no single number that fits every house. Older plumbing, outside walls and unheated spaces all change the answer. Ask your plumber or heating contractor for a setting that fits your house, keep it steady, and do not turn it down on the coldest nights.

Should I leave some furniture in the house while it is for sale?

Should you leave some furniture in the house? Sometimes. A few pieces can help a buyer understand how a room works and keep empty rooms from looking smaller in person and in photos. Other houses show well clean and empty. I would look at the house with you and decide room by room.

Do I need to keep the utilities on until closing?

Do you need to keep the utilities on until closing? I recommend it. The inspector and appraiser need them, and the buyer usually walks through the house again before closing to confirm its condition. Plan to transfer the utilities at closing, not before.