Posted by David Krulac on February 18, 2001 at 18:54:57:
almost all HUD houses have the utilities turned off. To check the plumbing, heating and electric systems, you need the utilities turned on. I have heard that some prospective buyers do this but I haven’t. I look with a powerful flashlight at everything and if there is any suspect components I assume the worse. In the winter climates the HUD repos are almost always vacant for at least 1 winter. It just how long the foreclosure process takes and HUD doesn’t do anything to speed it up and often times goes the other way. But freeze damage is an issue and I have seen busted boilers, broken baseboard cast iron heaters and cracked radiators. You can often see this type of damage without turning on the utilities. Good luck and be cautious.