Running water is a convenience we have grown accustomed to over the years. Pitching a house without running water to a tenant or potential buyer is hard.
Our water usage typically features hot water from showers and faucets, a washing machine and drier and flushing bathrooms. This is only possible because a system connects the water mains to these outlets.
Water use comes with a water bill that the landlord will hesitate to foot when they don’t live there, and the tenant will not be willing to settle if they face eviction.
This stalemate is common when the house is about to go up on sale. Consequently, several houses will be due for listing without running water because of disconnection.
Other houses will be listed like this because their water system broke down and needed repairs that were not forthcoming for one reason or another, while others (which are the minority) have never had running water service.
This dependence on running water and its related amenities makes you wonder if you can sell a house without running water in the current market. The good news is, yes, you can sell a house without running water.
Whether it is a good idea will depend on the circumstances under which you are selling, the condition of the specific house and its location. It will definitely shrink your buyer pool, but sometimes it is the better option.
Each house sale is unique, as are the circumstances under which they don’t have water. Different approaches will suit some situations better than others.
Two classes of houses fit in this category: those that are yet to be completed and will eventually have running water service and those that are done, but there are no plans of installing running water. To sell it legally, you need to ensure that the house doesn’t become a hazard due to a lack of running water.
If it is new home construction and the plan eventually includes the provision of running water, the value addition of installing running water can be factored into the closing costs and included in the sale and purchase contract.
Some houses are designed to be off-grid or are located in remote places that can’t justify the infrastructure that goes into running water service. These include those holiday and hunting cabins we own in the woods. For the sale to be official, they must meet minimal habitable standards.
Housing codes will require that you make provisions for a bathroom that should have a sewer or septic tank that doesn’t pollute water bodies. Keep in mind that a septic tank needs to be pumped out every once in a while; otherwise, it will fill up with solids and overflow. You should make arrangements for emptying it as well.
A utility that has been disconnected for nonpayment can’t be turned back on until the delinquency is settled. The utility bill becomes a burden to be borne by both seller and buyer. This situation comes about because of a variety of reasons.
You might be dealing with an inherited house whose billing history you are clueless about, yet it has arrears.
It is also easy to get distracted and overwhelmed by preparations to move and getting your new home ready that you forget to take care of current utility bills.
Sometimes the missed payments are more than what you can afford before the sale, and you can settle them from the sale proceeds.
It is a smaller problem if you have equity in the house that you are selling. The sale proceeds should be able to cover the outstanding bills.
When it is a short sale, and you cannot offset the water bill from other sources, it should be attached to the house as a lien so that it is given priority during closing.
Leaving it pending will affect the home buyer, who might refuse to close the sale. Ideally, the water meter should read zero when the title is being transferred.
All plumbing problems should be disclosed to the buyer during the sale. If they choose to proceed with the purchase knowing or having been informed about the defect, they will have no grounds to sue you.
You have the option of restoring the water system and, by extension, the value of the house versus selling the house as it is.
Selling as is might be beneficial if the cost of restoring running water is higher than its value addition. It will reduce the number of offers you get as buyers shy away from the responsibility of repairs soon after purchasing a house.
You should mitigate damage escalation if you decide to sell the house as is. Ensure leakages are stopped because even a small consistent leak has the potential to destroy a big section of your floor.
You will be looking at structural damage on top of faulty plumbing, which lowers the house value further.
Your buyers may not be able to buy the house without running water for reasons that go beyond their control.
Property laws vary by jurisdiction, from the national level to different states to counties where most property transactions are executed. A good number of cities have minimum habitability standards imposed on their houses.
The rules are laxer in rural areas than in urban areas because the lower population density in rural areas makes the absence of running water less impactful.
You need to brush up on your local regulations or consult a real estate attorney who should be conversant with applicable laws and bylaws in your area. Confirm if it is even legal to list the house without running water.
The lack of running water in isolation is rarely illegal, though. In most cases, the codes are broken due to the implications of not having running water.
For instance, when the code dictates that the house has a functional bathroom for it to be considered habitable, running water is included in the code definition of a functional bathroom. The house automatically breaches the code if the bathroom doesn’t have running water.
The rules facilitate the efficiency of shared utility services like sewer lines, whose functionalities are enhanced with running water.
The water pressure as it flows from different parts of the house helps to push waste further down the sewer lines, reducing clogs occasioned by dumping solids down the drain.
The regulations are also in place for safety purposes. An example of a safety concern addressed by running water is the accumulation of gasses in the U-bends of your plumbing, designed to control smells.
Running the faucet helps in intermittently releasing the gases that would otherwise collect in the sewage system and back up into your house, which is the shorter escape route. Apart from the rancid smell, some gases like hydrogen sulfide are toxic and potentially explosive.
A house deemed unsafe can be condemned by the government, making it illegal to live in it until the reason for condemnation is addressed. This can have a detrimental impact on the sale closing.
Your prospective buyer would love to have a feel of how the home functions when they come to the open house.
They want to confirm the quality of water from the faucet to know if they will have to make alternative plans for drinking water, the source of the water supply and if there is anything to repair. It can be a deal breaker or maker for the undecided buyer.
The purchase contract or listing agreement might also specify that you keep providing the utilities throughout the sale process.
A good number of them also have provisions for a walk-through before closing for the buyer to confirm the home is in the same condition it was in during the initial viewing.
A lot of the plumbing in modern homes is based on the assumption that the house will be permanently warm because that is part of what makes it habitable. The pipes, especially those in-house, are inadequate to survive extreme temperature variations when the heating system is shut off.
When heat is not circulating in the house, the water in the pipes responds to the ambient temperature; it will freeze when it’s freezing and warm up when it gets warmer.
The pressure of freezing water as it expands sometimes breaks the pipes, causing leakages that will weaken the structural integrity of the walls and the floor.
Hardwood floors bear the brunt of the damage as they soak in the water as the floor floods. The cost of repairs in such a case will be much more than the utility bills you were avoiding paying.
This is why some mortgage lenders demand that the house be insured against weather and water damage as a policy. It covers their investment for instances where the heating system will not work for one reason or another.
It widens your potential buyer pool significantly because it makes it easier for them to convince their lenders to finance the purchase.
Otherwise, you will be restricted to cash buyers who can buy the house for a cash offer whenever they like. Even then, there has to be a perceived or existing benefit for them to choose the house without running water over others in the market.
The buyer’s real estate agent may request that you turn on the utilities to facilitate a wholesome property inspection. If they are being financed, their lender will also order an appraisal.
When done correctly, a home inspection or appraisal includes confirmation that utilities are working. This is where they check if the water outlets are working and test the water pressure, among other things.
Appraisals and inspections can slow down the listing process considerably. The easier it is to get these things done, the faster you get to closing the sale.
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