Property empty over winter - need advice please

[Towerofjoyless]

My father passed away earlier this year and we are currently emptying his home. We're planning to sell it and it'll likely go on the market after New Year. However I'm worried about it lying empty over the winter, especially as theres no central heating (my dad was old fashioned and didn't 'see the point' in it). It is an upper four-in-a-block, so a bit of heat will transfer from the neighbour downstairs but I'm a bit concerned about things like pipes freezing and bursting, damp etc. Does anyone have any tips to avoid this until it sells? Thanks!

Meant to say, we arent planning to install heating, unfortunately the whole property is very unloved (think ancient kitchen, bathroom, messy garden) so it'll likely be a project developer who buys it - or an ambitious DIY-er!

Sorry about your loss.
If the weather gets very cold, you might be in trouble with the pipes.
It won't do the place any good to be left cold and empty.

You need to notify the insurance company that the property is empty, and there is a rule that you have to check it in person once a week. Get a couple of oil filled radiators and keep them on the frost setting, and that should avoid any burst pipes. We had FILs bungalow empty for nearly a year before it sold - 6 months of that was waiting for probate, the other 6 months was selling it and emptying. It sold to a developer as it was in bad need of TLC.

I've had to do this (sadly , and sorry for your loss) A few years ago my parent died in a November and the plan was to put it on the market in the spring.
I was unable to visit regularly . We completely drained down the system, so that there was not any water in the pipes to freeze .
When I was able to visit which was March time the house did feel very cold but thankfully not damp although the outside of the fridge had began to get a little rusty looking in small places .

You will need specific insurance for this
Some will have conditions e.g. someone check on it regularly or keep the temperature at a certain level for specific months.

Sorry for your loss. I have had to over winter an empty property. Check with insurance, they may have specific requirements. I drained the water: turn off at stop cock and run water from taps until empty, flush loo to empty cistern. I think we left the taps open too. If the stop cock is old and unmaintained you may want to get a plumber in. You could also ask the water supplier to turn off at mains, I did this and did not have to pay for water during the period the property was empty. May not be possible if there is one supply for the whole block though. Worth looking into although they charge a fee to disconnect and reconnect which you will have to do before the property is sold. Dettol Mould and Mildew is great for removing any mould, but if the place is dry you may not get any even if it is cold. If there is no heating system at least you won't have to drain that. Good luck with everything.

I was also going to say that you should turn off water and drain all pipes, and yes you absolutely must get the right insurance. Which will cost.

remove all soft furnishings, anything that isn't easy to clean if it gets mouldy.

sorry for your loss - drop the price as far as you can to shift it quickly.

Are there any pipes or tanks in unheated areas such as loft?

IME the insurers withdraw cover of the home is unoccupied for a period. I avoided this by keeping it furnished and staying for weekends. Insurers required either heating to 12C night and day or all water drained.

Drain all the pipes but as PJ said a lot of insurers insist on minimum heating levels

Thanks for your replies everyone. We sorted the home insurance not long after my dad died and policy has been altered to reflect that it's unoccupied. I'll look into draining the pipes, would definitely sleep better at night if this is done!

If there is a hot-water cylinder it will be full of water even after you have run the taps dry. In a block of flats it will probably not freeze, but a plumber can empty it with a hosepipe.

Pipes in a loft are very prone to freeze if the houses in unoccupied, if they are above the insulation and no water is being run through them. I had that even though the house was heated.

I would again advise of draining system.
A friend of mine whose mother went into long term care obviously left her home.
The family who lived a fair distance left the heating on , just ticking over thinking all would be fine.
An outlet condensation pipe froze , shutting off the system, pipes froze which resulted in a major flood.

We are doing the same unfortunately. Like pp have said we had a list if conditions from the insurers including checking once a week, and keeping the heating on at a minimum level. We plan to leave a few bits of furniture so potential viewers have a better scale of the room.

The "frozen condensation pipe" problem is very annoying. It can be reduced by using large diameter pipes, sloping downwards with no flat sections, lagged; but far better to run the pipe to an internal drain such as the kitchen sink. The effort is usually much less than the effort of dealing with a frozen and blocked pipe.