Author: The Wall Street Journal
Even as mortgage rates drop, storms and subzero temperatures have kept a lot of potential buyers on the sidelines.
Atlanta and its surrounding areas have definitely seen some cold days in the past, but it has been abnormally cold this year. Around two weeks ago, temperatures dropped to the teens. Homes around here aren’t built to handle that kind of cold. I have a vacant house that’s under contract for around $535,000 in the city of Columbus, which is just south of Atlanta.
A vacant home in extreme weather conditions is a huge liability. Since the seller already moved out of the state, I drove to and from the house nearly every day that week to make sure the heat was working properly, the water was dripping, the hot tub had not frozen over, and no pipes had burst.
Checking the home daily was a huge imposition because the property is an hour and a half away from my home base. It was a worthy endeavor because the home made it through the cold unscathed, but I’m not out of the woods yet. The home isn’t set to close until mid-February, so I may have to do more preventive check-ins depending on the coming weather.
—Missy Derr, Engel & Völkers, Atlanta…
