The carefree lifestyle of condominium residents may make an owner feel as though taking off for a winter in Florida is a simple as removing the trash and locking the unit doors. Managers will explain that it’s not so simple.

Jeff Martin, president of Foreside Real Estate Management of Portland, Maine, says, “We manage condo communities from a half dozen to over 110 units… although the average size is around 30 [which is] very typical for Maine. About half of our client properties include unit owners who vacate during the cold season. A lot of the association’s business—through the winter—is done with email or conference calls.

“The biggest risk,” he continues, “is when you have a cluster of these empty units” where winter problems can compound. He points out that “some residents may have family or caretakers checking their unit during the winter.” That may not be enough, he says. “Association boards can and should develop policies on winterizing… set up procedures, and then enforce them.”

For instance, “If an owner does not really winterize, and drain all pipes in the unit,” Martin explains, “then the temperature must stay at 55 degrees minimum. Neighbors in the community often step up and check on empty units, or we sometimes rely on ‘winter watch’ services. We send out a fall reminder that if a resident does not drain their unit, we want to make sure their boiler or heat is operating.”

“We’ve seen situations,” Martin notes, “where pipes froze and split in December, but everything stayed frozen until a warm day late in the season… then all of a sudden a neighbor noted water leaking” out of the unit. Even leaving the heat on is no guarantee, he reports. “We had a property where the owner left for the winter, with the thermostat set at 55, and they had a friend lined up who was supposed to check on the unit periodically. Well, the thermostat was the digital type that is programmable, and it operates with a battery. .. and the battery ran out. The system won’t work with a dead battery; it won’t turn on the boiler. So the temperature dropped and the pipes froze and burst, ultimately causing about $25,000 in damage to the building.”

The friend who was expected to look in on things may have done so, Martin adds, but the timing may have been off—visiting too early or too late to notice that there was a problem. This unfortunate outcome is one reason some “old-fashioned” heating technicians still prefer the traditional dial, electric-mechanical thermostats—no batteries required.

Other problems that can occur in units that are vacated over the winter include “snow and ice pack damage, with ice damming seeping water into the ceiling or walls,” says Martin. “Or there’s sometimes a toilet left running, or a faucet. These problems don’t cause nearly as much damage as burst, frozen pipes… that’s the worst. If there is water left on in your unit, with pipes not drained, then you must keep the heat at least 55.”

Besides checking the batteries in thermostats, Martin advises paying attention to the fuel for the heating system. In New England, oil-burning boilers are the norm, and if a condo unit has its own boiler and oil tank, “The oil company could miss keeping the right schedule for filling the tank” he points out. “If no one is in the unit, the tank could empty … besides losing heat, when the fuel runs out, the boiler has to be manually re-started. That can be a problem if the owners are gone for the winter. This is one reason that natural gas (piped in) can be better… you can’t run out of it.”

Good Time for Upgrades

The potential for property damage from units that are vacated in the winter can be mitigated, Martin insists, with boards willing to work with management, and encouraging unit owners to take advantage of services that can be applied when they are not in residence. “Our company does a fair amount [of unit-checking]. Folks hire us to oversee their unit while they’re gone, and they can opt to have contractors to get interior services done… renovations, painting or repairs. We have good success with that, and we keep it reasonably priced—basically at cost—so they’ll have the incentive to do it.” He notes that monitoring units is to everyone’s advantage.

At Great North Property Management, based in Exeter, New Hampshire, senior vice president Justin Gargiulo explains that his firm’s clients include over 200 condo associations all over New England, and many of them are at ski resorts, beaches, and over-55 communities. “We have plenty of properties where owners are gone for long periods of time. Some may use their unit for only a week or two all year. Our managers work to make sure units are either winterized (draining water out of pipes) or left with the heat on.”

To ensure that heating systems don’t fail and cause problems, he states, “A lot of these seasonal properties have heat alarms. If the interior temperature drops and the alarm goes off, we dispatch one of our maintenance guys.” As another insurance against disaster, he adds, “we have keys for units that are vacated for long periods of time.”

His firm manages the keys year round individually and in most instances has a master that enters each unit. “We only give out individual keys for contractors and service with permission from the owner,” he states. Another requirement that some of the associations have is to antifreeze the heating system with annual or biannual inspections of the antifreeze levels.

Making Rules

Charles Perkins, senior partner in the law firm of Perkins & Anctil in Westford, Massachusetts, agrees that procedures for winterizing or to protect any condo units that are vacant for long periods should be formalized. “There should be a requirement to leave contact information with someone appropriate, such as the association board or their agent, like a management company. A minimum heating requirement is fairly standard (in cold climates) and a key should be left [with an appropriate agent or individual] or access guaranteed through some other method or through another individual. These requirements might be included in a master deed, or added to the rules and regs of the association.”

In addition, “The board has to be able to address absentee board members,” he says. To that end, “many associations are using electronic communications such as email… while most condo docs include provisions to use certain means of communication, they are often outdated. The governance mode has not kept up with technology, so associations just move forward (with electronic methods) in spite of what the regs say.”

Perkins says that boards can legitimize the use of digital communications by announcing at the beginning of a meeting which specific communication methods have been used or approved.

His partner in the firm, attorney Rob Anctil, notes that access into vacant units is an issue that inevitably crops up among condo boards or managers. “I’ve had panic calls from managers who want to know if they have the right to access an unoccupied unit. The fact is, most condo docs allow entry by the association or its agent—a manager—if there’s an emergency. Typically, docs also require a 24-hour notice to the owner that management will be entering the unit… although,” he adds, a real emergency, a fire or flooding, would override that courtesy.

Complete Migration

The Perkins & Anctil firm has a client community where the entire population vacates in winter—by decree of the host town. “At Summer Village in Westford,” says Anctil, “we have over 200 free-standing cottages in a former campground.” The property totals almost 160 acres of which 54 acres are developed, abutting a pristine lake. The town of Westford negotiated with the developer to insure that the community would be summer-only occupied, so as to add no burden of services—such as more school children—to the town.

Sales director Roberta Livingston reports that “about half of the owners are retired ‘snowbirds’ who leave for Florida in the winter. The other half are local families with children. The developer had built ‘active adult’ properties in Maine, and we created the rules for this property based on that experience.”

At Summer Village, the condo rules are very specific, addressing all the amenities, which include swimming pools, the lakeshore beach, community entertainments and adults-only venues along with family areas. To appease town boards and add housing density without adding families that would need year-round town services, the project had to guarantee it could never be habitable in the winter.

“The builder had to install the water lines in the ground…,” says Livingston, “shallow, above the frost line, so that the community was forced to clear the water supply pipes in the winter.” This was added insurance that was negotiated in addition to the town’s contracts and subdivision plans, which allowed extra density for extra housing units on the property. To meet state building codes, the cottages are insulated and heated. Since the units sell for around $200,000, if they could be used year-around, it would be the ultimate bargain in town. Residents are required to vacate their properties in mid-October and are allowed back in around mid-April. The management company does the heavy-duty winterizing of emptying and blowing out all water pipes and adding anti-freeze in drainage traps.

Livingston explains that the condo rules are presented as an “owner’s manual” that includes a full list of instructions for winterizing, and a checklist. The community provides a host of outdoor-fun amenities, so rules are expansive and specific, from use of boats to the requirement of a driver’s license for golf cart operators. For communities with a high percentage of seasonal residents, the Summer Village could provide an example of setting site-specific rules that residents are exposed to as a top priority of ownership—rules they can easily understand and uphold.

No matter how great a migration your condominium experiences—from a few families to the entire community—being prepared for long-term vacancies is essential before winter winds start to blow.

Marie Auger is a Massachusetts freelance writer and a frequent contributor to New England Condominium.