I previously posted this on Active Rain, but thought it should be posted here as well:

This is a preliminary post regarding a rental property we manage, which is rented to students. The tenants left the property for 2 weeks over the Christmas and New Year holidays, after telling our manager that they would not be leaving, since they were taking interim courses. Of course, the lease clearly states that they must notify us if they leave for an extended period, and that they should not turn the heat below 50 degrees in the Winter.

When one tenant came back to the property on Tuesday, they turned on the heat, which they had shut off while away. After about 5 hours of heat, the burst pipes thawed, and water poured into the house on the second and first floors. Fortunately it was only flooding for a couple of hours before we turned the water off.

As it turns out, in RI, it was not possible to get burst pipe insurance until July 07, and against advice, the owner did not opt for that added coverage (D3 coverage) — I should say, against our advice, but he did take his insurance agents advice, which was not to extend the coverage.

New Year’s eve in RI near the water had temperatures below 20 degrees, and winds up to gusting 50 miles an hour. This particular property sites on the bay, exposed to the wind off the bay in a big way.

Needless to say, the damage is extensive, but not as bad as it could have been had it warmed up enough to thaw the pipes earlier.

Just a note to RI homeowners: MAKE SURE YOU HAVE BURST PIPE COVERAGE IN YOUR HOMEOWNERS POLICY, if you think you have even limited risk. The premium is substantially higher, but much less than the cost of damages to the property.

For us, recourse now goes to the tenants parents’ homeowners policy, and to a warranty on the manufactured modular home builder.

We shall see how it goes. I will keep you posted.