Thursday, October 11, 2018

OCTOBER WEATHER, HARD FREEZES AND SPRINKLER DAMAGE

While I've come to embrace Colorado weather as a mysterious and glorious blend of beauty, elements and seasons (which often manifest in the same day)... there are two months that take the prize above all others when it comes to randomness and sudden change:  April and October.

Ironically, these happen to be the months where homeowners need to start their sprinklers for the spring/summer and shut them down for the fall/winter.

Last year, we had an extremely mild fall and many homeowners waited until early November to drain and winterize their systems.  This year, the weather has turned cold suddenly and on Saturday night, the temperature is expected to dip into the mid-teens, which will cause untold damage to thousands of unprotected irrigation systems all over the metro area.

Because I've seen this cycle play out again and again during my 12-plus years in Colorado, I adopted a mantra several years ago that has become a way of life:  I will be the last person on my block to turn my sprinklers on in April and the first person on my block to shut them down in October.  

As a real estate broker, I've spent a literal fortune on trying to spare my clients the headaches of freeze damage.  In fact, for eight years I hired a service every April and every October that would facilitate start-ups and shut downs for all of my past clients, at my expense - which eventually grew to be $4,000 - $6,000 per year.  But as the number of clients grew and the list of homeowners with yards continued to expand, it simply became unmanageable over time and so I shifted into taking care of first-year clients only, helping them start their system up in the spring and then shut it down in the fall. 

With so many transplants in Denver from other areas of the country, there are a huge number of new homeowners who have no idea how much damage a hard freeze can do.  And one of the occupational hazards of selling homes during the cold winter months is that it is very hard to determine what kind of shape a sprinkler system is in until it is de-winterized and fired up in the spring. 

Truth is, almost every year I deal with homes sold in the winter which need extensive sprinkler repairs during the spring.  And because it's not my clients' fault that the previous occupants were oblivious to the climate and/or their own home ownership responsibilities, I usually try to find a way to mitigate their cost in getting systems repaired or rebuilt. 

The net effect of all these sprinkler repairs (other than the obvious financial hit) is that I tend to be hyper-obsessed with the vagaries of spring and fall weather, and every year my clients know they are likely to receive a panicked ALL CAPS bulletin from me the first time fall temperatures unexpectedly drop to dangerous lows.

Because of the exceptionally strong seller's market we have experienced over the past several years, getting sprinkler repairs (or any other repairs) made by the seller prior to closing has been a difficult challenge for buyers.  Now, as the market softens and buyers have more choices, expect repair negotiations to become a lot more contentious for sellers as buyers demand value commensurate with the record high prices they are being asked to pay.

And that includes fixing those jacked up sprinklers that were installed after watching four minutes of video on YouTube and downing a six pack with your buddies.  

This year, I proactively had sprinkler systems at all four homes I currently have under contract blown out and winterized at the start of October.  I did so at my expense and with my own vendor, because I'm tired of paying for repairs caused by overconfident do-it-yourselfers and Craig's List cowboys.

On winterization day, temperatures were in the mid-80s and skies were blue.  Neighbors looked on in puzzlement as water vapor spewed up from the sprinkler heads and the air compressor thumped away.  We drained supply lines in the basement and declared ourselves ready for whatever may come, even while dressed in short sleeves and wiping beads of sweat from our brow. 

That was eight days ago.

Today it is 35 and snowing.  Sunday's Broncos game will be played before a national audience with temperatures in the 20s.  Before Halloween arrives, I have no doubt we'll have at least a few days where the temperature pushes 80 degrees.  Coupled with more nights in the teens.  

October.  Colorado.  Ugh.

The lesson in all of this is to realize that the $50 it costs to winterize your sprinklers now is a lot cheaper than the $1,800 you'll pay to have your yard dug up next spring. 

Next year, don't wait.  Calendar it now.  When the first hard freeze shows up out of nowhere and the neighbors are all scrambling to get last-minute help, those who were proactive will feel a calm and knowing sense of contentment because in Colorado, Mother Nature always has the last laugh.