HOAs remind residents to prepare for cold weather

By Jeremy Twitchell

Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008 | midnight

Hyun James Kim / Special to the Home News

This display at RMI Management demonstrates how to properly prepare appliances for the cold weather.

Hyun James Kim / Special to the Home News

During an event to inform residents how to properly prepare a home for the winter cold, Nigel Parfitt, RMI Management's regional manager, stands next to a properly insulated guard booth and a display of various insulated pipes and fittings.

With the weather in the Las Vegas Valley catching up to the calendar, community managers that oversee local homeowners associations are reminding residents to winterize their homes.

RMI Management, the largest community management association in Southern Nevada, notes that damage to property resulting from failure to winterize is the homeowner's responsibility, not the association's.

Though the focus is on condominium residents, particularly those who may use the unit as a second home and be gone for extended periods, RMI officials say the warning is for any homeowner.

Failure to winterize can result in frozen pipes, which can burst and flood homes. Officials say a little bit of planning and preparation can prevent thousands of dollars in damage.

"We don't have a huge problem (with frozen pipes) here in Southern Nevada, but it does happen," said Nigel Parfitt, regional manager at RMI. "It's a rare occurrence, but you should always prepare."

Parfitt said simple actions like wrapping the water heater with a blanket, disconnecting garden hoses and wrapping exterior pipes can prevent frozen pipes. He said the home's thermostat should always be set to at least 55 degrees.

"Water losses are some of the most frequent and costly forms of loss, and are the most common here in Las Vegas," Parfitt said.

Alice Lucas, the community manager of the Bella Vita HOA in Las Vegas, knows that all too well. When she assumed management of the condominium community in January 2007, it was recovering from frozen pipes that damaged more than 140 units and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Many of the affected units were second homes for the owners, Lucas said, and they had disregarded community bulletins asking them to leave their heat turned on. When the pipes burst, no one was home to realize it.

"We try to remind our residents every year that winter is coming and we don't know what it's going to do, so this is what they need to do," Lucas said.

Lucas said that in addition to leaving the heat on, homeowners who will be away for extended periods should have someone do routine checks at their home. She also recommends turning off the water to the washing machine, because that is usually the first pipe to burst.

Whenever doing any winterization to the home's exterior, such as wrapping pipes, Parfitt said, residents should check with their homeowners association.

"Each HOA is different and you should check with your manager or community to see what is permitted," he said.

Jeremy Twitchell can be reached at 990-8928 or jeremy.twitchell@hbcpub.com.