Winterization Photos
HUD regulations specify before and after photographs along with any other supporting documentation. of each fixture or appliance winterized and all notices posted. It’s a pretty generic specification so various companies have taken it upon themselves to specify what is “before” and what is “after”.
Some companies are more specific than others and some companies are more ridiculous than others; so the before pictures may be a picture before anything at all has been done or it may require some action be photographed – like a photo of antifreeze pouring from the bottle into the wash basin – this is more like a “during” photo than a before photo.
After photos show the fixture or appliance after winterization; such as a photo that shows the anti-freeze in the toilet bowl and the tank of the toilet. After photos for appliances and water heaters will show just the notice applied since there is no anti-freeze put in the water heater and any anti-freeze poured into an appliance disappears into the mechanicals of the appliance.
Be sure to take photos of all winterization notices including the front door or window, and the electric panel if one is required by the company.
Winterization Photo Documentation
HUD regulations state “Before and after photographs are required along with any other supporting documentation to support a claim for re-imbursement.” That sounds pretty straight-forward but some servicing companies have differing definitions of the word “before”. Some companies accept as a “before” picture a picture of the fixture or apparatus being winterized. Other companies expect a picture of the anti-freeze being poured into the fixture or apparatus as the “before picture”.
Know what your company accepts as before pictures or go ahead and take two “before pictures”, one showing the fixture before anything is done and one action photo showing the anti-freeze being poured into the fixture. The “after” photos show the anti-freeze in the appliance or fixture. This means you will have at least two pictures, and possibly three, for each step of the winterization.
Some steps are performed during a winterization that are not actual winterization steps but are included as part of the overall procedure. These steps may include posting winterization notices, turning off power breakers, posting signs, etc. Take pictures before doing each of these steps and then take a picture that shows the step has been completed.
How much is a cubic yard?
A cubic yard is a unit of volume. It tells you how much space something occupies. Picture in your head a box that measures three feet on each edge. The space inside that box measures one cubic yard.
A cubic yard is equal to 27 cubic feet. One cubic foot holds about 7.5 gallons – so, one cubic yard is about 200 gallons of liquid. Picture in your head 200 one gallon milk jugs. Regardless of how you arrange them, as long as they are tightly grouped, they will occupy approximately one cubic yard.
Other visuals that may help:
- A kitchen built-in dishwasher is about one cubic yard.
- A regular 1/2 ton pickup truck bed filled level to the top of the bed is about 2 cubic yards.
- A living room couch is about 2 cubic yards.
- A kitchen free-standing stove is about one cubic yard.
- One twin-size mattress is about 1/2 cubic yard.
- One small filing cabinet (the small cheap kind) is about 1/4 cubic yard.
Contractors can very easily lose money when bidding debris removal by the cubic yard. Unfortunately HUD Regulations require bidding in cubic yards and pays for debris removal by the cubic yard. Although no allowance is made in the regulations and most companies have no provisions for “real world” circumstances, rather than loose money on debris removal explain in narrative form why your bid is above the authorized HUD fee. Do not bump up the cubic yard measurement as that does not explain the circumstances and warrants a possible charge back.
Editor’s Note: We have some simple rules at our property preservation business – if there is no profit in it, we’re not going to move it. We will move one cubic yard of gold bullion for free. One cubic yard of crushed stone in the front yard of a vacant home is going to cost considerably more than the allowable.