What do you do with a vacant unit in an area that might freeze?

[Kimberly T.]

Being from SoCal, I have had no personal experience with freezing pipes, but I'm aware that it happens. We currently own rentals in CA (OC) and AZ (Phoenix metro), so we don't have to worry about it at our rentals. Now that we're looking into other markets to invest in, it's something to consider, so I've been learning more about it.

So I'm curious, if you have a vacant unit in the winter, do you have to winterize it? Or do you typically just leave the heater on in the unit so the pipes don't freeze? Are adjacent occupied (and therefore heated) units sometimes sufficient to keep pipes in common walls warm? I'm thinking this may be something you assess on a case by case basis.

Thanks!