flipping house that has frozen advice...

[Aaron Carter]

I am looking at a foreclosure on hubzu. It is being sold as-is cash only. Starting bid $135,000. ARV comps around $215,000 conservatively. I know that the house froze last winter. Is this something that you would consider? Hubzu states that the house is occupied but i know for a fact it is vacant as my mom, who is a realtor just showed it about a month ago before it was foreclosed on. I have purchased a property through hubzu before and know what to expect. I have done two rehabs for buy and hold, this would be by first flip.

I a planning on having to replace all plumbing with pex, toilets, and hot water heaters. also needs flooring and other standard basic cosmetic upgrades. Anything else big that I would need to consider? 

[Dan Liptak]

I wouldn't repipe the whole house unless needed.  Usually you will get your failures in elbows.

You might only have a few spots that need to be replaced.

You can just shut all valves off.  Turn water om and go section by section opening g valves and checking for damage.

If you really don't want make a mess you can use an air compressor and fill it with air.  Assess the same way.  

Same procedure for boiler/heating system but perform a separate test on this.

Usually the elbows in runs near the exterior walls break first which actually reliefs other parts of system.

I have seen freeze ups where it was only minor a few elbows here and there.

It really needs to be done on a case by case basis but it seems like your preparedfor the worst but I don't think it will be that bad. 

Pex is the way to go!  I use clamp fittings but if time is money shark bite (push to connect) are great just expensive but the save alot of time!  Plus they are approved for in wall use.  Always check with building dept.. all towns are different.  If you are handy it would be a good idea to find a licensed plumber and explain your experience and see if they will allow you to do the bulk of the labor.

also with pex in visible areas use rigid pex also color code in red/blue (very impressive to people looking at it), for your heat make sure you use one with an oxygen barrier for heating systems.  Good luck!