With all the rain that we have had lately in Ohio I thought I would share this with you.

Check the sump pumps in your vacant listings.

This is NOT legal advice.

This is from the 2006 Residential Code of Ohio:

115.2 Maintenance. Residential buildings, structures and the building equipment shall be maintained in a safe and sanitary condition and in accordance with the condition(s) established in current and any previous plan approvals and certificates of occupancy. Devices or safeguards which are required by this code shall be maintained in conformance with the code edition under which installed. The owner or the owner's designated agent shall be responsible for the maintenance.    Bold and underline by me.

I bring this up because of the recent article in the In Contact Magazine:

Negligence suit over gas shutdown reinstated

A real estate broker had a fiduciary duty to notify an absent owner that the gas company was attempting to contact him about a gas shutdown on the property during winter, the Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth District, ruled, reversing the trial court. The broker argued that the brokerage had a duty to sell the property, not to manage it, but the court said that notifying the owner of the gas shutdown was a reasonable duty. The court sent the case back to trial to determine if the salesperson breached a duty by failing to meet a gas company representative at the property after allegedly promising to do so.

http://www.columbusrealtors.com/15961.cfm

Again research, use an attorney, this for yourself do not rely on my information.