Property Issues When You Are Not There

[pb4uski]

This is what homeowners insurance is for. Turn the water off before you leave. All the security cameras in the world isn't going to stop someone from breaking in. I have a few and they're basically pointless.

For both of our homes, there isn't much of huge value that can be stolen and sold so I don;t worry about break-ins. We've never had one (knock on wood).

 

[Slim11]

For the OP, make freinds with the new neighbors. Someone will help you out in a jam. They will have a vested intrest, even if not there own , to help because not helping may bring down there quality of life. Hiring people is good for long term ,if your away half the year. But mostly I find neighbors, even if you dont know them well will take care of your stuff as if it was there own. That and insurance. Lol. But if you need a handyman to fix stuff keep the realtors number handy. They have trusted people to fix bigger things. The neighbors can tell you about what broke or the tree that fell, but a realtor can have people that they work with all the time there fast to fix it.

 

[Seaside FIRE]

I am at my beach house now for 6 months. I always turn off the water to my other house when I leave. A friend there has a key for my handyman who is on standby if needed. No cameras. Two long time nosey neighbors keep careful watch of the street and my house. They have my contact info. The lawn guy knows I’m gone, and he checks the exterior for signs of disturbance when he mows.

Our police department has an unadvertised free service where they do a weekly physical check of your property while you are gone. The form includes the name/number of a local person with a key and contact info for a maintenance person in case they find a problem and can’t reach you. When you return, they send the pages showing date, time, and signature of each officer who completed the check. Perhaps your town has a similar service.

I would not ask a friend to watch my home or problem solve issues. If I didn’t have the police and other eyes on it, I would pay a handyman or property management company for services and view it as insurance and cost of travel. I’ve been doing extended travel (business and retirement life) for decades without issue. Good luck.

 

[Northforker]

This is what homeowners insurance is for. Turn the water off before you leave. All the security cameras in the world isn't going to stop someone from breaking in. I have a few and they're basically pointless.

An alarm siren and a call to the police within 2 minutes of a break in makes it pretty hard for a thief to thoroughly rifle through the entire house.

 

[COcheesehead]

Low maintenance, xeriscape yard
Cameras
Turn water off
HOA security drive by
Trusted neighbors

 

[rk911]

Our next door neighbors are part of our extended family. We have Ring cams in front and at each gate supplemented by security cams watching every door and window. We file a "vacation watch" with the local PD and they drop by every week and do a 'walk around'.

 

[Koolau]

We leave a set of keys with our Resident Mgr. (car too).

 

[brett]

We live in an HOA attached bungalow. All over 55. Our neighbour checks our home every week or so when we are gone. Three days or two months. Not uncommon since we are in a small cul de sac. Never an issue over the past nine years.

We purposely do not have any indoor plants or pets. HOA takes care of gardening and snow removal.

We shut off of water. Neighbours keep track of when they check (for insurance purposes). They really only check to see if the heat is on, etc. and empty our mail box every two weeks or so. We use the same heating contractor so they would only have to make one call...and send us an email to advise.

Just replaced our 18 year old water heater even though it still functioned. Insurance will not longer cover a 15 plus year installed tank nor do we want our neighbours to deal with it should something untoward happen.

We do exactly the same for them and for others when we are home.