Tips when leaving home

[Jerry1]

In all my working and therefore adult life, I've never left my house for more than a week (one two week vacation in my life). Now, coming upon retirement, I'm planning on going on long road trips with no date certain of return. Can the folks on this forum please share some of the things to make sure I do when leaving my home unattended for long periods of time?

I'm thinking of bills getting paid (no problem), utilities turned down or off, lawn or snow shovel service, mail collection . . . What else? Anyone have a formal checklist they would share?

Thanks.

 

[VanWinkle]

In all my working and therefore adult life, I've never left my house for more than a week (one two week vacation in my life). Now, coming upon retirement, I'm planning on going on long road trips with no date certain of return. Can the folks on this forum please share some of the things to make sure I do when leaving my home unattended for long periods of time?

I'm thinking of bills getting paid (no problem), utilities turned down or off, lawn or snow shovel service, mail collection . . . What else? Anyone have a formal checklist they would share?

Thanks.

This applies to me also as DW and I are leaving for 2 months in about a week. The longest I have left my house is about 3 weeks. Please share your experience with leaving your home for months.

 

[REWahoo]

A couple of threads on the subject:

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/leaving-a-house-unoccupied-for-long-periods-77385.html
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f46/turning-off-the-water-mains-when-traveling-74234.html
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/how-long-can-you-leave-home-and-leave-it-empty-67935.html

 

[Alan]

Check that your home insurance covers you for the length of time you are away.


see post #17
http://www.early-retirement.org/for...ome-and-leave-it-empty-67935.html#post1348523

 

[Meadbh]

Leave a key with a trusted neighbour in case of emergency.

 

[Souschef]

In all my working and therefore adult life, I've never left my house for more than a week (one two week vacation in my life). Now, coming upon retirement, I'm planning on going on long road trips with no date certain of return. Can the folks on this forum please share some of the things to make sure I do when leaving my home unattended for long periods of time?

I'm thinking of bills getting paid (no problem), utilities turned down or off, lawn or snow shovel service, mail collection . . . What else? Anyone have a formal checklist they would share?

Thanks.

I have made a checklist for us and I am attaching it. You can modify it for your situation

 

[brett]

We moved everything possible to email. Our email address is not tied to an internet provider so this makes it so much easier to change service providers or indeed suspend service if we are on an extended trip.

Our key items are turning off the water, lowering the thermostat, turning the hot water heater down to it's lowest setting, and having a trusted neighbour come in and check our home and especially the basement. Leaving next week for two months and this is all that we need to do.

HOA does the snow clearing and garden work. We may or may not put on some timer lights.

 

[omni550]

I highly recommend using a fake TV.

https://www.amazon.com/FakeTV-FTV-11-US-Bright-Burglar-Deterrent/dp/B00BTKGHDE

It's about the size of a GPS. Uses less power than a night light.

I leave mine in the front room of the house (my basically unused living room), year round, so to any passersby it looks like the TV is on every evening.

omni

 

[Sunset]

I think if you read the previous threads, you will know what to do. Here is the opposite:

Two big mistakes NOT to do:

Leave the front door inside door open and just the glass screen door shut and drive away for a 2 week vacation Yes I did that stupid goof.


Take a vacation in the winter and turn OFF the furnace I'm not that stupid, but my coworker was.... Yes the pipes all froze and burst.

 

[Jerry1]

I have made a checklist for us and I am attaching it. You can modify it for your situation

Thanks!

 

[Jerry1]

Our key items are turning off the water, lowering the thermostat, turning the hot water heater down to it's lowest setting, and having a trusted neighbour come in and check our home and especially the basement.

Thanks. Totally didn't think of the hot water heater.

 

[nhcycling]

I highly recommend using a fake TV.

https://www.amazon.com/FakeTV-FTV-11-US-Bright-Burglar-Deterrent/dp/B00BTKGHDE

It's about the size of a GPS. Uses less power than a night light.

I leave mine in the front room of the house (my basically unused living room), year round, so to any passersby it looks like the TV is on every evening.

omni

Genius! Never knew about these. I always leave a tv on while we’re away even if it’s for several weeks

 

[Ronstar]

Stop mail
Turn heat to 58 or air to 85
Turn off water, drain pipes a little
Turn off water heater breaker
Turn off well breaker
Unplug water softener and iron filter
Put grow light on timer for hibiscus
Put vehicles on battery tenders
Put dryer sheets in vehicles to deter mice
Activate security cameras, light timers, alarms
Clean gutters
Put new bulbs in outside lights
Suspend garbage pickup
Take anything out of freezer and fridge that would present a problem if they broke down
Eat all food that can spoil

 

[pb4uski]

Leave a key with a trusted neighbour in case of emergency.

or better yet install a keypad lock or put a lock-box with a key.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PQW6GA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We have the former at our winter condo and the latter at our home. I gave a friend the code so she could check up on the winter condo after Hurricane Irma.
The latter came in handy earlier this week when my heat was off to have teh tech from the propane company check on it... it turned out to be a glitch when the power went off since it fired up right after he reset the heater.

 

[pb4uski]

Below is ours:

Seasonal Closing Checklist

For owners who plan to be away from their units for an extended period of time, below is a list of seasonal closing items that owners have found helpful. Practices vary but the list below is a good place to start.

• lock entry door(s) Sunset.... this means you!
• make sure that maintenance has a key to your unit in case it needs to be accessed while you are away
• turn off main water supply valve(s)
• set humidistat to 60%, thermostat to “cool”, fan to “auto” and temperature to 78F (practice varies…. some people prefer it warmer or cooler)
• set refrigerator to 40F and freezer to 6F (from 37F and 0F, respectively)
• if you keep food in your freezer over the summer, put ice cubes in a zip lock bag and leave it in the freezer… if it is still ice cubes when you return then you know the freezer did not thaw out while you were gone… if it is a solid block of ice when you return then the freezer thawed out sometime while you were away
• empty ice-maker and turn ice-maker off (flip bar up)
• empty dishwasher and leave closed to prevent seal from drying out
• empty coffeemaker pot and coffee filter (coffee grinds do grow mold)
• empty washing machine and dryer… clean dryer lint filter
• add small amount of bleach or mineral oil to toilet bowls and saran wrap toilet bowls to prevent toilet traps from drying out
• add a small amount of bleach or mineral oil to bathtub, shower and sink drains to prevent traps from drying out and close drains
• put out damp rid, charcoal or your choice of moisture collectors (recommended)
• turn off hot water heater (switch on heater or at breaker)
• dispose of all trash and garbage
• lock all windows, slider doors to lanai (if applicable)
• leave lanai doors open for lanais under air (if applicable)
• stop newspaper (if applicable)
• change of address with post office (if applicable)
• lock your personal storage area (if applicable)
• move any personal belongings stored in common storage in season to your personal storage area or in your unit
• check smoke/CO2 detector batteries (your neighbors don’t want to listen to your detector chirp all summer with a weak battery)
• service HVAC and replace filter
• if you turn off your refrigerator, unplug or flip the relevant breaker so lights do not stay on and prop door open to prevent mildew and turn water off to ice-maker
• remove everything from screened lanais
• store certain foods (flour, sugar, spices, rice, etc) in refrigerator for the summer especially if they are opened or in containers
• set out ant and pest traps (optional)
• sprinkle bay leaves on windowsills and thresholds to prevent spiders
• leave closet doors open or ajar to encourage ventilation
• close blinds and shutters to minimize sun damage
• unplug appliances and electronics as desired to prevent surge damage
• lubricate disposal by running it and spraying in a small amount of WD-40
• remove batteries from clocks, remotes, etc and store in freezer if you keep it running over the summer
• disconnect and store garden hose (if applicable)
• leave garage door opener inside (villas)

 

[Scuba]

We used a mail service called virtualpostmail.com. Really liked their service.

 

[dixonge]

Housesitter. Just have someone live there while you're gone. Solves most of these problems.

 

[candrew]

Housesitter. Just have someone live there while you're gone. Solves most of these problems.

+1

DW & I have had house sitters look after our place on several occasions. Most will sit without charge in exchange for free accommodation. Typically, the longer the duration of the required house sit, the more candidates that will apply, even if your return date is open.

We are members of: https://www.trustedhousesitters.com

 

[mn54]

Just because you cancel the mail and newspaper doesn't mean you won't get it delivered. Have next door neighbor check for these. My neighbor was gone for 2 weeks and had these delivered multiple times despite having them put on hold.

 

[Sunset]

We have found the post office will redirect your mail and you can set it up online for $1.00 using a credit card which verifies it's really you.
I send ours to a relative's house.
This is super convenient.
The weird part is, there is a delay in starting the redirect, so they stop delivering mail to your house, and then for up to 10 days nothing shows up at the redirected house.

When I get back I just adjust the redirect or cancel it, so our mail shows up at home.

 

[omni550]

Just because you cancel the mail and newspaper doesn't mean you won't get it delivered. Have next door neighbor check for these. My neighbor was gone for 2 weeks and had these delivered multiple times despite having them put on hold.

We have found the post office will redirect your mail and you can set it up online for $1.00 using a credit card which verifies it's really you.
I send ours to a relative's house.
This is super convenient.
The weird part is, there is a delay in starting the redirect, so they stop delivering mail to your house, and then for up to 10 days nothing shows up at the redirected house.

When I get back I just adjust the redirect or cancel it, so our mail shows up at home.

Sometimes the mail forwarding works and sometimes it doesn't. Ya takes your chances. This snowbird season (since November) I've been having very poor results with the USPS forwarding. Their 'informed delivery' is worse than useless, as more than 50% of the mail sent to my Michigan address is shown as having no image ...so I don't even know what was sent to me in MI that hasn't arrived at my Florida location.

I appreciate that so much can be done online these days -- paying bills, getting financial statements, etc.

omni

 

[VanWinkle]

We have found the post office will redirect your mail and you can set it up online for $1.00 using a credit card which verifies it's really you.
I send ours to a relative's house.
This is super convenient.
The weird part is, there is a delay in starting the redirect, so they stop delivering mail to your house, and then for up to 10 days nothing shows up at the redirected house.

When I get back I just adjust the redirect or cancel it, so our mail shows up at home.

Thanks for the tip Sunset, I just did this online for our 2 months in Florida and it appears to have worked great. My sister won't have to come pick up the mail, it is going direct to her house.

 

[Tom52]

I didn't read all the suggestions above but in case it was not mentioned, be sure to install a fresh battery in your thermostat if it is the type that requires one.

Also check that the battery terminals are clean. We just lost our heat a while back, electric baseboard units would not come on. The battery had been recently changed. After cleaning some corrosion from the terminals heat started working again. Would hate to see that happen when away from home in winter.

 

[DrRoy]

We have timers that turn lights on and off. Sometimes we have a neighbor leave a car on our driveway.

 

[ouel]

Checklist

I leave my home in the Philippines several times a year and sometimes for months at a time. Over the years I have developed a checklist. This checklist is invaluable and ensures I won't forget something. Make your checklist and update.