Whether you’re going on an extended vacation, the house is a rental property that you haven’t been able to find a tenant for, or if it’s a house you’ve moved out of but haven’t been able to sell on the market yet, there may come a time in your life where a property that you own is going to remain vacant for several weeks or even months. In such a situation, you need to know how to protect your vacant house to avoid it suffering damage from neglect, the elements, or even vandals or burglars.
Make Sure You’re Covered
Your first step to prepare your vacant house is to ensure your homeowners’ insurance is up to date. Calling up your insurer to inform them the house is going to be empty for some time will allow the company to alter your coverage to better reflect your needs. This often results in better coverage in the event of malicious mischief or vandalism. Additionally, you will want to also contact your local police precinct and inform them the home will be vacant. Be sure to provide them with your contact information, or the information of a local emergency contact, in the event of a break-in. You’ll additionally want to provide the authorities a list of those you’ve granted permission to visit the house, such as your Realtor or maintenance personnel.
Prepare the Home for Vacancy
While providing new, updated information about your property to the police and your insurance company is your best first step, you also need to ensure your home has been physically prepared for vacancy. Make sure your home’s exterior floodlights are working properly and will be turned on and off either by a timer or through a light sensor. Motion activated lights in more secluded sections of your property, such as the sides and back, are excellent options as well and having web-enabled security cameras to monitor your home remotely can also be beneficial. Besides these actions, you’ll need to ensure that your entry and exit points are in good working order – it might be a good idea to change that rusting lock on your back door, or to ensure that all your windows will remain latched when you leave. If you have a home security company, let them know you’ll be out of town and for how long so they can keep an eye on your home remotely as well.
Weather-proof No Matter What Time of Year
Finally, ensure that your home is weather-proofed before you leave. You’ll need to ensure your home stays at least warm enough to prevent its plumbing from freezing in the cold winter months, and this means ensuring that your heating system is in good working order. A good investment may be a programmable thermostat or one that can be connected to the Internet so you can access it and adjust it remotely. You also may want to consider asking someone who lives locally to check in on your home once a week or once every few days to make sure everything is still intact. Not only does this provide you with some peace of mind, it makes your property less likely to be targeted for mischief if there’s someone going in and out periodically. If you haven’t forwarded your mail, for instance, you’ll need a nearby friend to collect it on your behalf. It doesn’t matter how much you’ve prepared for a long absence if everyone on the block knows you’re not home because your mail is in a giant pile on your front step.