Two homes (Tucson, Oro Valley, Green Valley: 2014, rentals, HOA)

[Saguarogirl507]

Hello all,

We just bought a second home here in Tucson and for us it is our first time at having two homes. I have to say it may be a little nerve wracking at first.

What do those of you do who have two homes? Ours are both condos. I don't worry about the one on the east coast too much as it is in a big building, but the one in Tucson is on the first floor where there are only two floors.

Do you store things like TV's? Do you close the shades? Do you have an alarm? Do you keep a light on a timer? These may seem like silly questions but I want to keep my place here safe and I know that most of the folks in the complex are snow birds and so won't be here in the summer either.

So any and all suggestions are welcome as to how to keep the place safe while we are gone.

Thanks and I am looking forward to being out here soon for a longer time!

[Marcy1210]

When we had both our condo in Oro Valley, and our house in Colorado, we felt that our OV condo was in a very safe area and was surrounded by quite a few full-year residents. We didn't have a security system, no alarms. Most of us who went north for the summer did things like lock the windows and close the blinds; set the AC for 85; flush the drains with bleach; empty the toilets of water and pour bleach in them (bleach is for cockroach control); make sure we turned the circuit breakers off so the fridge wouldn't be running, and the smoke alarms wouldn't beep when their battery back up died; and put glue strips where bugs might enter. Otherwise, that was about it. We never stored TV's or anything. We had two full-time, on site maintenance men for our 200+ units, and they kept a good eye on everything. We weren't gated, but we didn't get too many people who didn't belong. If we got any, they were there to use the pool.

When we'd leave, we got rid of refrigerated foods like dairy and meats as we turned off the fridge, cleaned crackers, cookies and chips out of the cupboards and put them in the fridge (although the fridge was off) to keep bugs out of them. And did the other things listed in the paragraph above. We stored flour and sugar in Tupperware in the fridge, as well as coffee, coffee creamer, etc. Never had a problem. Never have heard of a problem in our community, even though 2/3 of the residents are gone from May to October. I'm now here full time, but I have gone on trips back to CO for six weeks, and other trips for 3-4 weeks, and never worried about a thing. I'll leave my cats home, and board the dogs. I have a neighbor who checks on the cats, so also checks on the house, but I don't leave lights on and I haven't activated the security system.....I know long answer, but I think if you're in a good part of Tucson, you'll probably be okay.

[jlawrence01]

In 2014, we had condos in Chicagoland and Green Valley. I am NOT going to go into all of the "winterizing" that we had to do in Chicago to keep the pipes from freezing.

What we did in Green Valley was this:

1) Called the Pima County Sheriff to report that we would be out of town for a while. They do absentee checks in this area.
2) We had one of our neighbors key in once a week to make sure there were no issues. We do things for her. Many of our older neighbors have a business where they take care of snowbird-owned places while the people are gone. They charge $25-40/ month.
3) We turn off the water at the street. We are required by the HOA to keep our electricity on as that keeps the street lights on.
4) Titan Trash will suspend trash service at your request.
5) The City of Tucson will reduce your sewer bills to $13/ month if you call IN ADVANCE and are gone the entire billing cycle.
6) Cox Cable will put your cable "on hold" for $9.99 per month BUT you will lose your promotional discounts.
7) We turn off the AC and the heat. My neighbor will turn it on if necessary.
8) We put most of our groceries (non-canned) in the freezer.
9) We turn off the water heater.

I have 20-30 sets of eyes on my house while we are gone and all have the Pima Co. Sheriff and/or Border Patrol numbers on their cell phone and honestly, will call them in two seconds if they see an issue. I am far more worries about water issues than I am with crime.

[teddyearp]

What part of Tucson is a help as well.

[Saguarogirl507]

Thank you so much for your helpful and thoughtful replies. Our place is about 5 minutes from Sabino Canyon, so a pretty safe place. No one up this way has bars on the windows or anything like that. I also checked the crime map so that seems OK. In the sellers disclosure form he said he had TVs stolen. We are not sure of the circumstances of that which is why I queried about the TVs. I don't see too many ADT signs in the complex. I see a few neighborhood watch signs and that is about it. Marcy1210 and jlawrence01 those are some great ideas and I am copying them down so I don't forget! My brain is on overload since we have to get everything done by tomorrow when we have to go back to Boston. UGH. I am really dreading it now!

[paradiseca]

I turn the air conditioner completely off. It will only get up to about 90 degrees inside in the middle of the summer with masonry construction. I turn the water off to the house but leave it on to the patio. I turn the water heater down to vacation mode. We suspend trash service although in the City of Tucson their isn't much savings. They charge $40 to suspend service.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by RobertaWa

Thank you so much for your helpful and thoughtful replies. Our place is about 5 minutes from Sabino Canyon, so a pretty safe place. No one up this way has bars on the windows or anything like that. I also checked the crime map so that seems OK. In the sellers disclosure form he said he had TVs stolen. We are not sure of the circumstances of that which is why I queried about the TVs. I don't see too many ADT signs in the complex. I see a few neighborhood watch signs and that is about it. Marcy1210 and jlawrence01 those are some great ideas and I am copying them down so I don't forget! My brain is on overload since we have to get everything done by tomorrow when we have to go back to Boston. UGH. I am really dreading it now!

I want to modify something I said above. I do NOT have an alarm system for a number of reasons:

1) My area (Green Valley) consists of 40% rentals and the like. Most people do NOT have a tremendous amount of high0-end stuff and therefore, there are few burglaries.

2) My area is high foot traffic as most of my 55+ neighbors walk 2-3 times a day as they are very active. If they see ANYTHING vaguely suspicious, they call the Pima Co. Sheriff or Border Patrol. All the neighbors know the postal people, the garbage people, and the various contractors and are 95% sure if a person belongs in the neighborhood or not.

3) My house is built like a fortress and is highly visible which deters thefts.


I was talking to a couple who has resided near Sabine Canyon and they do have an alarm system. They are on a one acre lot, have few neighbors in plain sight and the like. IMHO, they made a very compelling argument to me as to why they needed it.

If you feel uncomfortable without one, I would tell you to get one. As a person whose house was burglarized THREE times (in St. Louis, MO) in one year, it is about the worst thing that can ever happen to you and can destroy your enjoyment of the property. Do make sure that you use a reputable firm as the police do not like to respond to a lot of false alarms.

Good luck on your move.

[AlaskaErik]

Why would anyone call the Border Patrol if they see a suspicious person or a crime being committed? You call the city police or the Sheriff's Department, depending on whether you live in the city or the county. The only reason to call the Border Patrol is to report illegal aliens or smugglers and only if you're very close to the border. Different law enforcement agencies have different responsibilities. Calling the wrong one can delay response time and allow a criminal to get away.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by AlaskaErik

Why would anyone call the Border Patrol if they see a suspicious person or a crime being committed? You call the city police or the Sheriff's Department, depending on whether you live in the city or the county. The only reason to call the Border Patrol is to report illegal aliens or smugglers and only if you're very close to the border. Different law enforcement agencies have different responsibilities. Calling the wrong one can delay response time and allow a criminal to get away.

The Border Patrol encourages citizens seeing suspicious activities in Green Valley to them. The agents often stop us on our evening walks asking us for information. There are at least a dozen officers in Sahuarita and Green Valley at any given time.