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Old 06-12-2008, 09:43 AM
 
Location: 40 miles north of Bangor, Maine
264 posts, read 755,160 times
Reputation: 385

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For those of you that leave Maine in the winter....

What do you do to have your house ready to sit for winter?

How about the danger people have mentioned of snow on roofs?

How do you handle these things when not there? Of course its possable to visit a few times but your still not there constantly... do you have someone else taking care of your property? Of course it may be best to rent it our for the winter, but is it possable to be vacant as well and stay safe?
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Old 06-12-2008, 10:33 AM
 
Location: 43.55N 69.58W
3,231 posts, read 7,429,376 times
Reputation: 2989
Quote:
Originally Posted by NJ2ME View Post
For those of you that leave Maine in the winter....

What do you do to have your house ready to sit for winter?

How about the danger people have mentioned of snow on roofs?

How do you handle these things when not there? Of course its possable to visit a few times but your still not there constantly... do you have someone else taking care of your property? Of course it may be best to rent it our for the winter, but is it possable to be vacant as well and stay safe?
It depends on your house whether it's a cottage that's fully insulated or a regular home. If you leave it empty, it's important to have a friend, relative or neighbor to look after it for you. One might hire a someone if you didn't know anyone to look after it.

I'll let the guys here in the forum tell you about turning off the water, bleeding the lines, proper insulation precautions regarding shutting the place down for the winter.

Winter rentals are not real common in Maine. Most people come for the summer, not the winter. Short term rentals do exist, but they're few and far between as most people work year round therefore need year round housing. You might find a caretaker situation that would allow someone to live in it while you're away.

Good luck!
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Old 06-12-2008, 10:51 AM
 
Location: WV
1,325 posts, read 2,957,822 times
Reputation: 1395
We will be hiring a property manager to look after our house when we close it up for the winter. In past years, we put the thermostats down to 50, put a temperature light in the window and had neighbors check the house. We have a fairly steep sides roof and the snow usually slides off of it.

Our heat is oil fired hot water heat so we can't shut the water off and drain the lines unless we cut off the heat completely and that's not good for a house.
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Old 06-12-2008, 05:17 PM
 
Location: New Milford, CT
104 posts, read 386,675 times
Reputation: 59
I am moving to CT and leaving my house empty until it sells. If it doesn't sell by winter I have been told it is better to shut everything off including the oil heat and drain the water. I was told that it is better to do that because if you lose power for a number of days and you have no electricity your pipes can burst and it would be much more costly to repair then winterizing the house. No one has told me it is bad for the house to not have it heated.
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Old 06-20-2008, 10:01 AM
 
230 posts, read 872,727 times
Reputation: 376
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fort Lauderdale mermaid View Post
........ You might find a caretaker situation that would allow someone to live in it while you're away.

Good luck!
If you have someone you trust to maintain your property, I think this is the way to go. I've done it before for friends, and it is beneficial all around. While I was there I even helped finish up some home improvement projects for them in my spare time (painting, laying tiles, etc.)
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Old 06-21-2008, 04:02 PM
 
Location: Maine
5,054 posts, read 12,364,202 times
Reputation: 1869
Well, if anyone wants to come to Texas for winter (there is no winter in Texas, but you can pretend) we'd happily trade you spots for the season!
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Old 06-22-2008, 03:20 PM
 
Location: Maine's garden spot
3,466 posts, read 7,194,810 times
Reputation: 4016
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChristineL View Post
I am moving to CT and leaving my house empty until it sells. If it doesn't sell by winter I have been told it is better to shut everything off including the oil heat and drain the water. I was told that it is better to do that because if you lose power for a number of days and you have no electricity your pipes can burst and it would be much more costly to repair then winterizing the house. No one has told me it is bad for the house to not have it heated.


You have some good points about the power going off and having freeze ups. However by not having any heat in the house you still do have temperature differences and may have some condesation forming here and there. this can cause mold or mildew. If that is something that you are able to cope with when you return all the better.

My in-laws have their house shut down when they spend the winters in central america. It's cheaper for them to fly down there and rent aplace for 6 months, then it is to heat the house in Eastport.
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Old 06-22-2008, 05:38 PM
 
Location: Maine
5,054 posts, read 12,364,202 times
Reputation: 1869
I look forward to enjoying every moment of every season of our years to come in Maine! I may have to burn the furniture to keep warm with the rising cost of oil, but hey, all of life is a trade off of one sort or another!
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