Leaving a house empty in summer: questions. (home owners insurance, condo)

[DougStark]

Maybe some of you have answers to my question of, "do people who leave their homes empty during the summer hire someone to check on the home's welfare?" Of course the ideal situation would be to have relatives (or neighbors) do regular welfare checks of the house.

The reasons you'd want your house checked on are obvious: possible break-ins, water leaks, broken sprinklers letting water run down the street, squatters, newspapers left on driveway, fallen free limbs during monsoon, etc. etc.

If I wanted to hire someone like this in Phx, where would I look?

[Bates419]

There are numerous Home Watch guys around. We use a Lady in Estrella and she charges $65 a month and sends a note with pictures each week.

[Bird Street]

I would rather leave a condo empty for the summer that a free standing home. I would have a neighbor check it daily and the yard kept up. Interior and exterior cameras that you can view on the internet would be comforting. I would leave lights and radios on a timer.

[KurtAZ]

Many services around, let the local police dept. know that it is vacant as well, halt mail service, hire landscapers, etc. The Home Watch people will also run the water in the home periodically to make sure the drains don't dry out.

[Jkgourmet]

We had friends and neighbors stop by asking the to flush the toilets and run the water in the sinks. One year, we hired a local kid who was doing dog walking for extra money. And that was pretty cheap and helped out the kid.

We did NOT shut off the a/c completely, just turned it up to like 85.

[elcajones]

If you aren't going to be there all summer, it's fine to shut off the a/c. Plenty of managed vacant properties keep the a/c off, but I'd keep the refrigerators running.

[hikernut]

Don't forget to check your homeowner's policy. Some apparently don't like vacant houses.

[thinkalot]

Originally Posted by DougStark

Maybe some of you have answers to my question of, "do people who leave their homes empty during the summer hire someone to check on the home's welfare?" Of course the ideal situation would be to have relatives (or neighbors) do regular welfare checks of the house.

The reasons you'd want your house checked on are obvious: possible break-ins, water leaks, broken sprinklers letting water run down the street, squatters, newspapers left on driveway, fallen free limbs during monsoon, etc. etc.

If I wanted to hire someone like this in Phx, where would I look?

I see ads all of the time. Google. Most people I know just use a neighbor. I check 2 of my neighbors.

[Voebe]

If you're going to be gone for a month or more, presumably you'll suspend your newspaper, right? Yes, obviously a neighbor would be best - not only for all the obvious reasons, but also because a neighbor will do what YOU want, whereas if you hire someone from a management company, they will want to do their usual routine, regardless of your preferences.

I wouldn't hire a kid, because I'd want an adult with the presence of mind to know what to do if he walks in and find an inch of water on the floor. Ask around for recommendations - ask your own neighbors who go away, check with churches or community centers, ask your handyman.

[kell490]

I would shut the water main don't want to find out that your home flooded because a toilet float valve failed which is the most common cause of home floods or a water hose to your washer splits open. Your drains are going to dry up so the house might smell some when you get back but not that bad still has sewer vents. The biggest issue is homes with no one around for months is a big sign to thieves. I would not run the AC it's a waste of money to do that house won't' get hotter than 90 in the peak summer heat. All home owners insurance have clause's about leaving the home vacant you have to notify them and they will charge you more if you don't and the place burns down or floods they may not pay for the damage.