Need Advice: House Vacant Half of Year

[billslawn89]

Originally Posted by TropicalDCGuy

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this site. I did a search to see if anyone has asked this question. Apologies if I missed it.

I live in DC but bought a house in Venice a few weeks ago, mainly for my elderly parents to use in the winter. The place will probably be empty for about 6 or 7 months out of the year, and I don't want to rent it out during those months. I also don't know anyone in Venice, so I can't have someone stop by to check on the place or go inside.

I'm wondering what types of things I need to do to make sure it's self-contained and okay when no one is there. Fortunately, it doesn't have a lawn (it's all rocks) so I don't have to worry about landscaping. I already know that I need to:

-- Program the electronic thermostat to run the air conditioning at 82 and keep the ceiling fans going.
-- Turn off the water heater.
-- Pull the blinds to keep it dark and cool inside.
-- Make sure there is no food or anything to attract crawly things.
-- Have a lamp on a timer go on at night.

Am I missing anything?

I haven't met my neighbors yet, but I'm hoping they'll volunteer to keep an eye on the place and tell me if it blows away in a storm.

Anyone else in this situation? Any suggestions or advice from other people who leave homes unoccupied over the summer months will be greatly appreciated. I'm feeling pretty nervous.

Thanks!

what about lawn and landscape maintenance. will you need the lawn cut while you are gone or when your parents are here. i maintain the lawn and landscape for clients that come here in the winter and go back north for the summer. just another thought. welcome to florida also!

[grandmallie]

just love those little volkswagen bugs with the tail and ears

[beachbum wannabe]

I am "knocking on wood" as I type this because we are so lucky to have such a situation as we do but , my wife is an apartment complex caretaker in our area (periodic inspections,emergency repair calls,clean and paint between tenants,etc.,and I do occasional fix-it repairs for the owner when needed) and the owner just happens to live in Englewood a few minutes from our house there and does an every 2-weeks inspection of the place and waters plants etc., flushes toilets,checks AC,looks for bugs ,or whatever in return for what we do here. If it werent for the situation that we have I dont think we could be able to keep a house in FL right now. But the point is that you really need to have someone to check on the place periodically if it is sitting vacant,and especially in the summer!

[TropicalDCGuy]

Billslawn,

Nope, there's really not much of a yard to speak of. The front is all rocks (ugly, but functional), and the back is a disaster. No lawn and a few dead plants. I'll landscape it myself so that it doesn't require any maintenance.