As a homeowner, you already know about all the responsibilities that come with owning your primary residence, from lawn care to gutter cleaning to structural upkeep. Proper vacation home care can be similar to that of your primary home, with the added challenge of needing to keep your home safe well-kept from hundreds or thousands of miles away. Whether you're going into the business of vacation house rentals or you simply live too far away from your new vacation home to frequently enjoy it, the long-term care and maintenance of it is well worth your consideration before inconvenient and potentially costly problems occur.
Even in a perfect world, the best-laid plans of the vacation homeowner can go asunder. Perhaps your work schedule changed and you can no longer spend as much time at your vacation home as you'd like. Maybe you bought the home with hopes of retiring to it in the future. Regardless, vacation home car--and the safety and security of your home--aren't things that fall to the wayside just because your travel plans are on hold. Finding a semi-permanent, reliable tenant can be the best way to ensure the upkeep and security of vacation home rentals because you'll actually have someone living in your property. As you already know, a lived-in home has a lower risk of vandalism, theft and disrepair than a vacant home. On the other hand, it does pose a problem if you want to visit your vacation home on a whim, unless you work out a specific time of year that your tenant won't be in the property. For a less permanent solution, you may be able to work out a deal with the real estate agent who helped you buy your vacation home. For a small fee, he might be willing to pop by on a regular basis to give the home signs of life and ensure none of your furniture or other possessions have been stolen. If you have a carpenter, builder or handyman that does regular work on your home, he may be willing to visit the house periodically to check the pipes and wiring and do some yard work. In some cases, your neighbors may also be able to keep an eye on things.
If you're away from your vacation home for weeks or months at a time, and you don't have a tenant, you can hire professionals to help you with vacation home care and maintenance. Services you may want to consider include:
In addition to arranging for these services, a vacation home owner may also enlist the services of a professional management company. Not only will a management company make sure the vacation home care tasks are complete, they'll also handle things like ensuring pipes don't freeze and burst in cold weather. As some management companies also specialize in vacation house rentals, you may find one that can find temporary tenants for the vacation home during the times of year you won't visit, helping bring in a little income to offset your expenses.