How to Care for Your Summer Home When You’re Not There

Having a vacation home can be a rewarding investment that gives you a place to visit and get away from the stresses of life. However, before buying your summer home, it’s important to consider how you will care for the property when you aren’t on vacation. Fortunately, there are several ways to provide the maintenance your vacation home needs without needing to visit the property yourself.

1. Install a wire-free security camera system

Security is one of the biggest concerns with a property, especially if it’s being left vacant for extended periods of time. Burglars and vandals notice when no one enters or leaves your property for several weeks in a row, so you’ll need another deterrent to keep them at bay. Install a wire-free security camera system that can be your eyes and ears on your vacation home. Many wire-free security systems can capture high-definition video and audio that can be useful to police in the event of any kind of incident on your property.

Not only does a security system keep you up to date on everything that happens around your property, you can also use it to check in for a mini virtual vacation. Through the system’s app, you can instantly access the camera and microphone to be taken away from the stresses of everyday life and into the peaceful atmosphere that surrounds your vacation home.

2. Hire a property manager

Sometimes things happen to a home that must be dealt with immediately. If a water pipe starts leaking, for example, you don’t want to find that out several weeks later when your house has already sustained considerable water damage. But you may not be in a position to drop by your home every day (or even every week) just to check for the “what ifs”. Hiring a property manager can help eliminate some of your stress by stopping by regularly to check on your property. During a routine visit, your property manager can also do some routine maintenance to keep your property in top shape, such as cutting the grass or changing the furnace filters.

3. Use smart home devices

Smart home devices are tools that allow you to better manage your property remotely. They can take care of simple tasks, such as turning on or off lights, or more complex ones, such as vacuuming your floors. By using several of these devices in tandem, you can save money on utility bills while still keeping the property up without physically being on site.

Some of the best smart devices for remote property management include:

• A smart thermostat: This device will allow you to change your thermostat up or down right from the device’s app, even when you are hundreds of miles away. With the app, you can even set up temperature schedules to adjust the thermostat automatically, keeping the temperature warmer at different parts of the day or different times of the year.
• A smart vacuum: These gadgets take the heavy lifting out of your household cleaning — literally. A smart vacuum eliminates the need to push around a heavy vacuum (or pay your property manager to do it for you). Just push a button from the app or set a regular cleaning schedule and your robot vac will take care of the rest.
• A smart door lock: Smart door locks can be a life saver for accessing your home away from home. If your property manager isn’t available and you can’t get to your vacation home, you can grant access to an individual of your choosing by giving them a special single-use passcode. You can also see who is entering and leaving your property through the automated entry log; and changing the access code is simple, meaning you won’t have to change all the door locks if your security is ever compromised.

Use technology to care for your vacation home remotely

By using technology to take care of routine home maintenance, you can enjoy your vacation home without adding a lot of stress to your plate. For everything that technology can’t accomplish remotely, utilize an on-site property manager to keep your home well-protected and in good condition while you’re away.