Home again . . . home again

[speedhighway46]

Hello CRVLers:

How do you "secure" your brick & mortar home when you're gone for extended periods?

My wife and I spend a lot of time camping and on the road, but usually in buckets of three weeks up to a month. We do all the normal stuff before we leave: turn off the gas and water, set timers for lights, stop the mail, in winter have the drive plowed and in summer have the grass cut, etc, etc.

For those of you who go full time, a house is not a "problem" because you probably no longer have one. We are not yet to that point of selling off everything, and we continue to enjoy our house; its a good feeling to come home and get grounded again. And who knows, when I'm too old to drive, it will be nice to come back to the old homestead full time.

But, if we were to extend our road travel to three or four months at a stretch, what other opportunities would we have in leaving the house unattended? I have heard stories of notifying a local college and having students stay in the house while the owners are gone; I have never heard how this has worked out!

So, for those of you who may have some opinion or experience in this area, what advise would you pass along?

Thanks!

 

[buckwilk]

I should leave this alone but can't. (<; College students house sitting----what could possibly go wrong ? How about neighbors and PD watching and checking for you? Light switches that go on and off in different areas of the house automatically, same with tv and radio.

 

[johnny b]

There are companies that specialize in 'house sitting'. This is one as an example...I have not used one. I found the site while researching to be a house sitter (never followed thru on it though).

http://www.housesittersamerica.com/home


You really wouldn't want to come back to your house after a bunch of college kids were living in it for a few months, would ya?

 

[highdesertranger]

yeah I don't think the college students watching your house is a good idea. might see your house on the evening news. hghdesertranger

 

[Ella1]

yeah I don't think the college students watching your house is a good idea.  might see your house on the evening news.  hghdesertranger

You need to be very careful in having someone stay in your house. You may find yourself a "professional tenant" that is almost impossible to get rid of, costing time, money, and energy. IF you go that route, make sure you do due diligence, read state law, have a good state approved rental agreement, do the same background checks you would do if renting it for a longer time (credit, criminal, work, references, etc) Have your rental criteria set in writing, treat everyone the same, consider having a rental company handle it as a short term rental. Determine how this could impact your taxes, as well as other legal impacts. Consider reading the LANDLORD / TENANT forums at BIGGERPOCKETS to get more information.
There is a reason many campgrounds permit only 14 day stays at a time.
google OCCUPANT FROM H*LL
Don't mean to scare you---oh, oops.

 

[Ella1]

Another possibility might be AirB&B
https://www.airbnb.com/?af=43888734...na_na_p2_txt&dclid=CILwtMa3pckCFYd-fgodrN4BpQ
but again, be very careful. google airbnb biggerpockets for some cautionary tales.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I take it that there is no family, or super trustworthy friends nearby to keep an eye on it?

Honestly, I doubt that you're going to find too many people here with any real experience in that end of things.  You would be better off asking about that over in the "mainstream" RV forums, like:

http://www.rv.net/forum/

or

http://www.rvforum.net/joomla/index...t&view=category&layout=blog&id=123&Itemid=104

Regards
John

 

[TMG51]

I've heard a lot of horror stories from landlords about problem tenants. I would not rent a property without someone I trusted nearby to oversee as a property manager.

 

[ZoNiE]

Next door neighbor comes and cares for our furkids, hangs out with them, gets away from her husband...so it's like someone is living here.

 

[B and C]

We haven't left yet, but the plan is to have a neighbor (with a key/Sheriff deputy) keep an eye on things.  Another neighbor is going to mow the lawn.  We use very few switched lights now.  We mostly use night lights with led bulbs in them in the bathrooms and the bedrooms all have black out drapes.  The den has two can lights pointed up behind the TV with two low light leds in them all the time.  The living room has one LEd light on all the time too.  The gazebo has a dusk on with a two hour timer running an led light string.  On the side of the garage is a dusk to dawn led (dim) flood light shining down on the sidewalk leading to the back door.  On the front of the garage facing the alley are two bright led flood lights shining up at the eaves on a Intermatic wall switch timer (battery backup) that runs dusk to dawn and adjusts for the DST/night time automatically.  These lights never change.

Our mail will be forwarded to our son.  If something important looking comes in, he will scan it and email it to us.  We will see how this works out....

I would be wary of using timers for lights unless they are on ups power (battery backup).  You never know when a transformer feeding your house blows and it takes 4 hours for the power company to replace it.  Your lights would be off by those 4 hours.

 

[Ella1]

Consider talking with several property management companies regarding your plan. You might be able to find a pm to manage your property for one or a few months at a time, especially if you see that as happening more than once a year. Some landlords prefer, and will only permit, month to month rentals, simply due to ease of evicting if needed.
I do not know how "apartment finders" work--if they actually manage the apartments, or only find a tenant for the owner/landlord to manage.

You must also check property managers out, and you can find a few lists of questions to ask them also on biggerpockets.
Get referrals from other people if you can, and do due diligence on the PMs, too.
Here's a couple of links:

Property management interview questions
4 Revealing Questions to Ask Prospective Property Managers by Conor Flaherty
http://www.biggerpockets.com/renews...estions-to-ask-prospective-property-managers/

20 Questions To Ask Before Hiring Rental Property Management! By Chris Clothier
http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/03/12/questions-for-hiring-property-management/

Landlords: 8 Tips for Hiring the Best Property Manager
http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2011/02/25/hiring-best-property-managers/

 

[Patrick46]

I would be wary of using timers for lights unless they are on ups power (battery backup).  You never know when a transformer feeding your house blows and it takes 4 hours for the power company to replace it.  Your lights would be off by those 4 hours.

Well, that wouldn't matter if you were on the road, or at home.

If the power from the grid went out, then your home would be in the dark either way. (unless you were there to switch it over to batterys)

If the grid goes down, then the entire neighborhood would go dark.


I like Ella's idea of using a Property Management Firm to watch your place.

 

[SoulRaven]

I live in an age 55+ plus apartment building with on-site management and all my bills are on auto pay and I have no pets.

And I just received a LIHEAP grant of $238 sent directly to the electric utility and in a few weeks I will have to shut down the heat (I not really used any this year and it was 23f outside and 66f inside this am).

I figure with the customer charge on $10 a month plus the refrigerator, my cable modem and wifi, plus my old smart phone security camera my electric bill should be about $25/month while I am away and I have $238 on account.

The basic cost for my apartment is about what some people pay for a 10x15 storage unit per month.

 

[B and C]

If the power from the grid went out, then your home would be in the dark either way. (unless you were there to switch it over to batterys)

If the grid goes down, then the entire neighborhood would go dark.


I like Ella's idea of using a Property Management Firm to watch your place.

That is not how a ups works.  The load is on the batteries all the time and it is plugged into power to keep the batteries charged.  No human intervention required.  The timer will stay set.  This is just like your 12v system but is 110v.

That is one reason I leave some lights on ALL the time.  I also hate being blinded when I walk into a dark room and flip a switch that I don't have to do if it is already lit dimly.  I do have a couple of led lights on ups though, I can have light when everyone else doesn't.  I had a generator for this purpose too.  My son now has the generator as I have one in my RV and can move into it if the need arises.

 

[mayble]

Well, that wouldn't matter if you were on the road, or at home.

If the power from the grid went out, then your home would be in the dark either way. (unless you were there to switch it over to batterys)

If the grid goes down, then the entire neighborhood would go dark.


I like Ella's idea of using a Property Management Firm to watch your place.

But when the grid comes back up, your timers are off by how ever many hours the power was off unless your timers have backup batteries.
If the power was out for ten hours, suddenly your house looks like it's occupied by vampires who get up at 5:00 pm and watch TV all night.

 

[Stargazer]

When I was still a house owner, the first few trips I did what you have done. I made sure my next door neighbor had my phone number and asked someone to do a driveby now and then.

When I was leaving for more than a month, I met (through this forum) a fellow dweller who was looking for a place to park. We came to an agreement and she stayed in the driveway with house privileges for a minimal fee. It worked out great for both of us.

Maybe you can get lucky?

Best wishes!

 

[Ella1]

That may be an excellent idea, but it would still be a good idea to check your state law regarding guests, renters, squatters, evicting. If you are in a tenant friendly state, it's even more important to know your rights and how to protect them. And even so, to protect you both, you should still have a lease that complies with state law. You might even want to add some further protections of your own.