15 Things you Must-Know Before Leaving your Home Vacant

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Updated 10/2024.

Here are some helpful things to know before you leave your home vacant, including the biggest risks and ways to minimize them.

Top Three Risks for Vacant Homes

Everyone has their own nightmare scenario for their vacant home, but the most common problems are these:

Theft and Vandalism

Homes left vacant are at a much higher risk of being burglarized or vandalized. It is devastating to have your home attacked by a criminal.

Unexpected Disasters

Deferred Maintenance

  • Weeds crop up in the yard
  • Cobwebs collect in the eaves
  • Hinges and locks grow creaky from disuse
  • The inside air grows stale and musty
  • Mold and mildew grow in unexpected places

DIY Steps Before Leaving Home Vacant

The following tips will take care of the most common vacant home problems. However, you might still want to recruit outside help to check on your home while you’re gone; we’ll cover that in the next section.

Tell Your Insurance Company

Use Smart Home Devices

Adjust Your Thermostat and Hot Water Heater

Consider Shutting Off the Water to the House

Check the Sump Pump

Many Portland basements have sump pumps to prevent rainwater buildup. To make sure your pump is working properly, dump a bucket of water into the pit. If the pump doesn’t kick on, call a plumber.

Install Timed Irrigation

The system can be as simple as a drip hose on a timer that keeps your flowerbeds alive through the hot summer months. Many homeowners in Portland let their lawns go brown in the summer, so it’s not necessarily a sign that you’re not home — but dead plants can be.

Install Motion Sensor Lights and Security Signage

Even if you’re not paying for a security company to monitor your home, having the appearance of security will go a long way toward deterring thieves. That said, an actual security system and instant camera access are the best ways to maintain peace of mind.

Invest in Good Blinds

Keep them closed on the first floor while you’re gone to prevent peeking. Window blinds also prevent sun damage to carpets and furnishings.

Five Ways to Get Vacant Home Help

Hire or Find a Volunteer House-Sitter

This might be a trusted neighbor or friend or someone who does it professionally. The peace of mind will be worth shelling out a few dollars to have someone do a walk-through once a week (at minimum) and keep the place looking lived-in by sweeping the walk, turning off or on different lights, and bringing in the mail. Create a checklist so they know what to do and what to take note of — leaks, odors, etc. Realtor.com has a good article on hiring a house-sitter.

Hire a Vacant Property Preservation Company

There are some here, but not many. Most of these companies work for banks (foreclosures) or large property management companies. If you can find one, the fees aren’t bad. Some also include yard care in their packages.

Pay for Home/Landscape Maintenance

Keep your home from looking vacant by having a crew come by regularly to leaf blow, mow the grass, trim shrubs, and take care of any branches that come down in winter storms (if there are large trees near the house, it’s not a bad idea to have an arborist evaluate them and remove hazard limbs before you leave for an extended period).

Ask Your Real Estate Agent

 If your home is on the market, your real estate agent should stop in occasionally to ensure things are in good shape. Just keep in mind your Realtor won’t be there every day, nor will they be there in the middle of the night when break-ins usually happen. It is a good idea to ask around for additional help, friends, family, and neighbors.

Update Your Home Inventory and Documents

Theft is a serious issue with abandoned homes. Be sure to take photos or videos of furniture and any other valuable items left behind and store digital copies of important documents, such as warranties and insurance policies, in cloud storage.

Vacant, but Listed?

Talk to your real estate agent about how to set up your home so that it is both friendly to potential buyers and safe in your absence. Here are some of the tips we usually give home sellers in this situation:

  • Invest in good entry mats, both inside and outside the front door. You won’t be there to vacuum after every home showing, so this is the best way to minimize tracked-in dirt. You can request that potential buyers and their agents remove their shoes when they arrive, but instructions aren’t always followed. The real estate agent typically leaves shoe covers behind to help with this process.
  • Program your thermostat if you can. Setting the temperature a bit warmer or cooler during home-showing hours (which may start early in the morning and go into the late evening) is a nice gesture — and it will help buyers feel comfortable in your home.
  • Consider staging your empty home. A few pieces of furniture go a long way toward defining spaces and making the home feel welcoming. If you don’t have extra furniture, area rugs can be helpful. They dampen that “empty house” sound and show where furniture could potentially go. We have a whole category of staging tips for you here, plus our annual report on the average home staging costs.

Work with a Real Estate Professional

Want more vacant home tips? Call our top-rated Portland, Oregon seller’s agents. We charge less than average but pay more to market our client’s homes so they sell faster and for more. We back it all up with our cancel-anytime contracts for no charge. We are here to ease your home-transition process. Call us today at 503-714-1111 or chat with the bot on our site. We look forward to connecting!

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Stephen was just simply a fantastic realtor to work with in selling our home. If we had another 50 properties to sell, Stephen would be in charge of all of them. He was so professional in handling every detail of our sale, and he was so responsive to every question that came up in the course of our transaction. My wife and I are very thankful that we found Stephen.

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