15 Things you Must-Know Before Leaving your Home Vacant
Updated 10/2024.
Leaving a home vacant for prolonged periods of time is sometimes necessary but not something everyone feels comfortable with. Still, it’s pretty common. As a licensed Realtor since 2003, I’ve sold many vacant homes. Sometimes, the sellers lived nearby and could check on the house. Other times, the sellers lived out of state or even out of the country.
Our research shows that vacant homes sell better than occupied properties, so you can benefit from it. But if leaving your home for a few weeks or even months leaves you feeling on edge, there are steps you can take to bring you peace of mind. It’s all about good planning. Savvy Portland homeowners willing to prepare and potentially even spend some money to shore up a vacant house are rewarded with peace of mind.
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
Disasters happen, and when nobody’s in the home, the problems can worsen. What would otherwise be detected and taken care of right away can develop into issues that cost thousands to repair.
Fridges, dishwaters, and hot water heaters can suddenly spring a leak, windows might unexpectedly work their way open, pipes burst in cold weather, and rodents and pests can find a way in and get comfortable. Even small stuff like leaves collecting in gutters can lead to big stuff like a leaky basement.
Deferred Maintenance
When you’re not there, life in and around your home continues, and not always in good ways:
- 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
Sure, it’s small stuff—but they signal to others that nobody is home, which becomes a big problem. Left unmanaged, they increase the chances of damage to your home, not to mention make visiting the home now and again unpleasant, to say the least.
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
A lot of home insurance policies won’t cover a home if it is left vacant for a certain number of days. There are true horror stories out there of homeowners who left for a month-long vacation and then came home to find the fridge or dishwasher leaked or a fire had occurred, and the insurance company was refusing to pay for it. So be sure to tell them your plans and have them lay out the risks for compliance.
Use Smart Home Devices
A smart lock gives your house-sitter or repair people temporary access to the home without having a spare key floating around. Smart lights and security systems can also create the illusion that there’s someone home and provide instant notifications of a breach. Even smart moisture detection devices can let you know if water has intruded into your basement. And of course, there are plenty of online Wi-Fi-based camera options to help keep an eye on things, and many are low-cost.
Adjust Your Thermostat and Hot Water Heater
Yes, it’s a drag to pay for electricity when you’re not living in the house, but keeping the HVAC on at about 55 degrees will regulate moisture in the home and prevent frozen pipes. (Speaking of frozen pipes, be sure to protect outdoor faucets with insulation if your home is vacant during the winter months.) Many hot water heaters and thermostats have a “vacation” mode. Turning it off might be another option if you will be gone for more than a few weeks. Check the owner’s manual for instructions.
Consider Shutting Off the Water to the House
It’s the best way to prevent a catastrophic leak. If the water stays on, have someone check for leaks regularly. Turn off the valves to your washing machine to avoid flooding from burst hoses. If you choose to turn off all the water, put a note on your toilets that they are not to be used while you’re away.
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.
Prepare for Seasonal Changes
Hire a snow removal service in winter to avoid signs of neglect and potential home damage from snow buildup. Have a trusted friend prevent your water pipes from freezing by running warm water and checking the pipes repeatedly. In the summer and fall, be prepared for more in-depth lawn care, like cleaning up leaves and cutting weeds.
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
You’ll benefit from some help now and again, either for predicted issues or for unwelcome surprises. Here is how you can gain a separate set of eyes on your vacant property.
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).
Consider Short-Term Rental Options
Renting the property through platforms like Airbnb or Vrbo can be a smart way of avoiding the appearance of an abandoned property while also bringing in additional income and gaining a separate set of eyes on your property. You can hire services to do all the hosting for you, such as greeting users, providing and retrieving keys, and cleaning the property afterward. Renting is also a great way to keep the property well maintained to avoid thieves at little expense.
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.
Potential Vacant Home Ramifications To Consider
Here are some added tips to keep in mind when vacating a home:
HOA Rules and Regulations
Before leaving your home vacant, check with your Homeowners’ Association (HOA) for specific rules or requirements. HOAs may enforce standards regarding lawn care, the appearance of the property, or penalties for leaving a home unmaintained. Staying compliant with these rules helps you avoid fines and potential complaints from neighbors.
Understand Legal and Tax Implications
The amount of time you live in the home can dictate whether it can remain your primary residence or not, which influences your taxes and mortgage agreement. Some cities, like Portland, also like to keep track (vacant property registration program) of vacant homes to communicate with homeowners as issues arise, such as squatting, transient camping, and kids using a home for parties.
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!