Summary: A holiday home that sits empty for months needs more than a good lock—it needs a plan for water, climate, and security so you come back to safe drinking water, a dry basement, and a house that still feels like a retreat, not a project.
Make Your Vacant Home Look Lived-In
Vacant homes are about 50% more likely to be targeted by intruders than occupied ones, according to security analyses shared by Millennium and other access-control providers. The goal is simple: don’t let your place be the easiest, emptiest-looking target on the block.
Before leaving, treat every entry point like a front door. Add quality deadbolts, secure sliding doors with bars, re-key locks after contractors or guests, and make sure basement and garage-to-house doors are as strong as your main entrance, as recommended by National Real Estate Insurance Group and several vacation-home safety guides.
Use the exterior as a silent message that someone cares for the property. Shellpoint and real estate experts stress mowing the lawn, trimming shrubs away from windows, and preventing piles of mail or packages that scream “no one’s home.”
Quick steps to simulate occupancy:
- Put a few lamps on smart timers with varied evening schedules.
- Install motion-activated lights over driveways and main doors.
- Arrange USPS mail holds and pause newspaper delivery.
- Ask a trusted neighbor to be your “watchdog,” occasionally parking in the driveway and texting you photos after storms.
From a water-wellness perspective, I like to pair cameras and lighting with leak and humidity sensors.
That way the same app that shows you a clean front porch can also show you that the mechanical room is dry.
Shield Plumbing, Water Quality, And Hydration Systems
Most of the biggest claims I see in second homes are not burglaries—they’re water. The American Red Cross and multiple insurers suggest keeping your heat at or above 55°F in cold weather so pipes in walls and crawlspaces don’t freeze.
For absences of many weeks or months, Shellpoint, VYRD, and Breck-area property managers often recommend shutting off the main water valve and then draining faucets and toilets. This simple step can turn a worst-case pipe burst into a non-event.
Nuance: In very cold regions, some plumbers still prefer a slow drip on a few exposed lines instead of a full shutoff, so it’s worth asking a local pro what makes sense for your specific build.
Layer in smart protection where water meets risk. Leak sensors near water heaters, under sinks, around filtration tanks, and by sump pumps can alert you (and sometimes auto-shut the main) long before a neighbor sees water on the driveway. At just 1 gallon per minute, a hidden leak can dump over 1,400 gallons in a day.
When you return, think not just “no leaks” but “clean, safe water”:
- Run each cold tap until the water goes fully cold and steady, then another 30–60 seconds, to flush stagnant water.
- Run showers and flush toilets several times; discard any old ice and let the icemaker cycle fresh batches.
- If you use whole-house or under-sink filtration, service cartridges on schedule and after long vacancies; biofilm in an overused filter is the opposite of “smart hydration.”
- If you drained the system, refill slowly while you or your caretaker inspect for weeps at valves and joints.
In my work with remote holiday-home owners, the homes that combine shutoff valves, leak sensors, and disciplined flushing on return are the ones where tap water is both safe and pleasant to drink season after season.
Stabilize Climate, Air, And Key Appliances
Think of your HVAC as the lungs of a closed-up home. Nirvana Holiday Homes and maintenance guides from Safely emphasize that stale, humid, or overheated interiors invite mold, warped finishes, and musty smells that can linger in your water and air.
In winter, keep the thermostat around 55°F–60°F to protect pipes and finishes. In hot or humid climates, Shellpoint and Parker & Sons advise leaving the AC and humidistat on, with the thermostat no higher than about 85°F and humidity around the mid-30s to 40s percent, to control mold without wasting energy. Smart thermostats let you nudge those numbers from your cell phone if the forecast shifts.
Before you lock up for months:
- Replace HVAC filters and confirm vents are open and unblocked.
- Decide on your refrigerator plan: either keep it on at about 38°F (fridge) and 0°F (freezer), or empty, clean, unplug, and prop doors open.
- Set the water heater to vacation mode or turn it off for multi-week absences, then flush it and run hot taps on your return.
- Unplug non-essential electronics, keeping only security, HVAC, and water-protection devices powered and surge-protected.
A stable indoor climate helps your hydration system too—less condensation around tanks, fewer stress cycles on plastic fittings, and less “swampy” odor when you first run a bath or pour a glass of water.
Create A Remote Support And Insurance Safety Net
Even the smartest tech can’t replace a human walking through the house. Long-distance maintenance specialists recommend at least monthly in-person checks for homes sitting empty 30 days or more, whether by a house sitter, a local watch service, or a professional property manager.
A good visit includes: a quick exterior walk-around, an interior walk-through, testing a few outlets and lights, running water at every fixture, checking under sinks for moisture, and reviewing any alerts from your security and water sensors. In my clients’ homes, these 20–30 minute visits routinely catch tiny leaks, failing sump pumps, or stuck valves before they turn into claims.
Insurance is the other pillar. Chubb, Shellpoint, and other carriers draw sharp lines between “unoccupied” and “vacant” homes, with coverage often changing after 30–60 days. Before your holiday home sits empty for a season, talk to your agent about:
- How your policy defines vacancy and any time limits.
- Whether leak sensors and automatic shutoff valves can earn credits or are required.
- The right limits for water damage, theft, and liability if you also rent the property at times.
A long-term vacant holiday home can still be a healthy, hydrated, and low-stress retreat. Treat it like a small, remote building project: secure the shell, protect the water, stabilize the climate, and back everything up with people, sensors, and a policy that actually matches how you use the home.
References
- https://mynirvana.in/holiday-home-maintenance-tips
- https://www.choosegulfcoast.com/resources/the-landlords-guide-to-comprehensive-property-maintenance-in-sarasota
- https://www.clarkinsurance.com/how-to-manage-your-second-property/
- https://www.daretodrawdown.com/nomadic-living/prepare-a-home-for-an-extended-absence
- https://www.greatertorontohomepros.com/long-distance-property-maintenance/
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