Maintenance 101 for Snowflakes

[FoPAA]

i am just THRILLED to be new snowflakes - we've been waiting years for this, and now our closing (on a resale) is set for Jan. 31 - YAY!!!
But...my husband won't be retiring until our house in Ohio sells, so we're snowflakes until that happens.
We'll be down for the week of closing and then probably not for another couple of months, so I need your help in determining what to do about our house (Gardenia) while we're gone for extended amounts of time. We'll hire a lawn service and set the heat/AC to around 55???
What else should we keep in mind, and thanks for your help!
We're almost...HOME! :a040::a040::a040::a040::a040::a040:

[CSilvestrucci]

Turn the water off to the whole house and turn the breaker off to the hot water tank. Welcome you're going to love it here:wave:

[jebartle]

So you can count down the days til' you are HOME in paradise!

[Russ_Boston]

One thing to consider is the 1 year bumper to bumper warranty.

If you only use your home for a few weeks in the first year you aren't really taxing your system too much.

We hired a TOTVer (REDWITCH) to check on our home once a week while we are not there. This way any problem can be discovered early (a water leak perhaps???) and fixed by the warranty dept without an questions. She can also do other things like take your golf cart out for a quick spin, put delivered items in your house, change the thermostat from heat to AC when the time comes, flush the toilets etc.

We felt the $ spent was worth it.

[EdV]

Note that you home will have two water shut-off valves. The one for inside the home is usually located in the garage behind a panel. The one for the lawn sprinklers is outside and should be left on and the controller set for around 20 minutes/zone once a week.

[redwitch]

Turn fridge down to "2".

Put plastic on toilet seats; covers/plugs on all sink drains.

Heat to 55 (A/C to 82 when it starts warming up again).

Flip the switch on the garage door to lock (or, better yet, unplug the garage door opener so it doesn't get fried in a lightning storm).

This is plus the advice given by others (all good).

[FoPAA]

Thanks for the quick responses, I'm writing everything down and will follow ALL suggestions! :thumbup:

[champion6]

We don't live in TV yet, but we will probably be in the same boat as you. Below are some things that I have copied over the past few months in order to be prepared. Use this info as needed.

* Turn A/C up to 82 (no higher).
* Turn fridge and freezer down to "2"; turn off ice maker. Close shutoff valve to ice maker, if possible.
* Turn electric water heater and electric range off at breaker box
* At a minimum, close lids to toilets -- covering with plastic wrap even better.
* Cover/put in stoppers/close all drains.
* Turn off water (usually in garage unless a CYV, then in front in the round, pink or purple pipe).
* Unplug as much of the electricals as possible.
* During hurricane season, bring in lanai/outdoor furniture.
* If you have a gas cart, add stabilizer; if electrical, keep it plugged in (ask a neighbor to unplug it during a major lightning storm).
* Lock garage door and disconnect opener from door.
* Be sure all doors and windows are locked (a wooden dowel in sliding doors is a good idea as well).


Do remember that if you are gone for more than 30 days and your house is not checked on a weekly basis, your insurance company will not cover any damage done to your home. So, as long as you come down every month, you should be covered for everything but burglary but that's not covered whether your home is watched or not. If you plan to make it something like every 5-6 weeks, then you need to have someone watch your home. Do not ask neighbors to check your home on a regular basis -- their liability if something happens to your home is quite high.


1. Shut off main water valve in garage. Put washing machine water in the “off” position. Turn off ice maker.
2. Turn hot water tank to “low” or “vacation”.
3. Bring all lanai furniture into living room. Put coasters or cardboard under legs.
4. Place saran cling wrap over toilets and lids down to prevent evaporation.
5. Set A/C to 80-82 degrees and activate “cool setting”.
6. Throw out food in fridge that will not keep. Put opened crackers and bread in fridge or freezer.
7. Lock all doors and windows and place dowel rods in slider. Also lock screen in lanai.
8. Close all blinds.
9. Close all drains in sinks and utility sink.
10. Put garage door in “lock out” position. Unplug GDO.
11. Open all closets for circulation.
12. Prop open dishwasher.
13. Disconnect computer, TV , cable lines, night light, computer.
14. Pour cap-full of cooking oil in garbage disposal and turn “on” for a couple of seconds. Put stopper in sinks.
15. Make sure golf cart charger unplugged.
16. Change furnace filter if it is flashing on thermostat. If changed you need to hit the “filter” button on the thermostat to stop the blinking.med the risk and the insurance company will go after them if they forgot to check, etc.).

"Search TOTV forums" for the word unplug.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

One thing to consider is the 1 year bumper to bumper warranty.

If you only use your home for a few weeks in the first year you aren't really taxing your system too much.

We hired a TOTVer (REDWITCH) to check on our home once a week while we are not there. This way any problem can be discovered early (a water leak perhaps???) and fixed by the warranty dept without an questions. She can also do other things like take your golf cart out for a quick spin, put delivered items in your house, change the thermostat from heat to AC when the time comes, flush the toilets etc.

We felt the $ spent was worth it.


What Russ said.

Get in touch with redwitch - let her take care of the home watch aspect of things for you.

Bill

[LittleDog]

When we go away we turn off the household water. Is it also necessary to turn off the fridge ice maker? We usually don't touch it.

John

[redwitch]

Turn off the ice maker at the very least. One of the more common leaks is from the fridge, so it is worth turning off (if you know how -- I don't).

[golfnut]

champion6, where did you get the info that house insurance is nullified if house is vacant more than 30 days. you are saying that if i am gone more than 30 days and my house burns down i am out of luck!?

jrheydt, if you've turned off the water to the house you have turned off the water to the ice maker.

gn

[redwitch]

golfnut, check your policy. Most have an exclusion if a home is unoccupied for a certain amount time (usually 30 days, sometimes more, sometimes less), many things aren't covered (such as water damage). If the insurance company can prove that the fire was somehow caused by something that would have been detected had the house been watched and the exclusion is in the policy, it won't be covered.

[golfnut]

thanks red I will check my policy, I thought champion6 might be in the insurance business and could provide some insight, but you are right the proof of the pudding is in your own policy...gn

[Pturner]

:wave: FoPAA

Welcome! I'm excited for you and wish you the best in selling your house. We also recommend Red for housewatch.

[golfnut]

i have read my homeowners policy and there are no restrictions of coverage based on occupancy or lack thereof....gn

[redwitch]

GN -- Check for things like 14 days or more of running water or leaks (no coverage) or something to the effect you must prove you were responsible or diligent when making a claim. Those are frequently the ways insurance companies get around it.

I know of one instance where a woman went on a 6-week cruise (she's a frog here). Sometime while she was gone a pipe burst and did some serious damage, including a lot of mold. Her insurance covered none of it because her home had been unoccupied and no one had checked it during her absence. Had the home been checked, the leak would have been caught sooner and a lot less damage. Therefore, she was not diligent and no coverage. The damage was well over $20K.

Sadly, insurance companies are happy to take your money and very, very reluctant to pay any out. Any excuse will work and, it seems, snowbirds are hit especially hard when something goes wrong.

[chuckinca]

Turn off the ice maker at the very least. One of the more common leaks is from the fridge, so it is worth turning off (if you know how -- I don't).


Red:

A couple years ago when we returned from CA to TV our ice maker wouldn't work. I checked inside the freezer and behind to refrig - couldn't figure it out. Called GE appliance service, the guy came out looked it over, pulled the refrig out from the wall, turned the valve on the ice maker water back on (it is a plastic push/pull valve, gave me a bill for $175.

My brother from Chicago used the place for a week when we were gone and had turned the valve off and didn't tell us. Those push/pull valves are a piece of cr** you can never tell what position they are in - open or closed.

Sooo - to turn off the ice maker water, pull the refrig away from the wall and turn off the valve on the back side of the refrig - it's on a 3/8" clear plastic line going up the back of the refrig.


.

[redwitch]

Chuck, I'm going to pretend I didn't understand a word you said -- there are some things in life I really don't want to know. roflao (And pulling a fridge out to find a valve on the back is definitely on my list of things I don't want to do.)

[chuckinca]

I forgot to mention - thanks for the info on insurance coverage on snowbird houses.

(the ice maker valve is like the valve to the toilet water supply)

((leaving for TV Wednesday - maybe two weeks on the road with our travel trailer staying a few days here and there))

.

[johnfarr]

You'll have to get a lawn fertilizer and pest control company signed up, too. If you don't do the pest control, your lawn will become a salad for the bugs.

[FoPAA]

Again, thanks to all - I knew your collective wisdom would amaze me! :BigApplause:

[golfnut]

thanks red, read policy again no exclusions for unoccupied dwelling....gn

[herbaru]

thanks red, read policy again no exclusions for unoccupied dwelling....gn

gn, sounds like you have a good policy. Who's it through?

[skyc6]

I highly recommend Redwitch, who posts on this board. She does housewatching and seems really thorough!

[ladydoc]

I spoke to State Farm,who is our insurer, about coverage on an unoccupied house. She said for one year it would be covered with a rider attachment at same price as we pay now. HOWEVER, after that one year there is NO way to insure it, under any circumstances. So, who are you guys insured with where you are covered for more then one year.

[ladydoc]

Hi golfnut- what insurance do you have that covers unoccupied houses? Thanks so much!

[skyguy79]

One should not totally reply on what one cannot specfically find in their policy. The policy might not be spelled out, at least not in plain English.

We have ASI Insurance through AAA and we processed our policy as "secondary coverage." We origionally wanted Allstate as we have all other coverages back in NY with them, but in FL they won't cover anything but "primary home" policies.

When I first saw the absence question come up, I double checked with the agent at AAA and she confirmed that "secondary home" coverage does not cancel or up the price if absent for any specific length of time as they would with "primary home coverage."

I think it would be wise for anyone to make that call to their agent, policy read or not, if they have any question about it.

[TrudyM]

I forgot to mention - thanks for the info on insurance coverage on snowbird houses.

(the ice maker valve is like the valve to the toilet water supply)

((leaving for TV Wednesday - maybe two weeks on the road with our travel trailer staying a few days here and there))

.

My parents were snowbirds and as they had a place in New Hampshire closing it down for the winter was also an issue. They had a drain on the water line to back drain the lines and then would use a compressor to blow air through the lines so nothing would freeze and then put anitfreeze in the johns and sink drains so any remaining water in the traps wouldn't freeze. Moth balls to discourage the forest critters (Squirrels ). We were use to it as we had summer cabins we rented out which always had to be winterized, but it was a big deal as I recall. And they still had to pay for someone to check on it or the insurance was void, but I think that leaks were not covered even with a service which is why they always drained the water either that or my dad just didn't want to pay to heat the place when it was empty.