Questions for folks who live here part time
 

We are keeping our home in Denver and have purchased a home in TV. I am wondering if any part timers can tell me how to manage two homes. I am wondering specifically about cable, internet, mail forwarding etc....Would appreciate any advice. Thank you.

1) no cable, get YouTube TV, you can use the log in in Denver and TV
2) internet, we have smart devices, so we don’t change the internet speed or cancel. Some providers do not require a contract, so you can make modifications monthly
3) get a home watch, just someone to walk through the house weekly.
4) get irrigation on a smart controller, so you can make adjustments from home
5) smart thermostat too.
6) add 2 or 3 cameras.

Good List by Pa.........We did part-time for a few years......additional thoughts...........

Mail: We just used the USPS forward mail. If you are down here for a week, jus hold Denver mail and have FL mail forwarded to Denver until you are here longer.

Irrigation: Our system has a rain sensor, so we never purchased a wifi irrigation system. Worked great for years being part-time.

Internet: We went with Spectrum. No contract. If you don't need it while in Denver, they have a "vacation mode" for $6 per month which keep it on for limited connection. Should investigate.

Cameras: Really good idea & cheap. We went with Wyze & not monthly fee.

Weekly house watch......piece of mind.

House shutdown....................be sure to have a list (there are threads on this site) on things to do when you are away for extended times.

DEWILSON made me think of mail.

When we are in FLA for an extended period, we use USPS premium forwarding

Premium Forwarding Services | USPS

They basically collect your mail for the week, and send it to you. There’s a weekly fee, but worth it to get all your mail on saturday.

A couple things.
We've had DirecTV sat since 1996 and like it. We just have it activated when we're heading to TV and paused here in Indiana.
As far as internet goes, we have T Mobile wireless so we just take our router with us.

I am a tech geek, so I also purchased:
1) wifi garage door opener (MyQ). Allows me to remotely open garage door from my phone to let people into the house, without giving garage code. I have used this feature a couple of times.
2) wifi leak detectors to alert of any water backups (I turn off water when not here). I did have a few drops get in the front door seal during hurricane and they alerted me. Opened garage door and neighbor checked and found a small amount of water.

Both are probably overkill...


Camera's allow you to check in and give you piece of mine. I don't use a home watch service.

When the time comes for us to move to TV, we have decided NOT to own two homes, instead we will own in TV and if we want to visit our prior state we will Airbnb or rent a place for a few weeks/months.

This will save you on insurance, local property taxes, transferring services, staying up late wondering if my home is being broken into or if the pipes are freezing in the winter (I’m from Maine), too many issues owning two homes. Plus, you can always sell your home and pocket the proceeds! Use that money to fund your travels…just a thought.

But, to each his own, just trying to offer an “outside the box” thought….enjoy!

Clinton from Freeport, ME

Comcast has vacation mode for internet. $29 a month, runs all of my cameras, and if you pop in for a week, Utube will work with occasional buffer. Unplug lamps (except for the one on timer, or Alexa,) TVs

Have a Smart thermostats.

Get a home watch, if something goes really wrong, they can be at you house in minutes (such as lighting hitting 3 doors down), and kills your WiFi, appliances, sprinkler system.

We vacationed, in ourTV home from “07” to 2012, so home only used 4 months a year. 2013-2017 snowbird during spring and late fall.
In 2018 until now we leave TV hot summer months

Not any problems that our home watch handled as good as we would, if not better

Comcast/Xfinity vacation mode is great and cheap for the time you are not here. But your cameras, smart thermostat, etc and anything wifi related won't work if you choose this option.

Turn off water to unoccupied home. Leave lawn sprinkler system on.

I suggest getting a Brother and Sister-in-Law to live in The Villages. Its a great service! :laugh:

Not true, there are two vacation modes. When you go into your account to vacation mode, it asks if you which one you want. Have been running 9 cameras, change my thermostat settings, home watch turns on lanai tv, and utube will bring up channels. Can’t stream but can see some programs, and he uses WiFi to email me reports. That’s $29 a month

Didn't know that. We do the $8/month deal. $29 is almost what we pay for our regular internet. Not much of a savings.

We thought we'd be snowbirds for a while but after one year we became full time Villagers. We hated the two house problems and the two house bills. Having an empty house 850 miles away was uncomfortable, too. Some of the responders sound very tech-intelligent and that helps enormously. It's been 6 months since we're here permanently and it feels like we made the right decision for us. Lots of admiration for the successful snowbirds, though.

The water detectors are great, but if you think turning off the water is good enough you are wrong. The water can also come from a broken float switch and a plugged drain line in your HVAC unit. Take my word for it, a cup of bleach every month in the drain line keeps it clean. Put at least one leak detector in the room closest to your furnace in case it overflows.