[Emkay56]

You can also sign up for informed delivery on USPS. You will get an email daily showing what is arriving in the mail that day. We do a temporary change of address when we go back and forth for months at a time. I think you can only forward mail for a certain period of time so that’s why we had to do temporary change of address.

Originally Posted by Papa_lecki

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.

[Notsocrates]

Originally Posted by Denverdame

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.

Have vehicle both places. Put either on a float charger and suspend insurance on either every 6 months. Forward mail svc. Carry your stream svc with you. Suspend either isp, sonetimes for a fee (Verizon) sometimes no (Quantum). Turn off the water when you leave TV.

[cfstoltz]

We have used a care taker for 12 years. They will check on things regularly, plus can meet service people at your house when you can't.
Empty Nest Coordinator

HPM-ENcaretakers@villageshpm.com

Hometown Property Management

340 Heald Way, Suite 200

The Villages, FL 32163

(352) 750-1595

[seecapecod]

Originally Posted by Papa_lecki

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.

#1 was not our experience. The service detects where your phone is and knows you are at a different address, you can “change your primary location” only once a year so if you go back and forth between states, YouTubeTV isn’t a good choice. We dropped it for that reason.

[Burnsurfer]

Originally Posted by UpNorth

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.

Our cameras and everything wifi still works while on Comcast Seasonal Hold.

[msilagy]

I use Marsil to monitor the humidity (most important) and heat (less important) in my Fl house while I'm away. It is a unit that monitors these settings thru Verizon for a $12 month fee - paid only when I am gone. The unit cost about $275. I never let anyone check my home - not necessary and they can leave lights on - leave a toilet running - etc. Shut off water. Cover toilet bowl with plastic wrap. Cover or close drains. Set golf car and car up with Stabil and a Deltran tender plus to keep batteries charge. Close drapes. Turn refrigerator temp down a bit - fill with bottled water - be sure ice maker is off. I have a humidistat so I set that at the proper settings. A/C only runs to control humidity under 60%. Arrange lawn or weed care. Put Xfinity on seasonal charge $8 month. Unplug as many electrical lamps and appliances as possible. Lock door and go. When I come back it's like I just left every year for 13 years. Good luck. (I do pretty much the same thing up north when I'm gone but heat there is most important)

[DrHitch]

Yes, this USPS premium service is good if you want 100% of your mail sent to you.

The better option is to use the USPS informed delivery service... You will receive an email each day with the items that are coming to your front door..

That way you can have somebody forward only the items that you really need (eg a paper check)

[Jcicales]

Originally Posted by UpNorth

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.

You can choose to l Ave wifi in with Comcast vacation mode- we do it for our cameras

[Foxmd]

Cameras with if you add Wi-Fi on seasonal plan.

[JayBee]

I have had DTV also for 15 years. And for 15 years, I have to call them directly twicce a year, and suspend boxes, and activate boxes. It is frankly a hassle, as it[B] can't[ be be done in advance. And every year I have to threaten to cut off my service due to the new current prices. And yes, year they acquiesce and honor the old rate.
Do you have the same issues ?
Jaybee

[pedwards2932]

We have wifi enabled lock on front door which we can allow temporary access as you can give an access code that you can shut off when you want. We also have a wifi enabled thermostat. It will e-mail me if there is an issue with humidity or if the unit is not able to maintain the set temperature. We got a warning about this and were able to send a technician to check it by unlocking the door. Had the whole HVAC system replaced by Broward and never had to come to the house. Also we put plastic wrap over the toilet and tape up all the drains......keeps bugs from getting in. Wifi enabled sprinkler system allows me to change the settings from my phone.

[Lisanp@aol.com]

Put as many bills as possible on email rather then snail mail. I don't forward from my northern home to southern. My home watch person up north just collects the mail a couple times a week and sends down (or just opens and sends a photo) anything that looks important, but honestly its never really much after the bills are sent in email. I do forward via USPS website from south to north when I leave due to the postal center system in The Villages, but again I get maybe two pieces of mail all summer and they are never important.
We have flood detectors as part of our alarm system
Put documents in a fireproof box or safe deposit box
Have the mindset that everything will be just fine. If you worry it's not going to work for you.

[SIRE1]

I know that several people recommended using the US Mail forwarding service, and although this works great for "regular" mail, we found that the delivery delay was too long for most of our credit card bills and there are some mail (eg. banking, income tax, new credit cards, and magazines) that are not forwarded. So before we leave for The Villages, in addition to requesting Mail Forwarding, I go onto the each of the websites for those categories and update my PROFILE with the new Florida address. And then, before we leave again, I update it with the northern home address. That way, those items are mailed directly to the PROFILE address and there are no delays or delivery failures.

[pikeselectric]

Originally Posted by Denverdame

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.

Hi there!
Casandra with Pike's Electric here
A few suggestions:
1. During the summer months/hurricane season, it is good to have a homewatch person. Whether it be a neighbor or a company who specializes, such as Empty Nest. This individual should stop by the home periodically and go in and make sure the electric is working and no breakers are tripped or non-functional due to surges. If anything is tripped, such as a breaker or GFI outlet, this person should be experienced in how to reset them OR have a great point of contact, hopefully us at Pike's Electric to help in times of need.
2. We offer a whole home surge protection unit, called the Eaton Ultra. If your home's panel allows, some restrictions apply, we can install this unit which will protect your home's major appliances such as the refrigerator, A/C, washer, dryer, range, etc. from surge damage. We suggest this to all Villages residents, full time or part time. Here's a link to read more about it on our website: https://pikeselectric.com/protection-from-power-surges/

Please give us a call if you have any questions. We are happy to assist!
- Casandra 352-748-6251

[hizzonner]

I do all of these things too. Best deal is YouTube tv in both places.

QUOTE=Papa_lecki;2213307]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.[/QUOTE]