Sometimes, we have to leave a house vacant because a move happens before we sell. Other times, it is an estate issue. After seeing several people try to strip my neighbor’s house, which hasn’t been settled on, but is vacant and under contract, I realized that, even in nice neighborhoods, a vacant house might as well have a neon “Please vandalize me!” sign flashing out front. So, what do you do when you have to leave a house vacant?
- Get insurance – There is insurance for vacant homes and, if you don’t have it and you move away, your current policy may not cover your empty house. When my house was empty for several weeks between my “I so don’t want to be a landlord anymore!” epiphany and the sale of the home, I got a special, slightly more expensive policy.
- Consider a security system – The system will discourage a lot of potential vandals from even trying to break in and will scare most of the rest of them away.
- Ask for help – Enlist a reliable neighbor to keep an eye on the place and ask him or her to call the police if kids or strangers are loitering around. Specifically state that no one is authorized to be on the property and that you’ll notify the neighbor if you do expect anyone to come by. This way, your neighbor won’t be left to wonder if perhaps you did authorize someone to come in with a pickup truck and take away all the porch furniture and anything else that wasn’t nailed down.
Photo: K. Thomas
Post from: Blisstree