When you plan a lengthy vacation (ten days or more), you want to be sure everything with your home and property is kept up and safe. You do not want to return home to find that your yard is overgrown with grass that is now a foot high, or that your home was invaded and raided. You could ask a friend, relative or neighbor to look after things, but in a busy world that does not always work out for them or you. Here are some property management services and options that do work and will work for you.
Yard Services
Yard services or landscaping companies can provide yard upkeep while you are away. These services vary in price, depending on who you hire, where you live and how often you want someone to perform your requested services. Mowing the lawn, trimming hedges and weeding are the most commonly requested property management services for people on vacation.
Home Monitoring Services
There are two ways you can go with home monitoring services. There are certified house sitters, which require your utmost trust in a hired individual. The house sitter actually stays in your home part of the time you are gone to make it appear as though the house is not empty or devoid of life, thereby deterring break-ins. Then there are real estate agents who provide home monitoring services by stopping by your home every couple of days and checking in on the home to make sure it is still locked up tight and there is no damage to anything outside or in. If you go with the latter option, you can also give the real estate agent permission to call the police and file a report on your behalf in the event that there is something damaged or amiss with your home in your absence.
Home Comfort Services
These services are a little less common, but if you can find a real estate agency or professional property management person who provides them, you may want to hire these people. Home comfort services involves turning the heat or air conditioning back on, turning it up or down, and/or opening windows to air out the house a day or two before your expected return home. This makes it easier to leave the house with a reduced cooling or reduced heating temperature to save money in your absence, while providing you with a perfect welcome home temperature and lack of stuffiness and/or smelly air.
