Vacation properties are a wonderful opportunity to allow you to travel the world or to have a full-time home in one location and somewhere else to get-away. The Peninsula on the Indian River Bay is home to both full-time and vacation homeowners. This beautiful gated community on the Delaware Shore offers homeowners of any kind the ability to enjoy all that coastal Delaware has to offer in a resort-style community. If you are a vacation home owner or a snowbird, you already know that maintaining multiple homes takes a little bit of planning and coordination to prevent damage, keep up on appearance, and ensure that arriving doesn’t mean getting to work. Follow along in today’s post as we offer a few tips to maintaining your vacation property that will allow you to make the most of your stay — and keep the Homeowner’s Association (HOA) singing your praises!

Prepare for your absence.

Many people live in their homes as though they will be home later. The fridge is stocked with food, the towels they used for this morning’s shower are hanging up to dry, and the air is set to a comfortable 68 degrees. However, when you own a vacation home or are not a fulltime resident in your home, you have to think a little differently. Things that people who will be home later don’t have to think about, you will. Here are some helpful tips to ensure you come back to the same comfortable home that you left next season.

Avoid foul smells.

The biggest upset upon coming home for the weekend would be being welcomed by a wave of a foul odor when you wall in your front door. Most odors are caused by bacteria or the breakdown of organic compounds. Houses are full of opportunity for microbe growth. Help mitigate these smells by following this simple checklist before leaving the home for any length of time:

  • Take out all of the trash.
  • Clean and run dishwasher, garbage disposal, and trash compactor.
  • Wash all linens — bed sheets, bathroom linens, and kitchen towels.
  • Empty and clean the refrigerator, oven, and microwave.

Monitor utilities.

In decades past, you would have to set your home’s heating and air conditioning to a specific setting and hope you returned before the weather changed dramatically. This forced you to pay high utility bills when the weather changed and it was no longer necessary for either the heat or air conditioning to be running. While the home does not need to be left at a comfortable living temperature, it should be set at one that inhibits bacterial growth while preventing pipes from freezing. With today’s technology, you can easily manage your home’s heating, cooling, lights, and even home security all from your smartphone. If you are a snowbird or have vacation homes, it is a wise idea to invest in smart-home technology so you can monitor the condition of your home remotely. A few other things you can do to save on utilities in a home you are not actively occupying includes:

  • Turn off all the lights and unplug all electronics and appliances — invest in motion-sensor lights if you want to keep outside lights on.
  • Ensure all water is turned off and sprinklers are set on timers — remote surveillance is helpful here too!
  • Turn off unnecessary gas — to stove or fireplace.
  • Replace air filters.

Stay tuned for part two of this two-part series to learn a few more tips on maintaining your vacation property.

To find a vacation property or second home on the Delaware Shore, look no further than the Peninsula on the Indian River Bay. Contact us for more information and join our community today!