What to do with the house whilst we are away (1 Viewer)

[BobtheBass]

We are new to motorhoming, indeed we don't even get our first motorhome until 1st March next year being a new build, but one thing that's on our minds is what to do with the house when we are away.

Like most of you on here, its our intention after we get the hang of things to progress to longer trips abroad, but not having any kids, or relatives close by cant ask anyone (other than friends) to watch the place whilst we are gone. The possibility of short term tenants, paying house sitters (do such things exist?), lodgers etc have been discussed, but we are no nearer to a solution we are happy with. What do you guys do for peace of mind? Sorry if this has been discussed before, but I couldn't find anything using the search facility.

Cheers,

Bob & Sue

 

[bernardfeay]

We just lock the front door, make sure the taps are all turned off and go. We are never gone for more than a month and the idea of renting the house out never occurred to me.

 

[canopus]

If you have house insurance you need to check the providers T's & C's. House insurance will often be voided if the dwelling is left unoccupied for longer than 30 days.

Similarly many popular travel insurance companies also stipulate a time limit during which you can be away in any one period.

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[davidbaldam]

We'er away for 7 weeks in New Zealand and did wonder, luckily our youngest dauther her husband and 2 grandchildren are looking after our house for us, other wise we would have just told our neighbours to watch the house, locked the door and not worried to much. :thumb: :thumb:

 

[MR. FUSION]

In the winter put mouse poison out, if the property is unoccupied and mice get in they can wreak havoc in a few days.

 

[GJH]

We have good neighbours round us and each watch one another's property. We are usually away for no more than a fortnight or so at a stretch, so no problem with the house insurance, but our policy with Tesco is one of the few which allows up to 60 (rather than 30) days away.

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[Landy lover]

You certainly need someone to do the basics that make the property lived in - clear the post away from the door - out of sight of any nosey person peeping through the letter box - remove any of those collection bags that are often left outside for charity clothing etc. get the lawn mowed. If you are going to be away for more days than the insurance stipulates try and get a family or friend to stay overnight for one or two nights - the unoccupied period starts again then provided you can prove they stayed. I have not seen it now for a while but there was some form of driveway swap where you allowed a fellow motorhomer to camp on your driveway with EHU for the period of your holiday effectively looking after your property and maybe your garden.

 

[MikeandCarolyn]

We have 2 sets of local friends who come in regularly to clear mail.water orchids,check heating (in winter) etc.Our insurance is for 180 days.
We regularly are away for 3-4mth periods.
We e-mail them when Gas and Electric readings are required and they e-mail readings back to us.
All bills and Banking is/are done online.

Mike

 

[superk]

Comfort Insurance do motorhome, travel and extended home insurance - we use to be away 6 months.
Comfort Insurance

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[estcres]

I do not want to appear flippant or abusive in any way, but , from what I have read on here over several years is that when someone gets a new van it usually has to go back in for repairs etc. quite quickly after delivery. The van then seems to spend long periods off the road whilst these faults are rectified.

This appears to happen after the van has been out for a couple of campings whilst the owners get used to it and find the faults.

I shouldn't worry to much about being away from home for a long period until your van is fully servicable and fit for purpose.

Have you got neighbours nearby who could pop in, say once a week just to check everything is OK.?

 

[mikebeaches]

I do not want to appear flippant or abusive in any way, but , from what I have read on here over several years is that when someone gets a new van it usually has to go back in for repairs etc. quite quickly after delivery. The van then seems to spend long periods off the road whilst these faults are rectified.

This appears to happen after the van has been out for a couple of campings whilst the owners get used to it and find the faults.

I shouldn't worry to much about being away from home for a long period until your van is fully servicable and fit for purpose.

Perhaps that's a perception you have because such events tend to get lots of exposure on the forums. I suspect folk are less likely to post that they have a new van with no faults.

When we bought our new van three years ago there was no need to return to the dealer until the first habitation service was due at the end of the first year of ownership.

Mike

 

[mikebeaches]

Oh, and to respond to the OP's question - we go abroad for up to 30+ days at a time and just lock up and let the neighbours know. They keep any eye out for us but, fortunately, they haven't needed to contact us with anything untoward up until now - fingers crossed.

Having said that, I might be a bit more apprehensive if it was mid-winter and we were away for that long. Tends to be a couple of weeks at a time maximum in January and February - off to the Canaries without the van usually. If the forecast at home is severe frost, we leave the oil-fired central heating on low.

Mike

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[John & Joan]

We are new to motorhoming, indeed we don't even get our first motorhome until 1st March next year being a new build, but one thing that's on our minds is what to do with the house when we are away.

Like most of you on here, its our intention after we get the hang of things to progress to longer trips abroad, but not having any kids, or relatives close by cant ask anyone (other than friends) to watch the place whilst we are gone. The possibility of short term tenants, paying house sitters (do such things exist?), lodgers etc have been discussed, but we are no nearer to a solution we are happy with. What do you guys do for peace of mind? Sorry if this has been discussed before, but I couldn't find anything using the search facility.

Cheers,

Bob & Sue

We sold ours it was too much hassle worrying about it while away. We live fulltime in the Motorhome now and have done so for 4 years. Summer in UK and head south when it starts to get cold. Today we are on an Aire at Cartagena in Spain. Its 13c here at 11:00am.

 

[big bertha]

Its 11c here in scotland at 11 30 am

 

[laneside]

We sold ours also, it just seemed too much hassle and expense when we were away from it for eight months of the year.

The only annoying bit is we borrowed at a sensible 14% to buy it and now we are lucky to get 3% now it is in the bank.


What a crazy silly world we live in.

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[wanderer]

You could try house exchange, it doesn,t always have to be similtaneous we registered last year and have had 41 enquiries from all parts of the world . Some of the exchangers have 2 properties, last week we were offered a month in Brazil in a beach house. We are currently in Perth WA on a six month exchange which includes car and caravan . I,m still astounded that Aussies want the Uk in our winter but they love it .

 

[kglblue]

Long trips

My wife and I wanted to do 6 month trips touring Europe, but we have had to settle for 2 x 2month trips next year. This is because our house insurance becomes invalid if the house is empty for more than 3 months. We asked about leaving it empty for longer but the cost more than doubled. We decided on the shorter trips next year going in April for 2 months then in September for a further 2.

In 2015 we plan to let, and are researching letting for a year, advice so far is that unfurnished is easier to let than furnished. You need a properly drawn up contract if you have a tenant, so you can get your house back! A letting agent sorts all this out, for a fee and or a percentage of the monthly rent for your house. If we choose an agent we reckon it will cost us about 20% a month deducted from the rent. We think this is our best option as the agent will take out references and vet prospective tenants, get a deposit, collect the rent etc. We will try to let it at least part furnished, if we put our furniture in storage the cheapest we have found is £40 a week plus vat.

To just accept the extra insurance costs left us feeling vulnerable as word may get round that the house is empty, then the scumbags will do their thieving thing. Even if this doesn't happen there might be water leaks or other such mishaps, Leaving us with a lot of regret.

 

[SteveandSue]

House sitters

You could always try looking at House sitters, we looked after a house for 10 days while we were touring New Zealand a few years ago- maybe if you use it for shorter trips first you would get to know reliable sitters.

/
www.housecarers.com/

http://www.trustedhousesitters.com/

Hope this helps
Sue

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[Reallyretired]

We are blessed with wonderful neighbours who look after the place, even cut the grass. Heating left on frost setting in winter, we arrange for our neighbor to turn it back on the day before our return

 

[Bailey58]

Broken Link Removed

I was going to be flippant and suggest you leave it where it is but ..... :Blush:

We are away probably 12 weeks or so each year but never more than 5 or 6 weeks any one time. Never bothered about the 30 days insurance bit or whether it is even in our policy. Should anything happen how do they know when we left or got back?

We do have a son who pops in once a week (at least he says he does) but failing that we have neighbours who have had the key for the day when we have to leave the dog and would do the same over an extended period were we to ask them. It helps that we had their dog for a fortnight this year so that opens up tit for tat possibilities.

We leave lights in the lounge, hall and bedroom to come on with timers. Too regular if observed by ne'er do wells maybe but we're happy that we're showing signs of occupation. We make sure the hedge and grass is cut before we go and son probably does it just before we're back. oh:
We used to worry but have long since given up, inconvenient if something untoward does happen but life is too short to worry about something that can be replaced.

 

[lindylou]

My wife and I wanted to do 6 month trips touring Europe, but we have had to settle for 2 x 2month trips next year. This is because our house insurance becomes invalid if the house is empty for more than 3 months. We asked about leaving it empty for longer but the cost more than doubled. We decided on the shorter trips next year going in April for 2 months then in September for a further 2.

In 2015 we plan to let, and are researching letting for a year, advice so far is that unfurnished is easier to let than furnished. You need a properly drawn up contract if you have a tenant, so you can get your house back! A letting agent sorts all this out, for a fee and or a percentage of the monthly rent for your house. If we choose an agent we reckon it will cost us about 20% a month deducted from the rent. We think this is our best option as the agent will take out references and vet prospective tenants, get a deposit, collect the rent etc. We will try to let it at least part furnished, if we put our furniture in storage the cheapest we have found is £40 a week plus vat.

To just accept the extra insurance costs left us feeling vulnerable as word may get round that the house is empty, then the scumbags will do their thieving thing. Even if this doesn't happen there might be water leaks or other such mishaps, Leaving us with a lot of regret.

Do you have a garage ? Our daughter lets out her house garage not included and they have their furniture stored in there.

Lin

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[Minxy]

We are away probably 12 weeks or so each year but never more than 5 or 6 weeks any one time. Never bothered about the 30 days insurance bit or whether it is even in our policy. Should anything happen how do they know when we left or got back?

Very easy if you go abroad, they just have to check your crossing tickets! I would NOT advise anyone to do what you are, it isn't as if you are going to just 'lose' a few quid ... if it goes up in smoke (and it does happen) you will have lost EVERYTHING and the insurance, quite rightly, will stipulate that you broke the contract with them so won't pay out ... So where will you live then???? oh:

I suggest you check your insurance policy before your next long trip and sort out either cover to provide for the longer trip, or put something in place (ie get someone to stay and be able to prove they did) to 'reset' the clock as it were so the cover period kicks in again.

As regards the OP, think long and hard about whether you NEED to let your house out as it can really cause a lot more problems than just leaving it locked up - for example tenants are not always careful/conscientious/reliable so the condition of your property could suffer, of you might find they don't pay the rent when it's due, or don't vacate when they should - it happens unfortunately. I have a rental bungalow which we bought new in 2006 and if I had known when I bought it what a nightmare it can be with tenants (3 lots) I would NOT do it again, if it HAD been our home there's no way I would have let it out.

Also 20% is steep for a letting agent - we pay 10% which I know is a good rate - but if you go abroad you will pay more as they will have to potentially manage more problems themselves so they sting you for it, which may explain why you are being quoted 20%.

You will also have to declare the rental income for tax purposes and also will have to insure it, have the gas check carried out annually and put a sum aside in case of repairs etc which may become necessary. If there isn't much difference in the finances for whether you let it, or not, personally I'd not rent it out.

 

[estcres]

Regarding renting your house whilst you are away think about this:

Would you rent your Motorhome out at any time?,

If the answer is no then you have answered your own question.:thumb:

 

[peter marshall]

Hi
we go for 5/6 months from January each year, unfortunately for us the Fylde Coast is classed has a flood Plane other years we have paid the premium for grossly inflated insurance cover , this year we went with Central Direct who insured us with RSA for a decent premium, the stipulations are a full drain down or leave the heating on low from October to the end of March which is ok by us we can leave it on in Jan then our Daughter can turn it off in April, Burglar alarm set neighbours informed and son in law to cut the grass if required, roll on 5th of Jan. Pete :thumb::thumb:

Ps the Insurers that have 30 or 60 day cover say that if somebody stays for 1 night the 30 or 60 days start again not tried that one but maybe worth a look into.

PPs Enjoy your new van and trips when you get it.

Wrong name of Brokers it should be Central bespoke (not direct) I got their number from Caravan guard

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[aba]

you could always offer your driveway to full timing funsters and they wouldn't have to go into the house unless there was a problem.
but would serve as a deterrent to scumbags and scroats as the property would be occupied.

 

[Malcolm Bolt]

It all depends on how your motorhome use develops.
We knew we wanted to spend long periods away so we moved out of our house and in with our son (but we seldom spend long there). We cleared our place of all furniture and sold it at auction. When we stop our travels we will buy at auction again.
Precious items are at home (our son's) in a few boxes.
Kitchen gizmos etc are in an old caravan fitted with an all weather cover in a secure storage compound. It is a lot cheaper than storage centres.
This has allowed us to rent out our place on 12 month contracts. We use an agent who charges a monthly fee and tax is paid on the income but what is left over to go towards the cost of our travels. If there is a problem with the house such as a leaking tap or a loose door handle we are advised by the agent (he rings us up), he arranges for the repair and the cost is deducted from the next month's payment.
In this way we always have somewhere to return to if/when we decide to stop traveling.
We do not have the cost of upkeep of the property.
We do not have to worry about the consequences of it being left empty.
WE ARE HAPPY

Enjoy your use of your motorhome your way :thumb::thumb:

 

[Revid]

Home away

Living in a block of flats its slightly easier, no one knows wheather you are there or not, bur we have all electrics & water turned off and a neighbour poping by.

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[movan]

I let a couple of my daughter's friend housesit even for short breaks .... big buxom lads......

 

[Mags52]

We have used http://www.housecarers.com/ on 5 different occasions. Sitters stay in your house for free and keep it safe. You can request sitters who will look after your garden etc. Lots of them prefer long house sits because they want to get to know a different place well. Many come from USA, Canada or Australia.
You can get sitters with references and contact their references directly.
It's worth a look.
Happy travels!
Mags

 

[Bailey58]

Very easy if you go abroad, they just have to check your crossing tickets! I would NOT advise anyone to do what you are, it isn't as if you are going to just 'lose' a few quid ... if it goes up in smoke (and it does happen) you will have lost EVERYTHING and the insurance, quite rightly, will stipulate that you broke the contract with them so won't pay out ... So where will you live then???? oh:

I suggest you check your insurance policy before your next long trip and sort out either cover to provide for the longer trip, or put something in place (ie get someone to stay and be able to prove they did) to 'reset' the clock as it were so the cover period kicks in again.

Who's to know we're abroad, whether in the van or not. We could well be touring the UK for 3 months and popping home for a few nights every 3 weeks or so. As it happens our son pops in, who's to say he doesn't stay there for a few days? I will check the policy and it may give us longer than 30 days but should the worst happen where would we live? Why in the van of course.

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