Friday 18 August 2017

Finance Fridays – Going away home checklist


We were looking at what makes a good landlord in last week's Finance Fridays. For this week we ticking off the things we need to think away when going away from our homes. Next week is the last Bank Holiday before Christmas and many people will take the opportunity to grab a few days away without taking any holiday from their work. Whether you go away for a night or two weeks there's some things you need to check before leaving home otherwise you could come back to a costly mess! Let's look at the things you need to check before you leave your home empty.

Empty bins – Make sure any bins around your home are emptied and in particular your kitchen bin which may have food remains of any kind in. An apple core or some egg shell left in the waste is all that is needed to attract maggots and flies. If you find you have a pest control problem you may need to call a specialist company to deal with it.

Set heating and hot water – If you are going away in warm weather you won't want to be paying to heat water while you are out of the house. In winter if the temperature drops below zero while you are away and you have turned the heating and water off you could come back to frozen or burst pipes. Getting the balance right in terms of home protection and financial saving can be tricky. Alternatively you could get your heating system controlled by a remote system you can monitor on an app.

Close windows and doors – Quite often we rush around the house thinking we have remembered everything only to leave the bathroom window open. Don't make it easy for anyone or anything to enter your property. A small open window is just enough for a bird to fly in and if it can't get out again then it will start to panic and cause a considerable mess. You can monitor your home by installing a home monitoring system like the Smarthome Panasonic.

Check taps – If you have a water meter then you will be paying for every drop of water you use and a dripping tap left for two weeks can cost quite a bit of money. If you turn off the water supply at the stop-tap it can also help to stop unknown leaks while you're away. If do come home and find your cold water is warmer than usual or tastes fusty it is because the water has been left in your pipes while you were away.

Cancel milk and newspapers – Nothing alerts people more to the fact your house is empty than milk on the doorstep and piles of post hanging out of the letterbox. You also don't be paying out for items you don't use.

Do you have a home checklist when you go away? Have you ever come home to a domestic disaster?

This is a collaborative post.

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Finance Fridays

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