Having a second home tucked away from your neighborhood just for vacations can be an exciting thing.

If you have a keen interest in travel and vacations, then you know that owning a place somewhere with some good sun is the final piece of the puzzle of planning relaxing getaways and holidays.

You must maintain your holiday home even when you’re not there physically.

While you might easily forget about it until the mortgage bill and other expenses come your way, you should view your second home like your primary home in terms of the need for maintenance and property value.

Vacation home maintenance depends on several factors like location, type, age, construction materials used, and frequency of use.

This article gives you an insight into how you can effortlessly and effectively maintain your vacation home from afar.

Interior Vacation Home Maintenance Tips

When closing up your vacation home for fall or winter, you need to make sure you leave the house in a habitable and maintained condition for comfortable occupancy when you come back.

Maintaining a home you are not living in isn’t easy, and you will not be at fault if you hire professionals to do it for you.

But, if you are planning to do it yourself, then here is a checklist of room by room maintenance tips:

Living Room

A vacation home is a place you go to relax, so you will want to take the least amount of time as possible cleaning up.

Here are two main things you can do before leaving:

• Remove loose cushions on chairs to let air circulate freely and move the furniture away from the walls.
• Clean out the fireplace and leave the chimney flue closed.

Kitchen

Odor is the most irritating thing in the kitchen. To avoid coming back to a smelly kitchen, do the following:

• Clean out perishable foods and properly store the rest.
• Leave your refrigerator door open after a thorough cleaning. You can also leave a few empty boxes of baking soda to clear out any remaining smells.
• Switch off and unplug the kitchen appliances.

Bedroom

To maintain that hotel feeling in your bedroom for your next vacation:

• Strip the bed and clean your bedding
• Open the dresser and closet door for air circulation.

Bathroom

Nothing is more irritating than a dirty and smelly bathroom. To leave a clean bathroom, ensure that you:

• Drain the toilet bowls and close the water supply.
• Pour small amounts of chlorine-based bleach in the toilet bowls to prevent stain accumulation.

General measures to take around the house:

• Leave open boxes of baking soda to absorb any moisture and smells.
• Switch off all the lights and unplug all electrical appliances.
• Set alarms, cameras and replace batteries on your detectors.

The Exterior of the House

There is not much to do for the exterior, but it’s important to leave it looking well kept.

You should drain your pool, fertilize and mow your lawn, empty garden hoses and adequately store the gardening tools.

Leveraging Technology in Vacation Homes

Technology has become a part of our lives, therefore, you should use it to ensure the security in your property is essential.

You can use technology to detect leaks and issues in your vacation home from the comfort of your permanent residence and arrange for repairs early enough.

You can also use it to determine who gets access to your home and even worry less about losing keys to your home with remote access. You will also be notified if an intruder gets into your property.

Why You Need a Vacation Home Insurance

If you purchase or build a second or vacation home, you need to keep in mind the risks and costs that come with it. This makes it essential to contact an insurance company to have your property covered.

Pricing home insurance considers many factors, such as the deductible chosen, applicable risks, and the house cost value.

Apart from the home insurance policy, you may also need flood and earthquake insurance to cover your second home.

These two are often not covered under the standard home insurance policy but might be risky to your vacation home, well, depending on its location.

Key factors that influence the insurance costs of a vacation home:

1.  Location

Different locations will give various insurance estimate costs. A common thing with vacation homes is that the more ideal the location is, the more expensive the insurance costs can be.

For instance, a hunting lodge in the mountains could be risky since it can easily be damaged by wild animals, while a beach house is exposed to storm surges and wind damages.

So, location determines the price of a policy and may cause higher deductibles in some cases.

2.  Property type

Like a primary residence, the house’s age and type of building materials significantly impact insurance costs.

Another factor is whether your vacation home is a condo, a townhouse, or a single-occupancy house.

3.  Amenities

Amenities like hot tubs and pools are fantastic for relaxation but add risk to your holiday home.

If your vacation home has some exceptional amenities or more, you may have to pay a higher premium. You can also go for additional liability protection for your valuable assets.

If you rent out your holiday home, the insurance costs increase, and you will also need additional coverage.

Home insurance is important because:

• It gives protection to your home and belongings.
• It protects the liability coverage and other essential allowances.
• It’s vital for a home mortgage.

Conclusion

Sometimes, keeping a vacation home beautiful boils down to regularly using it, which might not be possible.

Some vacation home maintenance can be demanding, and that’s why you should go for a low-maintenance home.

It would be best if you also remembered to put preventive measures and perform regular services on electrical appliances even when miles away.

Finally, get the right insurance to cover the unseen possibilities in your home.

Therefore, with workable approaches, the right contacts, and the right insurance company, distance can never be an issue in a vacation home maintenance.