Have you Hired Someone to monitor your house while you are traveling?

[bamaboy473]

Originally Posted by RRDefector

Ran into the same problem.. In fl house must be occupied at least once every 30 days.. We have a neighbor friend keeps the insurance jerks at bay.. Its ridicules buts its the way it is. Home insurance Company's employ ppl to just go around and check. They look for anyway to collect more money


Robert & Jana Stanton... Birthing a 2015 Anthem or Cornerstone

For those with similar challenges, have your house-sitter move things outside the house. Car, bike, wheel barrel, rakes, trash can...anything that changes the way the house looked a few weeks before.
Change lights inside the house.

Getting a Cancel notice is not a fun thing to get; especially if you're away and can't get a new policy because....you don't occupy the house. Vacant house insurance is pretty darned expensive.

[RRDefector]

Agreed. Our neighbor uses our xtra freezer space while we are away. He parks in our garage so is constantly "seen" coming and going. It has worked well for us and helps him out as well.. Even went so far as to our insurance agent inquiring to get to know our new tenant. I promptly informed her we have no tenants and also no need of State**** informing us of our comings and goings.. New policy in effect at substantially lower rate with a company that does not seem so interested in spying on our property.😉


Robert & Jana Stanton... Birthing a 2015 Anthem or Cornerstone

[HR2004]

on snow days my neighbor even runs his car in and out the drive way to the garage so it looks like someone is there.. I winterize the house and dont' worry about it.. wife and pup are with me.. nothing else to worry about.

[Crasher]

We bought a sens-i-phone. It monitors temp, sound, and power. I can call in for the status and it calls me if one of the three alarms are activated. If I don't respond after three call attempts, it will call a second and third number. We are gone from late Oct till May. The son-in-law blows the snow off as needed. I provided the riding tractor with snow blower and he does his own as well. Also leave a timer on a light to look like someone is home in the evenings. Any neighbor will make the same deal with me. It has worked well for three years.

[gemini5362]

Hang on help is on the way. They are expensive now but as the price comes down LED lighting will be available. The system I am watching has what is called a mesh system. Basically all the light bulbs talk to each other on their own internet system. All the bulbs also have the capability to talk to a router. When you turn on a light the light that has the strongest signal with a router will make a wifi connection to it. That light will then control all of the other bulbs on the mesh. You will be able to control any light in the system from your smart phone computer etc. From my understanding when the system is fully developed you will be able to program a sequence so that at a certain time of night living room lights are on. Then about yoru normal bedtime they will go out and a hall light will go on. Then that will go out and your bathroom/bedroom lights will go on. Then they will all go out during a normal sleep period and come back on at your normal wake up time.

Samsung has a blue tooth mesh but I think the wifi one above will be a better way to go when it is on the market.

[deandec]

Gemini5362.....that sounds like Vodoo.

I have Samsung equipment, but not sure how bluetooth works from a long distance call.

However, technology sounds more effective than hiring a human, since few folks have done so based upon the responses so far.