Summer is the time of year things slow down for us Floridians and a lot of us take the opportunity to skip town for a week here or there.  Besides the 90+ degree heat, humidity and daily rains, you’re really not going to be missing much. If you are lucky enough to be able to sneak away, here’s what should you do to ensure your home is in vacation mode while you are away.

1. Don’t forget about your air conditioning.  Make sure that you keep the a/c running at 79 or 80 degrees.  It’s important to keep it on because it extracts the moisture out of the air, which is a necessity in the steamy summer months.  Shutting the shades and blinds will also help keep the home cool while using less electricity to cool it.
2. It’s good to keep ceiling fans on very low.  This keeps the air circulating through the house and I’m told is a smart thing to do to prevent mold and mildew.
3. Turn the main water valve coming into your home off.  This is the easiest way to ensure that all the water coming into your house is shut off.  You definitely don’t want to get a leak while you are away and come back to a flooded house.  If you are in a single family home, it’s possible that shutting the main valve off will also shut off the irrigation water, depending on how your pipes run.  If that’s the case, then shutting off the individual valves to all the faucets, toilets, and sinks will work so that you can keep the irrigation running while you are away.
4. If you have automatic timers on lights, that’s a great thing. It gives the impression that you are home in the evenings to hopefully keep thieves from stopping by.  This can be well worth the investment.
5. If you are going to be gone for more than a couple weeks it would be smart to hire a close friend to come and check up on the house to make sure nothing has gone awry.  There are also home watch companies that specialize in this.  They will even start up your car so your battery doesn’t die from the car not running for months at a time.  They usually have a large checklist they follow and report back to you with any issues that need to be addressed.

Leaving for vacation is meant to be fun!  Make sure you take some time before you leave to keep it that way. Nothing is worse than getting that phone call about a house issue that could have been prevented!

Gabe Mellein was voted a Top Real Estate Agent – Exceptional in Service and Overall Satisfaction by Gulfshore Life Magazine in 2012 and 2013.  He is the broker of Gulf Pointe Properties, Inc and has over 9 years experience in the SW Florida Real Estate Market.  He is a member of The Naples Area Board of Realtors, Bonita Springs – Estero Association of Realtors, Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, The Florida Association of Realtors, The National Association of Realtors, and is nationally certified in Feng Shui for Real Estate.  Need real estate help?  Please contact Gabe at:  239.825.2234, Gabe@GulfPointeProperties.com  or www.GulfPointeProperties.com