We have a true second home and we go back and forth all the time so we never worry about any of this stuff.

I never set up a PO Box with the post office so no mail can go there (there’s no individual delivery).

I leave the temp at 55 in the winter and don’t do anything in the summer. My place is in the woods and stays relatively cool. I also have a wifi thermostat so I change the temperature or turn the system on a day before I go. It’s great if I forget to adjust when I get back.

I do turn the water off every time I leave, even if it’s for a few days.

A few other suggestions to think about. I have Arlo wifi cameras for security on the outside. I also have Ring doorbells on the inside to detect motion. They’ve alerted me to a bat problem I didn’t know I have, as there are sometimes months between visits.

I also have a wifi keypad on the front door- I can lock and unlock remotely or give the code to a friend or a service person. It’s great if I can’t remember if I locked the door.

I’m not sure about your new place but mine has no grass or yard maintenance since it’s in the woods. I’d highly recommend that if you can swing it.

Same answers here but will mention a tip. If you find a handyman or cleaning person you really trust there, I’d lean into that relationship. So reassuring to know I have someone I can call to swing by in a pinch. We would pay for their time, of course.

Anonymous wrote:Our second home is in Florida:
AC at 78
Don’t turn off water as we have sensors that will shut it off if there is a leak.
Our mail, ex junk gets forwarded.
We use a Homewatch service who checks on the house weekly.

Can you please provide their website and the approximate cost? Thanks!

Our second home is in Florida:
AC at 78
Don’t turn off water as we have sensors that will shut it off if there is a leak.
Our mail, ex junk gets forwarded.
We use a Homewatch service who checks on the house weekly.

We never registered for a mailbox so don't get junk mail. Package deliveries are not affected, for the most part. I once had trouble with a JCrew delivery, as in they showed up to the house, saw no mailbox, turned around and sent the package to the warehouse. but that was the exception to the rule. 99% of the time I get my packages with no issue.

Heat set to 66, AC to 77. The thermostat is remotely controllable so I can adjust as needed.

We don't shut off the water every time, but recognize that it's a good practice. We plan to get a sensor for the water main.

1. We really don't get that much mail because we have all the utilities and such set to bill at our home address so I assume our 2nd home address isn't on the junk "lists" or whatever.

2. 60 in winter, 75 in summer. In winter, we leave the sink cabinet doors open when we leave.

3. We don't shut off the water.

We have several neighbor friends too if we ever needed someone to immediately check on something like if there's a major freeze and we want them to check the pipes. We regularly thank them with bottle of wine or whatever.

1. We do get a bit of junk mail type stuff but nothing important because it's not listed as a billing address for anything. The lock to our mailbox actually isn't working right now and we haven't had time to deal with it when we're out there. But I know we haven't missed anything important.

2. 55 in winter, 75 in summer. Biggest concern is pipes freezing which can happen with just a tiny bit of water left in them.

3. Yes we always turn off the water unless we're 100% sure we're coming back within a week.

4. Anything outside that could be blown around or damaged in a storm should be put inside if you aren't coming back for a while. You don't want to be worried about driving out there to secure things if a big storm is coming. This is of course a bigger concern along the coast but even inland storms can bring high winds sometimes.

1) What do you do regarding postal service at your second home? I don't want mail to pile up - I won't use that address as a mailing address but I'm sure there will be junk mail and other stuff that comes there.

Notify the post office that you don’t want mail delivery.

2) What temperature do you leave the heat or air conditioning set to when you are not going to be there for a few weeks?

Really depends on the weather. Summer not higher than 80 so there won’t be mildew build up. Fall and spring 45. Winter or anytime there is risk of reps below 32, no less than 55 but sometimes really warm to prevent pipes from freezing. We have a programmable thermostat so unexpected weather changes are not problematic

3) Do you shut off the main water line every time you leave the house for more than a few weeks?

We shut water off every single time we leave even if we’re coming back two days later.

Anything else I need to be thinking about for the weeks between visits?

If you turn off your water be sure to turn off your hot water heater and ice maker.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Have the mail held or forwarded to your primary residence. Don't give out the address. Catalogs ship to the billing address, not the shipping.
2. Heat - 55; AC - 75
3. No but we have water sensors under every fixture.

thank you. What do you mean by "don't give out the address" - give it out to whom?

Just remove it from the postal route altogether. No mailbox.

No mail goes to our second home except junk and local stuff. We keep our temp on 65 in the winter and 75 in the summer. We don't turn our water off b/c we go all year long. We are only 90 minutes away.

Anonymous wrote:1. Have the mail held or forwarded to your primary residence. Don't give out the address. Catalogs ship to the billing address, not the shipping.
2. Heat - 55; AC - 75
3. No but we have water sensors under every fixture.

thank you. What do you mean by "don't give out the address" - give it out to whom?

My parents have had a second home for 40 years. There has never been any mail delivery there.

I don’t remember on the thermostats—but it’s all baseboard heat so only certain rooms

They shut the water off every time they leave, year round.

1. Have the mail held or forwarded to your primary residence. Don't give out the address. Catalogs ship to the billing address, not the shipping.
2. Heat - 55; AC - 75
3. No but we have water sensors under every fixture.

We are in the process of buying one a few hours away. I have some really basic questions for those that have a second home!

1) What do you do regarding postal service at your second home? I don't want mail to pile up - I won't use that address as a mailing address but I'm sure there will be junk mail and other stuff that comes there.

2) What temperature do you leave the heat or air conditioning set to when you are not going to be there for a few weeks?

3) Do you shut off the main water line every time you leave the house for more than a few weeks?

Anything else I need to be thinking about for the weeks between visits?