Your house during WDW vacation...

[tchan03]

if you plan one week WDW vacation during winter, you don't have any trusted relative living in your neighborhood, and weather went bad (big snow storm) during the week in which you went down to Orlando, how did you manage your house?

and your driveway , you just leave it piling up the snow?

TC

 

[cjbcam]

if you plan one week WDW vacation during winter, you don't have any trusted relative living in your neighborhood, and weather went bad (big snow storm) during the week in which you went down to Orlando, how did you manage your house?

and your driveway , you just leave it piling up the snow?

TC

Yes we did leave the snow pile up. We have a house alarm for fire, water and break ins. You can pay to have mail stopped. It's only a week I didn't even worry about it

 

[encinc]

We paid a neighbour kid to look after our house and driveway while we were away. We paid him a small fee for day to day snowfalls, and a substantially bigger fee for any major storms. I think it worked out well for everyone. One year, we just let the snow pile up and then spent hours digging out the day we for home. Not a fun transition back!

 

[Disneylover99]

We always let the neighbors know when we are traveling. They take care of the snow for us/pick up mail/collect papers at the door etc.... When they go away we do the same for them. It works out great!

I don't worry much about the driveway, but I think you have until 24 hours after a snowstorm to clear your sidewalks.

Where we live, If somebody phones the city to complain about your sidewalks not being cleared, they will come out and clear it for you, but you will foot the bill.

 

[Gigi22]

We have a snow clearance service that cleans our lane way every time it snows 5 cm. I cancel the newspaper, and notify the post office to hold our mail (this costs a few dollars). Pet is either taken to the vet to be boarded, or we have a pet sitter come in. If we have the pet sitter, she also checks our house. If we don't have the pet sitter, then our cleaning lady comes by to check the house every 2 or 3 days. Check with your insurance company, because they may require someone to check your house if it is vacant over 3 consecutive days "in heating season". There are expenses associated with leaving your home in the winter. Enjoy your trip!

 

[surfer_ed]

Always a problem for me since I move around for work and it takes a few years some times to find neighbors that can help out....like this year when we moved into a new subdivision.

Still trying to find a house sitter for my Vero Beach Vacation in March. Also have a few dogs and cats and prefer to have some one come over vs kennel. I have put them in a kennel before but the older dog is now 12 so I prefer for her to stay at home.

Also don;t you have to have some one come into your house every 3 days for insurance purposes?

 

[dg20]

Something to keep in mind too is that for some house insurance, you have to have someone checking on your house every so many days (I think mine is 3) in case of a basement flood etc.

 

[sherilaine]

Something to keep in mind too is that for some house insurance, you have to have someone checking on your house every so many days (I think mine is 3) in case of a basement flood etc.

I am in the insurance industry and have never heard of such a thing - the only time you have to check on a property so often if it is vacant - being on vacation does not a vacant house make.

 

[Gracomom]

We've been lucky enough to have parents nearby who will check on our home and who are young enough they didn't mind helping with the snow clearing.

As for the insurance issue, I would definitely check! My husband works for a restoration company that does repair for insurance companies after fires, floors, etc. He comes home with horror stories all the time. One recently was of a woman who went away for a holiday during a cold snap, asked someone to watch her home, they didn't check on it till the day before she got home, and turns out her furnace quit working, the pipes froze then many burst, flooded much of her 2 story home, and the damage was massive. Turns out she wasn't covered by insurance because the home was left vacant longer than stipulated in her coverage. Ouch!

Not trying to scare you or anything, but it's always good to have your bases covered.