Monitoring Your Vacation Home From Afar
In a previous blog post, we talked about how to keep your family home safe while on vacation. In this post we’ll talk about how to monitor a vacation home while you’re not on vacation. Follow these tips to keep your financial investment as well as your “home away from home” safe and secure.
Cameras, Cameras, Cameras.
Cameras are the first and best option for monitoring your vacation home. Indoor and/or outdoor cameras let you have eyes on any area of your home with which you may have concerns. Indoor cameras, like our Scout HD Camera, will provide home owners the opportunity to check in and get real time streaming of any part of the home. For extra assurance, the Scout HD Camera starts recording when triggered by sound or movement so you’ll get notifications if something fishy happens while you’re not vacationing. Video doorbells not only give you camera coverage but also give the impression that someone is home even if you’re miles away. You can review doorbell footage or stream in real time to let unwelcome guests know that they’re on camera, potentially scaring off home break-ins or criminals canvassing the house for access points. Just like the indoor camera, you’ll get notifications if the doorbell detects motion. If you want to thoroughly monitor your home, you’ll need eyes everywhere, but even a modicum of camera coverage will help you sleep at night. Invest in cameras and you’ll have eyes on what’s happening in and around your home.
Environmental Sensors.
Monitoring your home from afar isn’t just about criminal activity. The elements can take a huge toll on your vacation home if you’re not careful. That’s why environmental sensors are a must have while watching your home from a distance. Flooding and fire can wreck a home’s value in a matter of hours so it’s important to get early warning detectors like the First Alert Smart CO/Smoke Detector and the Scout Water Sensor. The average homeowner (including those owning vacation homes) spends between $1,201 and $5,106 to restore or repair water damage within a home. Additionally, in 2020 36.3% of house fires were started by faulty wiring. House fires cost homeowners almost $11 billion in total damages each year. Any device that requires electricity can cause a fire. Your vacation home is an investment in both your peace of mind as well as your financial well being. By installing early warning environmental sensors, you can save you a lot of money and feel confident your vacation home is safe.
Smart Thermostats.
Thermostats have been touted for their money, time and energy saving benefits but they’re almost necessary for anyone monitoring their place from afar. With smart thermostats you can track energy use, account for the weather, make long term adjustments and all from your phone.
And just like environmental sensors, thermostats can keep track of anything out of the ordinary like a sudden increase or decrease in temperature as well as notifying you when the system has failed entirely. This would give you, the homeowner, early detection and prevent any surprises when you walk in on your first day of vacation and the home is sweltering hot. The last thing you want on vacation is to deal with home repairs. Smart thermostats are worth the financial savings alone, but with all the additional benefits, a necessary component to feeling safe and secure about your vacation home.
Good, ‘Ol Fashioned Neighbors.
Sometimes technology fails. We can be too reliant on modern utilities that we take for granted like electricity and WiFi. That’s why neighbors can be a good, off the grid back up plan. Swap numbers with the neighbors and take turns monitoring your vacation home’s neighborhood on behalf of your neighbors and they’ll do the same for you. A friendly text or phone call to a neighbor asking to check on the home or look for any suspicious activity could save you a headache later. If asked nicely, neighbors can clear your mail, turn on or off lights, and make sure your entrances are secure. Neighbors can generally help you keep an eye on the home and joining neighborhood message boards like Nextdoor is an easy way to stay connected to what’s happening in your area. It also might be more effective than trying to camera snoop with limited visibility. Make a friend, call a neighbor and then return the favor.
Taking these steps will help make sure that your vacation property, while not in use, is fully safe and patiently awaiting your arrival when you need it most. Vacation homes should be carefree getaways, so initiate these tiny tasks so that your home will be ready whenever you are.
