Leaving my house for five months

Jena · #1 02/26/07, 05:22 PM

I will be going to Wyoming from Mid-May until October to take a seasonal job.

I am not sure if I want to just shut the house up, or find someone to stay here.

All my stuff will still be in the house. I'd have to trust someone with all my possessions, not just my house.

I have two cats who will need to either be cared for, or I'll have to find them new homes (or maybe temp homes).

The grass has to be cut either by a caretaker or mowing service.

My well pump is iffy, so it'd either have to be watched by a caretaker, or shut down for the duration.

My kids sort of come and go here.....if I'm gone, they'll be wanting to use my house for parties. No doubt about that, but if someone is here, they can't. Even if it's empty, I have neighbors who would watch out for that. I'm not too worried about vandalism or crime, but it is a mild concern.

What do you all think?

Jena

bill not in oh · #2 02/26/07, 05:27 PM

I'd definitely find someone to house sit. There actually are folks that make their living that way...

james dilley · #3 02/26/07, 05:55 PM

Hers A idea. Talk to the local church and see if they have A family who could use A house for that time frame . So the family can get back on there feet. Just A thought..

bare · #4 02/26/07, 06:16 PM

Houses and property don't do well empty. I second the house sitter idea with a good background check by someone qualified to do so. One way to prevent problems is to require a large cash deposit to be refunded if everything is left alone, and good condition upon your return.

rnmom23 · #5 02/26/07, 06:31 PM

We were just in Minnesota for 4 months for a temp job. Considered renting out the house while we were gone, just to help with the mortgage (were planning to be gone about a year) but determined it wasn't worth it. Had my Father-in-law look in on it a couple times a week as he lives right down the road. He flushed the toilets every time he was here (which I'm told is VERY important). Had our thermostat put on "vacation mode" so it wasn't all the way off, but not heating an empty house either. Hired a boy from our church to mow the lawn and rake leaves. When we got home even after 4 months it was very musty in here. Everything was alright structurally, so we just had to burn a lot of candles for a couple days and clean like crazy so the house smelled "lived in".
A housesitter would have been nice, however if you're still paying a mortgage and have to pay a housesitter on top of that, it could add up pretty quick.
Good luck with whatever you decide, and enjoy your travels!

Liz

DenverGirlie · #6 02/26/07, 07:14 PM

You can hire a caretaker, or housesitter.

Can advertise with this website:

http://www.caretaker.org/

you shouldn't have to pay the person of you make it in exchange for caretaking. Of course the church route might or might not work out better.

Interviews, credit check and back ground check

MoonShine · #7 02/26/07, 08:15 PM

Sounds like finding a house-sitter would be your best option. Then they could watch over the house,fend off the kids

,take care of the kitties,and mow the grass.

halfpint · #8 02/26/07, 08:30 PM

I would suggest the church contacts, as well as local missionary organizations. A lot of times missionaries come back on furlough for several months to a year, and are in need of homes. They usually travel on weekends to speak at churches, but need a home base for the weeks, unless they are at missions conferences.

Another thing to consider is insurance. Some companies won't cover a home if it has not been occupied for a certain period of time, for us it was usually 2-3 months.

Dawn

Jena · #9 02/26/07, 09:53 PM

I do not like the church idea, unless it's for a missionary or something. I don't really want some homeless people living in my house. I can see a variety of major problems with that.

Maybe I'll just hire a live out housesitter...someone to feed the cats, mow the grass and check in on it every few days....property management company maybe? It would be less risky and probably cheaper than a live in sitter.

Jena

**clovis** · #10 02/26/07, 10:29 PM

What kind of temp job are you taking??? Who is it with??? I hope it isn't in one of the National Parks as a waitress/server in a park restraunt.
Clove

Shadow · #11 02/26/07, 10:42 PM

Forget letting some one from the church or anywhere stay in your house with your stuff. This will just not work. It sounds good but not really workable. Find some one to look in on it or a house sitter.

Two Cents Worth · #12 02/26/07, 11:04 PM

If the pump issue were taken care of you might find a full time RVer willing to use free parking for a few months in addition to a stipend to do a bit of work such as mowing.

Sorry, but I'm busy with work so can't help you out.

Cascade Failure · #13 02/27/07, 01:22 AM

I only see two options here...either someone you trust implicitly or hire a liscensed/bonded service.

Good luck.

Oh, one other thing, some local police departments will allow you file notice with them basically saying you are out of town and they will make extra patrols through the area if available. This is usually a short-term service though. Something to consider...

naturewoman · #14 02/27/07, 01:59 AM

I agree that vacant property is vandalism or theft waiting to happen...even in a safer area. Do you have any young friends who are living at home and would like a nice break away from their parents (not kids...young adults) who you think might be reliable? If you do have someone there and are giving them space in exchange for care of the place and cats, you will still probably be responsible for electric bills etc. A bonded licensed pet care service (they will do mail pickup and watering plants too sometimes) might be a better option, if they come out every day, but that can be spendy.

Tough decision...but whatever you do, if you do let someone stay there you don't know very well, make sure you lock up all your valuables.

danoon · #15 02/27/07, 08:06 AM

You ARE taking your computer with you aren't you? I mean how are you going to keep in touch and let us know whats going on without a computer?

Five years ago I'd have stayed there for you.. maybe someone on here needs to get away for a few months, its a tempting thought.

Bruce in NE · #16 02/27/07, 08:59 AM

That must be one heck of a job in WY. I wouldn't leave my house empty with all the stuff in it for 6 months for any job. And I wouldn't trust a renter -- a renter burned down my house once.

FrankTheTank · #17 02/27/07, 09:09 AM

Leaving a house closed up all summer in Illinois? A couple things come to mind...heat, humidity... Find someone to atleast stop by weekly or something. Just make sure you can trust them. We have some people that go on vacation yearly and they always call us to do watch dog/etc because they know when they get home everything will be exactly as they left it

Good luck, Yellowstone or the energy biz (in WY)>???

ldc · #18 02/27/07, 09:19 AM

I had a friend who got job in another country once. We got her a steel door for her attic, put all her valuables up there, and locked it while she rented the house out. It worked out ok. I used to work for a service business called "Beck and Call" years ago. When people were out of town, we did everything for them

ets, plants, repairs, etc. It was very expensive. It's always better if you know the people, but there are still surprises. Worst case scenario: a friend once came home to a dead dog. The caretaking "friend" took the $, and never fed the dog. Yes, it is a horror story. I leave up to 5 times a year for up to 5 days at a time, to visit aging relatives, but thank god I have good friends who take great care of my dog and cat. There is so much that can go wrong. When I worked at that agency, I couldn't believe how many alarms went off, how many racoons got inside, how many water heaters and washers flooded the empty houses...Really plan this out and it'll be ok. ldc

Marilyn in CO · #19 02/27/07, 09:47 AM

Hey, I'm only an hour away from southern Wyoming. Did you get a job taking care of cows? Hope everything goes great for you. PM me if you like.

Concerning the house, I would get property management or a house sitter that you know and trust a lot.

TexasArtist · #20 02/27/07, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jena

I do not like the church idea, unless it's for a missionary or something. I don't really want some homeless people living in my house. I can see a variety of major problems with that.

Jena

Do you have a definition of homeless? Not everyone who is out of a house right now is some bumm on the road. I spent about a year living in a tent because of people with the attitude about "homeless". I didn't lose my job. I wasn't or am not a drunk or druggie. I had a wall of water hit my house in the middle of the night and distroyed it! You've probably read the treads lately about some folks on here haveing neighbors homes being lost to fire. You might have someone in your area that lost their home to fire as well but because they couldn't work a water hose fast enough to save their house you hold that against them?

Maybe you have a different thought in your head when you wrote that but until you lose "your" place to some disaster you can't really understand.