Rachael Green
It’s that time of year when the weather gets cold and the snowbirds head south, both the geese and the humans.
Using data from the Census Bureau’s 2016 American Community Survey, the most recent data available, the National Association of Home Builders estimates that 7.4 million Americans own a second home, with the most popular locations in warm climates like Florida, Arizona and California.
Of course, life as a snowbird isn’t all a bed of roses. Having two homes means insuring both properties and possibly two cars. It also means taking steps to prepare each home to be empty for months on end.
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Before you head for sunnier shores, run through the checklist below to make sure your home, car and insurance policies are all prepared for your prolonged absence.
How to protect your home while you're away
The biggest risks you need to worry about if you're leaving your home for a month or longer include theft and unexpected repair issues. An unoccupied home is an attractive target for burglars so you need to eliminate as many signs of your absence as possible.
As for repairs, you can't stop things from breaking while you're gone, but you can take steps to minimize the damage. Here are the most important things to do before you leave for the winter.
Shut off your water
Turn your water off at the main shut off valve before you leave. This quick step can go a long way toward minimizing the damage of any disasters that happen while you're gone. If a pipe does break, at least it won't be leaking water for months on end.
Unplug your appliances
Go through each room and unplug lamps, clocks, microwaves, coffeemakers and any other item that's plugged in. The amount of power these items draw when not in use is minimal, but it adds up over months. You might as well save a little money on your electric bill while you're gone.
Tidy up your landscaping
This isn't just for appearances. A newly-mowed lawn and well-pruned shrubs make it look like the homeowners are still there. For would-be burglars casing houses, these landscape cues could help convince them to skip your home.
Install a home security system
If you don't have one already, there are many affordable and easy-to-install DIY home security systems you can get up and running before you go. Smart cameras can alert you to intruders even when you're in another state or country. Motion-activated floodlights can deter burglars altogether as it removes the cover of darkness.
Move your spare key
If you have a spare key hidden outside, you should really consider getting a smart lock that doesn't require a physical key. But, until you make that home upgrade, just make sure to bring that key inside or leave it with a friend or neighbor while you're gone.
Stop your mail
An overstuffed mailbox is a glaring sign to thieves that no one's home. Contact your local post office and ask them to hold your mail during the dates of your vacation. This is a step you can skip if someone's housesitting or checking in on your home while you're gone. Just make sure to ask them to bring your mail in.
Don't turn off your thermostat
You don't want to heat an empty house, but you also don't want your home's temperature to drop to extreme lows. Repeated freezing and thawing can wreak havoc on plumbing and fixtures.
So, just set your thermostat to about 10 degrees lower than you'd normally set it while you're home – or, somewhere between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
This is low enough that your HVAC system won't be blasting around the clock, but it will kick on as needed to prevent your home temperatures from fluctuating too drastically.
Toss or give away perishable foods
Don't leave leftovers spoiling in your fridge for months. If you have unused produce or other perishable food items, bring them over to a friend or neighbor before you go. If nobody wants it, toss it in the compost or trash. This is better than letting it fester in an empty house.
Take care of key chores
You don't need to do a full spring clean before leaving, but you do want to take care of anything that could end up smelling or attracting pests. Take out trash. Clean any dirty dishes.
Ask someone to house sit or check on your house. One of the easiest and most effective ways to prevent problems is to have someone stay at your house while you're gone. An occupied house is less attractive to thieves. Any leaks or storm damage are more likely to be caught in a timely manner. You won't have to do as many of these preventative steps (like shutting off your water) if there's someone there. If there's no one who can stay at your house, ask a neighbor or friend to check in on it once a week or so.
Double check your social media settings, too
You might not think twice about posting photos on Facebook or Instagram while you're gone. But, if your profile is public, doing this is basically broadcasting to the world that your home is unoccupied right now.
That doesn't mean you have to go radio silent while you're away. Just go into your settings and make sure your profile is set to private and that your posts are set to share only to friends.
What to do with your home insurance before you go
To get you ready for a worry-free winter, these tips can help you evaluate your home insurance and spot ways to trim costs. “The best rule of thumb is preparedness,” says Joe Meisinger, chief underwriting officer for personal insurance at Travelers. He suggests starting by understanding what the policies you already have cover.
Don’t Keep Secrets From Your Insurer
When you own two homes, your insurer will ask you to list which is your primary residence and which is secondary. Your primary residence is the one that you spend more time at during the year.
If you spend nine months in New York and three in Florida, your New York residence is considered your primary home. If you spend an equal amount of time in both states, the insurance industry standard is that you name the state where you have your driver’s license as your primary residence.
You’ll end up paying higher insurance rates for your secondary residence, so you may be tempted to list the more expensive residence as your primary, even if you spend less time there.
Resist that temptation, says Matthew Henaghan, an Allstate insurance agent in Hockessin, Del. “You don’t want to keep secrets from your insurance company,” he says. “If you list one house as your primary, but you’re only there three months a year, that can create major issues.”
For example, if a pipe bursts and you don’t discover the damage until much later in the year, your claim could be denied.
In Henaghan’s experience, the major insurance companies will only sell you a policy for a secondary home if they are also insuring your primary residence, though some smaller insurance companies, like American Modern and Foremost, will insure a secondary residence alone.
Consider adding water backup coverage
One extra benefit you may want to add to your policy is water backup coverage. Some homeowners might be surprised to find out this type of damage is usually excluded from standard home insurance.
“According to Travelers’ data, 20% of homeowner’s insurance claims result from water damage unrelated to weather events, including frozen pipes that can lead to leaks,” says Meisinger.
If your house catches fire while you’re in another state, chances are you’ll get a phone call, but you might not discover the damage from a burst pipe for weeks, even months. That’s why the water backup coverage makes sense.
How to prepare your car for long-term storage
If one or more of your cars will be staying behind as you head for warmer climates, there are a few steps you should take to make sure it still runs smoothly when you get back.
Clean your car
Dirt and water spots left sitting on your car can damage the paint. So, make sure to give it a good clean right before you leave. That includes wiping down the inside to get rid of dust. Then, get a cover for it to keep new dirt and debris from accumulating while you're gone. That cover will help even if it's going to be parked in a garage.
Fill the gas tank
Empty space in the gas tank creates room for moisture to build up. This can cause rust. Topping off your tank before you leave can prevent this from happening.
Get an oil change
If you'll be gone longer than a month, get an oil change before you go – even if it's technically too soon. Dirty oil can corrode the engine if it sits too long.
Disconnect the battery
If you won't be driving your car for a month or more, you should disconnect the battery. Even a relatively new battery can end up dying from the slow drain of power over a long period of time.
Block off pest access routes to your vehicle
One of the easiest to overlook risks snowbirds face is rodent damage. Rodents and insects looking for a place to overwinter may decide your car's engine is the perfect place to call home. To prevent that, make sure your windows are rolled up and you've got a car cover in place.
Keeping it in the garage will also help minimize this risk. Though, there is still a chance pests find their way into the garage.
If you know pests are likely to be a problem, take the extra step of stuffing a rag or aluminum foil in your tailpipe and air intake. Just make sure you remember to remove it again when you get back.
Lastly, make sure you don't drop comprehensive coverage on your car. While you'll see some tricks for saving on car insurance while you're away, comprehensive car insurance is what you'd need to file a claim if you discover pest damage when you get home.
Slightly overfill the tires
Tires will lose air if sitting for months, especially in colder weather. Going a bit over the recommended PSI helps compensate for that. Otherwise, you could end up with flat spots or other issues if under-inflated tires sit too long.
Turn off your parking brake
When left locked for too long, a parking brake can corrode your rotors. Instead, place parking stops in front of the wheels if you're worried about it rolling.
Special tips for an EV
For an EV, you obviously won't need to top off the gas tank or get an oil change. But you still need to prep your car for long-term storage. Specifically, charge the battery to no more than 60% and then unplug it.
Check your owner's manual for exact recommendations on what charge level your car should be left at if it's going to sit for an extended period. If yours has a "storage" or "deep sleep" mode, find out how to activate that. Sometimes, it will automatically switch into that mode on its own.
What to do with your car insurance before you go
If your car is staying behind while you're gone, maintaining full coverage car insurance on it doesn't really make sense. But canceling your coverage altogether is risky. Still, there are some options you can consider to save on insurance without putting your car or your finances at risk.
The first option is to call your insurer and see if they offer something called storage insurance or layup insurance. It's a lower cost option specifically for situations like this when you don't want to cancel coverage completely, but the car is going to be sitting for a few months.
If that's not an option, you can still drop your premiums a bit by temporarily dropping collision coverage. Since you won't be driving it, there's no risk you'll get into an at-fault accident in it.
As mentioned earlier, you should keep comprehensive coverage, though. This is what you'd use if your car was exposed to pest or weather-related damage while you were away.
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