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Tips to Protect a Vacant Home After Moving Out

If you are going to be moving either in or out of the Atlanta area, hopefully you have a buyer all lined-up to move in when you leave. However, it is not unusual for a property to become and remain vacant for a while between occupants.

In a major metro area like Atlanta this vacancy can prove to be problematic, because the city is full of areas that might have risks of crime and delinquency if a property is clearly open and not being lived-in.

Luckily, there are some super simple steps you can take to keep your property safe during times when it is between residents. While it may not be your sole responsibility if you don’t own it, it may be something, even as a renter, that you help the owner to coordinate.

The following list is not exhaustive, but it will get you thinking the right way about proactively protecting your property when you move out.

Step One – Manage the Utilities

It may seem to go against common sense but to leave on some of your utilities after you move out is a smart thing to do to help protect it. You should be able to turn off the gas, as Atlanta is not usually cold enough to get too worried about – especially in the Summer. Yet the humidity here does present its own challenges.

By leaving the electricity turned on, you can leave your property’s AC unit on at a safely moderate temperature. To have the unit come on when it is close to 100 degrees F here helps protect the buildings walls, floors, and interiors.  Excessive weather conditions can be kept at bay with some simple air handler controls.

If your property has a basement, you might need to look at a way to keep your humidity levels managed, like with a self-emptying dehumidifier on the site. DampRid is a product that can also help you manage the conditions of basements in Atlanta.

But more importantly, with the power still on, you can create the illusion of someone being in the property when there is no one there. A few strategic lights set on timers can be turned on and off to make it appear someone is always around. Any existing security system can be maintained.

The same holds true, but less so, for continued water access here in metro Atlanta. Though we don’t usually have to worry about pipes bursting, keeping the water on until the new tenants arrive often helps the transition to be smoother.

Step Two – Manage the Property

You want to keep up all yard work and regular property maintenance when no one is living there. Lawn service, pool cleanings, leaf raking, gutter management might all be things that apply to a sense of normalcy and routine in and around metro Atlanta. Typically, snow is not an issue for us here.

Make sure you have completed a change of address form with the post office so your mail is stopped. If you are tight with the neighbors, perhaps leave a key with one, and ask them to occasionally look to see that nothing has been left on the porch or the front door.

Don’t allow the grass to grow too long, mail to accumulate, or newspapers to pile up on the porch. With a few simple efforts, you can keep the place looking sharp enough to pass the random passersby test.

A Checklist for Success

Keeping a home or office in the Atlanta area looking occupied between tenants is not difficult, but it is a very smart move. Atlanta has a growing, thriving population, so the risk for crime and trouble are always something to acknowledge and work to prevent.

If you want to simply follow a quick list of things to consider, here is a bullet list that will serve you well to protect your Atlanta property between occupants:

• Maintain power and water, cut off gas

• Manage post office and other deliveries with change-of-address forms

• Continue property maintenance/yard work

• Put up dummy cameras and security company signs, maintain any existing security contracts

• Contact a neighbor or other local agent for occasional checks

• Keep drapes/window treatments in place

• Set up a few interior lamps on random timers, occasionally reset the timers or move the lamps

• If a lockbox is used, hide it from view

• If possible, put a vehicle in the driveway

By following these simple steps, you should be able to easily protect your property in Atlanta between one resident and the next.

Do you need more specific help in making your move either to or from Atlanta? Georgia Home Movers are trusted experts in this popular metro area, and we are ready and able to help you get settled, wherever you are headed next. Call us today to schedule your move and leave all the details to us!

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