With our convenient location to the Baltimore Maryland and Washington DC beltway areas, West Virginia's eastern panhandle has long been a popular destination for tourism and home ownership. Most are drawn by our beauty and slower pace of life as well as the economics of lower priced real estate and taxes.
Some folks decide to put their roots down while others are looking to escape the beltway bustle at the week's end and I have had the privilege to assist both mindsets.
Since marketing vacation homes has become one of my niches over the years, I would particularly like to address those second home owners about some of the pitfalls to avoid.
"5 Easy Tips" to Protect Your Investment:
1. First and foremost, always turn off your main water valve when you leave. Make it a habit to do this year round because Murphy never takes a vacation and anything can go wrong while you're away. I can't tell you how many disasters I've encountered over the years while marketing vacation homes due to water damage.
2. While staying on the topic of water since it is one of most damaging elements that you can control, hire a professional to winterize your home. Turning the main water supply off and draining through the open faucets may not cut it when the temperature drops below 20 degrees. If you are not planning to use your home over the winter, I highly recommend this investment for your peace of mind. Trust me when I say that a frosty coating of ice in your oven is undesirable.
3. Oh those trees, those beautiful trees! We are so fortunate to have an abundance of beautiful hardwoods and pines covering our mountains, but they could be your nemesis too. Look around the perimeter of your home for trees leaning toward the house and also look for nearby standing dead trees that could fall and cause damage. Trees are beautiful and a wonderful habitat for local wildlife, but sometimes they need to come down. If you are fortunate enough to have standing dead hardwood trees, save them for firewood.
4. Most likely your vacation home will have that "cozy fireplace" and of course you'll need wood to fuel that fire. Don't stack the wood against the house or on the deck just because it's convenient. In your absence, the termites move in. Leave your permanent wood stack at least 20 feet away from the house. As an added tip, burn hardwood such as oak and limit the use of pine for burning as creosote could build up in the flue and may cause a chimney fire. If you use your fireplace or wood stove regularly, you should have the chimney cleaned once a year.
5. Bugs will be bugs and they all have a job to do, but they shouldn't be confined within your four walls. The obvious pests are termites and ants, but during this time of the year there may be infestations of lady bugs, stink bugs and common flies looking for a place to winter away. Here again, hire a trusted professional to control those little pests. I recommend quarterly treatment to protect your investment and making sure that the company you hire is fulfilling their contractual agreement.
The above tips are a compilation of my many years of experience in dealing with second home properties. Although I may have injected a little bit of humor here, it's basically common sense when you think about it.
Photo courtesey zieak
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