Tips to Get Your House Ready for Summer in SWFL

Many homeowners in Southwest Florida, particularly in the Bonita National community, are seasonal residents, meaning they come for the winter months and spend the summer months elsewhere. Typically, the “busy season” starts around the holidays in November and December and is in full swing by January and winds down around May or June. If you are a seasonal resident of Southwest Florida, you might be in the stages of getting your home ready for the offseason before you return to your home up north.

Leaving your home unattended for the summer months leaves room for many problems to occur. The warm weather and high humidity in the Florida summer make your home susceptible to mold, mildew, rust, or pest problems. Also, the rainy season that occurs in summer could lead to water leaks or damage outside your home. It’s important to take precautions to protect your home and make sure you don’t come home to any trouble when you return the following season.

Here’s a checklist of some steps you should take to get your home ready for out-of-season:

Interior:

•  Clean out your refrigerator
•  Unplug your TV, phone & cable lines, and any other audio/visual components in your home
•  Run all your water faucets for 10 minutes to flush the system, then turn off the water
•  Open all interior doors to circulate air through your home
•  Close all curtains and blinds to keep heat out
•  Unplug garage door openers
•  Install surge protectors
•  Put a set of fresh batteries in your smoke detectors, thermostat, and alarms
•  Keep your thermostat 80 to 85 degrees
• Give the interior of your home a deep cleaning to prevent pests

Outdoors:

• Have all stucco cracks sealed, and caulking and windows and doors repaired as necessary
  Inspect grading at the perimeter of your home
   Clean out drains and gutters
•  Turn off pool heaters
•  Bring in lanai furniture

Services:

• Schedule a pest control service
• Temporarily discontinue your phone, internet, and cable
• Stop newspaper deliveries, or any regularly scheduled deliveries
• Forward your mail to your off-season address

Take Precautions:

• Take photos of the inside an outside of your home before you leave in case any damage occurs while you’re gone
• Take any important documents with you when you leave
• Arrange to have a friend, family, or neighbor to leave a set of keys with to entrust with caring for your home with an issue arises 
• Have your trusted person check on your home at least once a week

Once you find your perfect seasonal home, you want to make sure it is safe and well maintain throughout the off-season months. If you follow these steps, your home will be the best it can be, and you won’t run into any unexpected problems. If you’re still looking for your dream home, Shelly Olsen can help. Shelly is a realtor in Bonita Springs, Florida that specializes in the Bonita National Luxury Golf Community. Contact Shelly today to get started at 239.322.8457!