Before we decided to put an offer on a cottage, we discussed at length how we would be able to maintain it and keep it secure from afar. We live nearly 3 hours away from the area we were looking in so would not be able to easily pop in to check on things outside of the times we planned to use it ourself.
We also planned to host guests through the Airbnb platform while we were not using it. Knowing how we would ensure our investment was safe and in good condition year-round was a must before purchasing.
Although it’s not overly difficult, maintaining a property that is far from your primary home requires some planning and advanced preparation. With a few consistent practices, a good support network of people you can trust and an arsenal of top notch (yet budget friendly) technology, it’s definitely possible!
Go For That Lived-In Look
Bad things are more likely to happen when a property is not used. When no one is around, small problems can go unnoticed in their early stages only to be realized later when they’ve become big problems.
An empty house can also be a magnet for burglars who are looking for an easy target where they’re less likely to get caught. If you won’t be at your cottage for long stretches of time, consider these options for making it more lived in.
Rent it Out
It’s never been easier to rent out your vacation home than it is today with Airbnb and VRBO. Often, renting it out for just a few weeks can cover a significant portion of expenses. Plus, it ensures the mechanics in the house are getting used, someone is there to keep an eye on things and that it looks less obviously or frequently vacant to outsiders.
Find a Housekeeper
Whether you rent your place or not, having a contact that is local and can periodically clean or even just check-in on your place will come in handy. Between guests, our housekeeper turns over our cottage as well as makes sure windows and doors are locked and nothing has been stolen or damaged. It’s also comforting knowing we can call someone to clean.
Keep the Exterior Maintained
Nothing screams “No one’s home!” like an unkempt yard or a structure in disrepair. It’s important to keep up with seasonal property maintenance like mowing the yard in the summer, raking leaves in the fall and shoveling snow in the winter. Things like touching up trim or siding paint, power washing and generally fixing anything that is obviously “broken” are also must-dos. All of these tasks can be easily hired out to a local landscaping company or handyman to take care of while you are away.
Use an Owner's Closet
We generally don’t keep anything valuable at our cottage that we would be devastated if someone took or broke. We do, however, have personal items we don’t want guests using like clothes, toiletries and food. When leaving, we move all of those items to a locked closet or room which also helps us to keep the place tidy in between visits.
Install Surveillance Cameras
When you can’t see your vacation home, you want to see it. The only thing that is going to make you feel like you knwo what is going on is seeing it with your own eyes. This is where a camera system will be your best friend. We like the Smart Home devices that can hook up to your wifi. We like this compared to the more traditional subscription based services like ADT or other because it’s just the one-time cost and it’s self managed.
We have used several brands at our home as well as other rental properties, but by far our favorite is the current one we have at our cottage which is Wyze. They are intuitive to use at a reasonable price. They pick up motion very well and have a super clear picture. They have audio and video – they even have one that does night vision in color! We can manage them as well as a variety fo other Wyze brand smart home devices easily from the app.
Best Outdoor Camera
- 1080p HD Image Quality with Night Vision
- Wire-free and rechargeable with up to 6 months of battery
- IP65 rating for outdoor use in heat, rain and snow
- Motion detecting up to 25 feet with 2-way audio
- Works with Amazon Alexa & Google Assistant
A smart phone and this little bundle are all you need to get started surveilling the outside of your second home. The camera has great picture quality day and night and also provides audio, so not only will it capture movement but any sound associated with it.
The camera is easy to install anywhere as it is does not require (or allow for) hardwiring. It comes with rechargeable batteries as well as the dock required to charge them, but the battery life is quite good so you will not have to do this often! The base station is required for the outdoor cameras only and can support up to four cameras. All you have to do is plug it into your internet modem through an ethernet cord, then connect the cameras to your WIFI network.
Beyond the quality construction of the devices themselves, what really sets Wyze apart from the competition is the app! It is clean, customizable and so straightforward to use that it really gives us confidence.
Best Indoor Camera
The panning camera from Wyze is what we use for indoor surveillance. Because the entire structure horizontally pans 360° and the camera itself is able to vertically tilt up and down over 90°, there is essentially no nook or cranny of the room that will be hidden from view.
You can go into the app and manually investigate but it also automatically detects motion, tags it with a box for easy identification and tracks the motion by panning and tilting until it goes completely out of the camera’s view. You can even put it on a patrol route where it shifts focus in search of motion on a schedule, like from the front door to the back door.
We also love that it allows us to check on things as if we were in our cottage. We have ours situated in the main area of our cottage and like to check and see how guests left the place. We can also use it to check ont he thermostat. There are also local places we like to go during non-pandemic times and it allows us to see our dog while we’re across the lake.
Best Budget Camera
This indoor camera is Wyze’s most basic offering and it’s a good one. For all intents and purposes, it is the same camera as the aforementioned models – it has the same picture quality, allows for the same 2-way communication and uses the same phone app. The main differences are that it is corded (requiring it to be plugged into an outlet at all times) and it in general doesn’t have the bells and whistles that the others do like the ability to move or withstand harsh weather.
However, just because this camera isn’t rated for outdoor use doesn’t mean you can’t do outdoor surveillance with it! Set a few up inside pointing out through windows to get a similar effect, but more budget friendly, to that of the the Wyze Outdoor version.
Use Keyless Entry Locks
Keyless entry locks are convenient at any home, but are especially nice to have at a vacation home. For us, keyless entry locks offer peace of mind. If someone that we trust (like a family member, neighbor, guest, contractor, etc.) needs to get in to our cottage, it’s easy for them to let themselves in with a simple code. There is no spare key hidden under a rock to direct them to that a stranger could potentially find and copy.
We’ve used about a half dozen different ones in our experience as homeowners, landlords and Airbnb hosts and there are definitely some locks that we like more than others. The Smart lock keyless entry setups connect to your WiFi and can be managed from afar, allowing you to change the code or monitor its usage on a whim. However, they can be prone to bugs and have battery issues. The non-Smart locks, although less dynamic, are more reliable which is so important when you’re far away.
We spend a lot of time outside when we’re at our cottage, whether we’re playing in the water, taking a boat ride around the lake or hanging out at one of our family members’ cottages for a later afternoon old fashioned. The convenience of being able to lock up with the push of a button and not have to deal with keeping track of a ring of keys is unbeatable!
Best "No Nonsense" Lock
Our go-to keyless entry lock is this straightforward keypad deadbolt by Kwikset. We’ve found it to be both easy to install and dependable from a usage standpoint. It takes 4 AA batteries which will last a long time and will probably be several years before you need to change them, even with regular use!
The Kwikset keyless entry lock holds up to six codes at a time which is nice, but honestly even more than we need. Several we change infrequently, like the code that we use and the codes used by our cleaner (who tidies up the place in between Airbnb guests) or contractors when we have them working on the house. Other than that, we really only use one code which we change with each Airbnb guest.
Best Smart Lock
If you’re dead set on a Smart lock (“Smart” generally meaning it can connect to WiFi and can be managed remotely from an iPhone) then this is the one you want. It is reasonably priced relative to comparable competitor models without sacrificing style or function. It’s straightforward to install, allows for use of up to 30 codes at a time and even has a built in alarm in the event that someone tries to break in!
The main benefit of having a smart lock is that it is extremely easy to add and delete codes on a whim. If you have short-term guests or temporary contractors, removing their codes as soon as they’re done and gone is over is easy. It can be done in minutes or even automatically if you select an expiration date and time upon code creation. We’ve even locked the door remotely before when we knew a guest had checked out (thanks to our Wyze cameras!) but had forgotten to lock the main door.
We use this at our home and at some of our local properties that we rent out, but chose not to use it for our cottage, opting for the more basic non-smart keyless entry deadbolt from Kwikset. Why? There are a few reasons.
Mostly, the Smart connection to WiFi is a leach on the battery life, requiring more frequent replacement of the batteries. And if you are having issues with your WiFi network resulting in connection issues, you are going to be locked out. These issues are manageable for our local properties because we are around to fix them most of the time, and even if we’re not there is typically someone we can call in the event of an emergency like a family member.
Light It Up
Illuminating your home and lot can be a major deterrent for would-be trouble. Lights on inside signify that someone is home and lights on outside make it difficult for someone to inconspicuously “creep” around. You don’t have to be there to flip a switch with all of the technology that exists out there, from “smart” programmable bulbs to mechanical outlets and solar powered lights, there are so many options for keeping your house lit up even when you’re not there to flip the switch yourself.
Best Smart Light Bulb
These bulbs do far more than the basic on and off that is required to keep your house safe. vacation mode.
Adjustable color temperature and brightness.
Scenes.
Best Multi-Functional Smart Plug
While a smart plug provides less lighting-specific customization, it does offer more flexibility in terms of usage with the same remote controlled benefits. No, you won’t be able to modify the light brightness or color temperature of the bulb. You will, however be able to control more than just light.
We have used the Wyze smart plug to put lights on a schedule before, but we’ve also used it to put other things on a schedule like space heaters
Best "No Nonsense" Outlet Timer
If you just want a few lights to turn on and off on a predictable schedule, these outlet timers are an inexpensive solution to your problem.
24-Hour Heavy Duty2 Grounded Outlets, 30 Minute Intervals, Daily On/Off Cycle, for Lamps, Seasonal, Christmas Tree Lights and Holiday Decorations, 15075
Best Landscape Lights
- IP67 rating, suitable for use extreme outdoor weather and temperature conditions
- Available in “cold light” or “warm light” color temperature
- Low and high brightness modes
- Option to install by mounting or using a stake
- 12 LEDs produce strong landscaping light
Personally, we actively avoid anything that requires hardwiring when it comes to outdoor lighting. It’s far more expensive because not only do you have to buy the equipment, but you then have to hire someone to install it as well as pay for the electricity it consumes.
There are a lot of things we’re willing to do inexpensively ourselves, including some basic electrical work like swapping out an old fixture or outlet. However, we draw the line when the work requires adding a new electrical run due to the expertise it requires and potential danger doing it incorrectly can pose.
That being said, these solar-powered uplights are our favorites and what we use at both our home and our cottage. They are the brightest of all of the solar powered uplights we’ve experimented with over the years, and that’s really what we’re going for. In addition to producing adequate light, they’re fairly customizable in that they allow you to choose a bright or dim setting and can be mounted on the wall or iin the ground using a stake.
We prefer staking the lights in the ground and placing them at intervals to illuminate the corners of the home and the wall space between windows. The result is aesthetically pleasing and provides a soft lighting around the perimeter of house that extends to the walkways making it easy to navigate in the dark without a ton of light pollution!
Best Motion-Sensing Outdoor Lights
- IP67 rating, suitable for use in extreme weather and temperature conditions
- 300 LEDs and 3 brightness level options
- Capable of detection motion up to 26 feet away
- Long lifespan of 60,000+ hours
IIt sounds simple, but these lights do a really great job of just working. As mentioned previously, we have a strong preference for solar lights over hardwired ones for a variety of reasons. However, we’ve had very hit or miss luck with many brands and models. In general, we’ve been very happy with all of our LITOM products, these included.
Their motion detecting capabilities are sensitive and strong and far reaching. We’ve had lights in the past that we needed to jump up and down directly in front of in order for them to notice us, but not these. We have them strategically placed in front of all entrances to our cottage and they do a great job of turning on early so we don’t have to fumble towards the door and with the locks in the evening.
These solar-powered motion sensor security lights also have the same IP67 rating as the landscaping lights and are solidly built so they are highly durable against heat, frost, rain and snow. This is nice because you can focus on placing them in a spot that will get ample direct sunlight without having to worry about avoiding spots that will expose them to harsh weather conditions.
Bottom Line
It’s absolutely possible to manage a vacation home from afar, and it’s now easier thanks to technology.
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