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Updated over 10 years ago,
Landlord Vacation Tips
We are heading out of the country for a 21 day vacation and I am thinking ahead to make sure I have proper arrangements for managing our properties and in particular attending to any emergencies while we are away. I will have internet access and so will be able to get email, my primary form of communication with tenants. Our business phone line is a MagicJack set up and it goes to voice mail, which is then emailed to us. My wife and I are carrying phone numbers for trusted trades (plumber, electrician, handyman, etc). I have contact information for all tenants in my iPhone.
The next step, and one we have not taken before, is we are planning on paying our handyman to hold a set of keys and be prepared to go out to properties if need be to attend to emergency items and oversee the work of other trades. I was going to ask him what he thinks would be reasonable for his time in doing so. My own thoughts were $210 ($10/day) just for holding the keys, and then $100 for every call out of an hour or two. He is trustworthy and we have him going into units unaccompanied. I thought this would be the final step in terms of ensuring that there is someone on the ground in case we have an issue.
Of course the ideal scenario is we go away, nothing happens, and the tenants do not notice we are gone. I don't plan on telling them, it would only complicate matters.
Comments welcome. Are there things that other landlords do to ensure a trouble free vacation?