Saturday, April 18, 2015

Reasons to have your empty house checked by a Home Watch Service

Empty Home in Ottawa
Does your insurance policy cover a vacant or unoccupied home?  You should check your home insurance policies to see if it covers a vacant or unoccupied home (empty property).

Most will recommend you have someone check on the property every 72 hours, or even every day. In the Ottawa area Inspected by 42 Home Watch specializes in delivering solutions for homeowners that are leaving their home vacant or unoccupied.

Here are some reasons that you may want to check with your insurance policy and to have your property checked regularly:

Vandalism

Unoccupied properties are easy targets for vandals so protect yourself by ensuring you have insurance coverage for vandalism and malicious mischief. Hire a company to check the property regularly and that can take appropriate action if something happens while you are away.

Theft

Many policies exclude theft, so make sure that you get this coverage even if your home is empty. Thieves can remove copper piping, wiring and air conditioning units in order to resell it for profit.  If you have an alarm monitoring company, ensure to keep it and your phone line active.

Premises Liability

You could face a risk of a liability claim occurring from intruders on the land surrounding the vacant property, including around the property line.  Ensure your driveway and common walkways are safe and cleared while you are away.

Renovations

If your home is undergoing an extensive renovation, you should make sure that you have insurance coverage for both property and liability while the project is underway.  Your unoccupied property needs to be insured and checked on a regular basis.

Disaster:  

A water pipe bursting while you are away summer or winter unchecked can be disastrous. Fire from lightning or arson.  Some local news stories:

Blaze destroys recently vacated home near Goulbourn 

Fires, Ottawa area | Ottawa Sun

Stittsville vacant home has $150K damage after fire | CTV ...

Vacant home catches fire in Ottawa | Fire Fighting in Canada

No Emergency Response:

Without anyone home to call 911 or respond to emergencies, a manageable problem – such as a security alarm being tripped – can turn into a much larger, more costly disaster.


Maintenance and Upkeep:
When a property is unoccupied or vacant, there is often no one maintaining the property and no one around to identify abnormalities such as utilities complications, broken or leaky pipes, gas leaks, and other problems. In turn, these complications can escalate quickly and without the property owner’s knowledge culminating in costly fixes or even complete losses.



Visit Kanata Home Watch http://www.kanatahomewatch.com/

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