Looking after an empty house while you live abroad: the tasks at every visit, every season, every year
An empty house is kept up through regular gestures, not major works: at every visit, every season, once a year. That rhythm always costs less than repairs after a claim, and it is easy to delegate when you live abroad. This dossier lists the tasks, how often to do them and why each one matters.
By Jean Mascla, founder of Home SelectUpdated · 7 min read
Why does regular upkeep always cost less than repair?
In an empty house, time works against you. Water damage discovered months after it began has had all that time to spread: floorboards, skirting, partition, insulation. A gutter overflowing at every rain soaks the wall, and the wall eventually says so, in its own way, through a stain first, then crumbling render. A house does not wait: every small fault left alone becomes a major fault.
Regular upkeep brings a second, less visible benefit: it trains the eye. Whoever visits every month spots immediately what has changed, where an occasional caller no longer sees anything.
Insurance does not change this mechanism, it complicates it: a loss on a clearly unkept property may be compensated at a discount, if at all. Conversely, documented upkeep, with dates and photos, credits your file and eases the exchanges with the insurer on the day you have to claim.
Hence the principle: maintain a little, often, rather than a lot, too late. And keep to a rhythm, because an empty house does not forgive improvisation.
What are the systematic gestures at every visit?
Whatever the reason for the visit, a short sequence covers the essentials:
Open the windows and air every room for a few minutes, enough to renew the air and spot abnormal smells.
Look for signs of damp: stains on the ceiling, blistering paint, a musty smell that lingers after airing.
Work the shutters and window handles: a seized mechanism can be released as long as it has not broken.
Run a little water at every tap and flush the toilet: stagnant water leaves deposits, and dried-out traps let smells rise.
Collect the mail, check that shutters and gates are properly closed, note any sign of an attempted break-in.
Shut off the water when leaving, after the visit, and drain what can be drained before a long absence.
These visits are precisely the purpose of an inspection visit with a photo report: a trained visitor applies the sequence at every call and leaves you a dated record, valuable for the insurer too.
Which points of vigilance for every season?
Autumn: gutters, downpipes and drainage grilles cleared of leaves; visual check of the roof after the summer storms; trees close to the roof pruned if needed.
Winter: general water shut-off and draining of the network during a prolonged absence; bleeding of the circuits; check that the precautions required by the insurance policy are in place.
Spring: shower and sanitary seals redone when the silicone cracks; moss treated on terraces and paths; exterior joinery and shutters inspected after the frost.
Summer: storm drainage and gullies tested before the heavy storms; ventilation grilles dusted; plant room aired and checked before the hot season.
Once a year: the full annual round
The water heater: check the safety group and the valve, and the anode for cylinders fitted with one.
Taps and flexible hoses: replace what is perishing, tighten what drips, look behind the machines.
The roof: check from the ground, displaced tiles, flashings, ridges, or by a roofer if the house lends itself to it.
The chimney: sweeping when local rules or the insurer require it, with the certificate carefully kept.
The locks: oil the cylinders and the hinges, check how doors sit, look at the latches.
The contracts: energy, water, insurance: reread the guarantees, update the payment details from abroad, cancel what has become useless.
The stays: preparing your arrival and closing up on departure, which is exactly the purpose of an inspection visit with a written report, so you find a house ready to live in and leave it closed properly.
Eygalières, Provence
The summary table: frequency, gesture, why
Frequency
Gesture
Why
At every visit
Air every room
Renew the air and spot the smells that betray damp or a leak
At every visit
Look for damp marks and stains
Damage detected early stays small
At every visit
Run every tap
Avoid deposits and keep the seals supple
At every visit
Shut off the water when leaving
Limit the consequences of a leak during the vacancy
At every visit
Work the shutters and windows
Loosen the mechanisms before they break, and suggest a presence
Every autumn
Clean the gutters and downpipes
A full gutter overflows onto the facade and soaks the walls
Every winter
Drain the network during a long absence
Frost bursts pipes, and the guarantee applies only if the precautions are taken
Every spring
Redo the seals and treat the moss
Water seeps through the faults left open
Every spring
Inspect the shutters and joinery
Frost opens the timber, rain then gets in
Once a year
Check the water heater and its safety group
A scaled cylinder or a stuck valve gives way at the worst moment
Once a year
Check the roof and sweep the chimney if needed
One displaced tile is enough to start a lasting leak
Once a year
Reread the contracts and payment details
The contracts of an empty property renew themselves unnoticed
At every stay
Prepare the arrival, close up the departure
The house stays liveable and is closed according to the rules of the art
Who does what when you live abroad?
The frequent visits are delegated: you cover them during your stays, a relative can take a few, and a professional inspection visit guarantees the rest, with a report each time. The technical gestures, sweeping, roofing, plumbing, belong to tradespeople who are chosen and monitored: the Home Select concierge service identifies trusted providers, coordinates the interventions and reports back to you. The annual calendar is set once, then repeated: that is what turns the list into a reflex. Every ticked gesture leaves a trace, and every trace prepares the next.
An empty house does not need more upkeep than any other: it needs more method, because nobody is there to watch the faults appear.
What Home Select organises for your house’s upkeep
A property held from abroad is prepared from the purchase. During the viewings, your Home Select property finder spots what will need upkeep; before the signing, they introduce the concierge service that will watch over the house in your absence.
After the keys, the Home Select concierge service organises the visits, the call-outs and the photographed reports. Tradespeople, the insurer and the managing agent act under their own responsibility; you decide on documents, wherever you are.
Frequently asked questions
How often should an empty house be visited?
A monthly rhythm is recommended for a fully empty house, with closer watch in winter, when frost and damp do the most damage. Also check your insurance policy: it may impose a minimum visit frequency to keep certain guarantees.
Should the water be shut off during a long absence?
Yes, it is the single most effective gesture to limit the consequences of a leak during the vacancy. In winter, shutting off goes together with draining the network: the frost guarantee of insurance policies is often conditional on these precautions, cutting the water and emptying the pipes.
Who can carry out this checklist on my behalf?
The regular visits can be entrusted to an inspection visit with a photo report; the technical gestures, chimney sweeping, roofing, plumbing, belong to chosen and monitored tradespeople. The Home Select concierge service coordinates the whole and reports back to you.
Why does regular upkeep always cost less than repair?
In an empty house, time works against you. Water damage discovered months after it began has had all that time to spread: floorboards, skirting, partition, insulation. A gutter overflowing at every rain soaks the wall, and the wall eventually says so, in its own way, through a stain first, then crumbling render. A house does not wait: every small fault left alone becomes a major fault.
Who does what when you live abroad?
The frequent visits are delegated: you cover them during your stays, a relative can take a few, and a professional inspection visit guarantees the rest, with a report each time. The technical gestures, sweeping, roofing, plumbing, belong to tradespeople who are chosen and monitored: the Home Select concierge service identifies trusted providers, coordinates the interventions and reports back to you. The annual calendar is set once, then repeated: that is what turns the list into a reflex. Every ticked gesture leaves a trace, and every trace prepares the next.
What should be checked once a year in an empty house?
The water heater and its safety valve, the taps and hoses, the roof and gutters, the chimney when sweeping is required, the locks, then the contracts: energy, water and insurance, reread and updated from abroad. This full round is best timed after winter, when the cold season’s damage shows.
Should you keep a record of an empty house’s upkeep?
Yes. Dated, photographed upkeep supports your file with the insurer on the day of a claim, when a visibly neglected property may be compensated at a discount. It also serves over the years: comparing the reports from one visit to the next reveals what is slowly deteriorating.
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