Closing a Coastal Home for the Season

Seasonal closing is a task most owners do on the morning of a flight, from memory, in a hurry. It is worth doing from a written list instead, in the order below, because the items are not equally consequential and the last hour before a car service arrives is not when you want to be prioritizing.

Water first, because water is the expensive one

Every catastrophic vacancy loss we have seen began with water under pressure.

• Shut the main supply if the property allows it. Nothing else on this list prevents as much damage for as little effort. If irrigation is on a separate supply, confirm which valve controls what.
• If the main must stay on, shut individual supplies to every fixture you are not leaving in service, and consider a leak-detection shutoff device on the main.
• Turn off the ice maker and shut its supply. Ice maker lines are a disproportionate share of vacancy water claims.
• Shut the supply to the water heater and, for a long closure, drain it.
• Run every drain briefly and pour a small amount of water into unused traps before you go, so they do not dry out and let sewer gas back into the house.

Then air, because air is the slow one

• Set the thermostat to hold humidity, not just temperature — target fifty to fifty-five percent relative humidity. Temperature somewhere around seventy-six to seventy-eight.
• Replace the filter, so a dirty one does not restrict airflow for six months.
• Flush the condensate line and confirm the float switch works.
• Leave interior doors and closet doors open, and keep returns unblocked.
• Do not close supply vents in unused rooms. Dead air is where the problem starts.

Then power and appliances

• Unplug what does not need to be live. Anything with a compressor, a heater, or a transformer.
• Empty the refrigerator completely if it is being shut down, then prop it open. If it stays running, remove anything perishable.
• Confirm the surge protection at the panel, and confirm anything on a UPS is actually intended to be.

Then the exterior

• Clear gutters and confirm downspouts discharge away from the foundation.
• Cut back anything touching or overhanging the structure.
• Bring in or secure everything loose: furniture, umbrellas, planters, art, grills, and anything on a dock.
• Confirm irrigation is on the schedule you intend, or off, and that no head is spraying the building.
• Check the pool's water level, chemistry, and timer, and confirm who is servicing it and on what interval.
• Walk the dock, lift, and lines. Chafe on a line does not repair itself over six months.

Then security and access

• Arm and test the alarm, and confirm the monitoring company has current contacts in the right order.
• Confirm the alarm's cellular backup, not just its broadband path.
• Stop or forward mail and packages, and cancel recurring deliveries. Nothing advertises a vacant house like an accumulating porch.
• Rotate any codes given out to trades during the season.
• Confirm, in writing, who is authorized to enter and what they may do without reaching you.

Then the paperwork, which is easy to skip and shouldn't be

• Photograph the house as you leave it: every elevation, every room, the garage contents, the dock. Dated. It takes fifteen minutes and it is the document you will want if anything happens.
• Confirm your insurance position on an unoccupied property. Ask your agent directly whether the policy imposes any inspection interval, shutoff, or alarm requirement during vacancy, and get the answer in writing.
• Leave the instruction. What is to happen if a storm forms, if the alarm trips, if a trade needs access, and up to what amount someone may spend without reaching you.

The part a list cannot cover

Everything above is a single moment in April. The failures that actually generate claims happen in week nine, when a valve weeps or a float switch cuts the air handler and the house sits.

A closing checklist prevents the mistakes you make on the way out. It does nothing about the six months that follow, which is a different problem, and the reason scheduled visits exist at all.