Winnipesaukee Forum - View Single Post

camp guy · 09-29-2014, 09:12 AM

Ths is an age-old question, and a frequent topic on this Forum, particularly this time of year.

I live here year round, so I may not be the best source of information.

First of all, you can never save money by putting your house at risk. The damage caused by frozen pipes, cracked ceilings, damaged appliances, etc., is far more expensive than heating your house at between 45 - 50 degrees F all winter. Also, youj need some sort of signalling method to notify you, or somebody, if the heating system fails and the temperature falls below 45 degrees.

You might want to engage the services of a property watch company to check your house periodically just in case something happens to happen.

You might also want to check with your homeowner insurance company to see what they say about winter coverage. It would be terrible to shut your house down, have a problem, and then find out that there is a clause in your Policy that vacates coverage if the house is not heated.

The hard cold facts are that having a second home brings a second set of costs, and trying to cut down on these costs may not be the best plan.

Good luck to you, and solicit as many opinions as you can, but remember, it is your house, not theirs, and you will be responsible for the costs of damages, not them.

09-29-2014, 09:12 AM	#9
camp guy Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: formerly Winter Harbor, still Wolfeboro Posts: 1,224 Thanks: 317 Thanked 560 Times in 310 Posts	Closing house for winter Ths is an age-old question, and a frequent topic on this Forum, particularly this time of year. I live here year round, so I may not be the best source of information. First of all, you can never save money by putting your house at risk. The damage caused by frozen pipes, cracked ceilings, damaged appliances, etc., is far more expensive than heating your house at between 45 - 50 degrees F all winter. Also, youj need some sort of signalling method to notify you, or somebody, if the heating system fails and the temperature falls below 45 degrees. You might want to engage the services of a property watch company to check your house periodically just in case something happens to happen. You might also want to check with your homeowner insurance company to see what they say about winter coverage. It would be terrible to shut your house down, have a problem, and then find out that there is a clause in your Policy that vacates coverage if the house is not heated. The hard cold facts are that having a second home brings a second set of costs, and trying to cut down on these costs may not be the best plan. Good luck to you, and solicit as many opinions as you can, but remember, it is your house, not theirs, and you will be responsible for the costs of damages, not them.