Free tool
Return checklist
Coming back is the step people plan least, and it produces most of the unpleasant surprises. A system repressurised after four months can produce a leak within minutes.
This list is generic until you describe the property
Below is the version that applies to every property. Answer the questions at the bottom of this page — or on the risk profile — and the irrelevant items disappear while the ones specific to your building appear.
Before you arrive
Water & heating
Walkthrough
Household
Follow-up
About the property
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The complete list
All 29 possible steps, unfiltered.
Before you arrive
- Book a return visit for a few days before you arrive
- Have the temperature brought up in advance, not on arrival
- Have the driveway and walks cleared before you land
- Arrange cleaning if the property has been closed for a season
- Have mail sorted and parcels brought in and placed
Water & heating
- Restore the water with somebody physically present
- Check every fixture, the mechanical room and under every sink for leaks after repressurising
- Run every fixture to refill traps and clear standing water from the lines
- Check the water heater before relying on it
- Reopen the appliance supply valves you closed
- Turn exterior faucets back on once the freeze risk has passed
- Book irrigation start-up, and walk the yard once it is pressurised
- Return the thermostat to a normal schedule
- Replace the furnace filter again
Walkthrough
- Walk the property against your departure photographs
- Check the basement thoroughly — floor, wall bases, corners and stored items
- Check ceilings near exterior walls for staining
- Look for droppings, gnaw marks and nesting material, particularly in the mechanical room
- Walk the exterior on all sides, including roof observation from the ground
- Note any unexplained odour and track it down rather than masking it
Household
- Clean and restart the fridge and freezer before restocking
- Test smoke and CO alarms and replace the batteries
- Reset lighting timers to normal
- Bring outdoor furniture back out and reconnect hoses
Follow-up
- Review the visit reports from the whole absence in one sitting
- Close out anything still marked for monitoring
- Consider a professional inspection before the property returns to full occupancy
- Tell your insurer the property is occupied again if you notified them of the absence
- Write down what you would do differently next time, while it is fresh
Come home to a house that is ready
Return preparation reverses the departure setup before you arrive — temperature up, water restored and checked, driveway cleared, mail organised.