Straight answers about leaving a Florida home empty.

Set the thermostat between 74°F and 78°F and keep relative humidity below 55 percent. Above 60 percent, mould can establish on drywall, leather and fabric within days. A thermostat setting proves nothing on its own — what matters is a measured interior reading taken while the property is closed.

The condensate pan overflows. In a condominium the water goes through the ceiling of the unit below, usually into drywall and lighting before anyone notices; in a house it soaks the air handler closet and adjacent flooring. Clearing the line costs a few dollars of labour. Remediating the damage costs thousands.

Not reliably. Most policies exclude damage from long-term seepage or a lack of reasonable maintenance, and mould coverage is usually capped. Adjusters ask when the loss began and what upkeep was in place, so a dated series of inspection reports is the record that supports a claim. Confirm your own policy terms with your agent.

Twice a month is what most absentee owners settle on. That cadence keeps humidity problems and slow leaks inside a two-week window instead of a six-month one, and matches what many insurers and condominium boards expect. Weekly makes sense during storm season or for properties with pools, docks or known issues.

No. Property management handles tenants, rent and leases. Home watch is the scheduled inspection of a property you are not renting out: checking condition, measuring climate, spotting failures early, coordinating vendors and documenting everything with photographs. It is also not a security service.

In Miami-Dade and coastal Broward, expect $120 to $300 a month for two scheduled visits, depending on property type. Hugo Keys plans start at $120 for condominiums, $190 for single-family homes and $300 for waterfront estates, each including climate verification and a timestamped photo report within 2 hours of each visit. Extra visits are $60 to $150.

For a house, yes in most cases — shutting the main supply removes the single largest risk of catastrophic damage, provided irrigation, ice makers and any fire-suppression requirements are handled correctly. In a condominium, building rules and shared risers often make it impractical, so regular inspection of shut-offs, hoses and the water heater takes its place.

Close and secure shutters or impact protection, clear the balcony, patio and yard of anything that can fly, confirm drainage is clear, photograph the property's condition before the storm, and make sure someone local is authorised and able to enter afterwards. The post-storm photo record matters as much as the preparation.

Many Florida homeowner and condo policies exclude damage from water seepage or leakage that continues for fourteen days or more. If you want a dated record showing that no leak could have run that long unseen, the interval between visits needs to be shorter than fourteen days — every ten days leaves a margin. Two visits a month do not guarantee this: they can fall sixteen days apart.

Not by itself, and anyone who tells you otherwise is overstating it. Vacancy and unoccupancy clauses usually turn on whether people are living in the home, not on whether someone inspects it. What a dated visit record does protect against is narrower and real: a seepage exclusion and a dispute about the date a loss began.

A water zone is any room with a water supply: a bathroom, the kitchen, the laundry, a wet bar. Each one has supply lines, shut-off valves, drains and fixtures we check on every visit, so the number of zones — not the square footage — is what determines how long a visit takes.

Off, at the main, whenever the home allows it. A closed main is the strongest single protection against water damage in an empty home: no supply line, fill valve or appliance hose can flood a home that has no pressure behind it. Our protocol opens the main on arrival, checks every zone, and closes it again before we leave.

A good report is dated, photographed, and written for the owner: an overall result, a short summary in plain words, measured temperature and humidity, photographs of anything noted, and the water main shown on arrival and on departure. You can see a full example on our sample report page.