Would you or wouldn't you

[Kendhni]

Your friends are on a special anniversary cruise and you are looking after their house for them. Something serious happens e.g. fire, break-in, flooding.

Do you tell them when they skype you later that day?
If it were the other way around would you want to be told?

[GillD46]

Definitely.

[Boris+]

I'm with Gill - if I've been trusted to look after something, then I have a duty to report to the owners whatever happens as soon as possible.

Firstly there might just have to be stuff that has to be done in order to provide protection for the property which could involve expenditure - and the owners have an absolute right to make decisions about that. Secondly the owners may have information which could help catch the perpetrators, and thirdly they may wish to know if special items with sentimental value are ok.

Finally, not telling the absent owners could make them feel as though they are being treated like children, and it might just sour the friendship.

Either way - if I was the 'caretaker' or if I was the holidaymaker, I would absolutely want to know.

[Mervyn and Trish]

It's a yes from me

[david63]

Probably from the insurance perspective you would have no choice but to tell them as insurance companies will not talk to anyone other than the policy holder, or someone named on the policy.

As far as there being some cost involved I always say to the neighbour who has the key "If anything goes wrong get it fixed and I will sort it out when I get back"

Would I want to know? Not really while I am away as there is little I could do, but on the otherhand I am not sure that I would want to turn the corner and find my house razed to the ground.

[GillD46]

While I would definitely want to know, that doesn't necessarily mean I'd chose to curtail my holiday, it would depend on what had happened.

Likewise, neighbours have gone away giving us a key to check on their home/feed the cat etc but not given us a contact number. We make sure that at least one of our neighbours knows where we are and has a contact number/email address.

[qbman1]

Ken - you haven't burnt down the neighbours' house.....have you?!

[Dancing Queen]

This actually happened to us a few years ago when we had a burst water pipe over Xmas, our neighbour who was looking after the house could have only got in touch with us by phoning the ship he decided there was no point spoiling our holiday but dealt with the situation admirably, he took an educated guess who our insurer was and contacted them on our behalf and whilst they wouldn't deal with him directly based on what he had told them they did make an appt for the assessor to call the afternoon of the day we arrived back, he also tracked down a builder friend of ours who came to our house and assessed the damage prior to us getting back he also cancelled his work for that weekend so he could make a start on putting things right .. to say our home looked like a building site is an understatement it took 4 months for it to be sorted out not helped by the insurers insisting we had 3 quotes for everything but I think we eventually came to an understanding when I insisted any work would be done by workmen we had used in the past and trusted I wouldn't accept someone just because their quote was the cheapest, I also insisted that replacement carpets, furniture etc came from where we had originally purchased from and not a cheaper alternative,it was a battle but I got my way in the end.

The insurance claim was huge but without our neighbours quick thinking it would have been even bigger so I will be eternally grateful to him, sadly they moved a few years ago but certainly the best neighbour we have ever had, we do have another neighbour who comes in and checks everything is ok now but we always leave the telephone number of our builder friend and tell her if there are any problems to just phone him and he will sort anything out.

In answer to Ken's question, would I tell someone ?? well it would depend on who it was and probably how well I knew them tbh I hate being asked to look after someone's house but I would hope if they trust me enough with their keys they would trust me enough to decide how to handle a situation in their absence and make a decision.

[oldbluefox]

In answer to Ken's question, would I tell someone ?? well it would depend on who it was and probably how well I knew them tbh I hate being asked to look after someone's house but I would hope if they trust me enough with their keys they would trust me enough to decide how to handle a situation in their absence and make a decision.

I think that sums it up for me. Barring a total disaster if it was something I could reasonably deal with myself why spoil their holiday with something they could not do anything about?
We always look after my sister in law's house whilst they are away and we went in one day to find they had a burst pipe and the ceiling was in danger of collapse unless something was done so I dealt with the problem myself and told them what had happened just before they got home. That way they got their holiday and did not arrive home to a surprise/shock.

[Happydays]

We were burgled while on a Caribbean cruise a couple of years ago and we didn't get told before coming home. I got a message on my phone when we landed in Glasgow telling me to phone my sister and she told me then to prepare me! Luckily she had straightened everything and cleaned away finger printing powder and mud for me so it wasn't too much of a shock, although it is a strange feeling knowing someone has been through your possessions.
A neighbour across the street was burgled at the same time and phoned the police (she was a police officer I think that's why they came out quickly) and they canvassed the other neighbours to try and get details but it was in February late afternoon so dark early. They called my sister to the house for entry and she got a police report number for us. The police also gave her a number for someone to come out and secure our house so we could deal with it quite quickly when we got home. It happened on the Thursday and we arrived home on the Sunday. In this instance I'm glad she didn't phone me while on the cruise as I wouldn't have been able to more than she did and I would have worried and fretted until we got home. In a way we were lucky that it wasn't water damage etc and the insurance could wait until we arrived home.

[Stephen]

Yes .

[GillD46]

Some years ago, pre mobile phones, some neighbours of ours, good friends in fact, were peculiar about letting on where they were going on holiday and definitely wouldn't give anyone a key. One day someone tried to foce their patio doors in the sitting room, setting off their alarm. The police were called by someone who got fed up of the alarm ringing - it was old and didn't have a timed cut out.

The police came, along with an enironmental health official, disarmed the alarm and got the doors boarded up. Nobody was able to contact our friends to let them know. At some stage, the scumbag thieves came back, removed the boarding, robbed the house from top to bottom at their leisure, because there was no alarm set and left the boarding on the lawn.

Our friends returned from holiday, 10 days later, to find most of their possessions missing and all carpets etc soaking wet and mouldy from the driving rain! They never went away again!

The moral - we think - is always let someone know you're away, leave a key and a contact number!

[qbman1]

We were burgled while on a Caribbean cruise a couple of years ago and we didn't get told before coming home. I got a message on my phone when we landed in Glasgow telling me to phone my sister and she told me then to prepare me! Luckily she had straightened everything and cleaned away finger printing powder and mud for me so it wasn't too much of a shock, although it is a strange feeling knowing someone has been through your possessions.
A neighbour across the street was burgled at the same time and phoned the police (she was a police officer I think that's why they came out quickly) and they canvassed the other neighbours to try and get details but it was in February late afternoon so dark early. They called my sister to the house for entry and she got a police report number for us. The police also gave her a number for someone to come out and secure our house so we could deal with it quite quickly when we got home. It happened on the Thursday and we arrived home on the Sunday. In this instance I'm glad she didn't phone me while on the cruise as I wouldn't have been able to more than she did and I would have worried and fretted until we got home. In a way we were lucky that it wasn't water damage etc and the insurance could wait until we arrived home.

How horrible - must be awful when something like that happens. But I think I'm with you - I'd much rather not know about anything I can't do much about whilst I am on holiday, particularly if you have the security of knowing you have a trusted friend or relative looking after things at home

[Stephen]

Our house alarm went off one night while we away on holiday in the UK in June. From what I heard the neighbours must have got fed up with it for some strange reason and came out to see what was going on. A quick call to my mobile from my next door neighbour telling me what was happening and it was soon resolved. I told her the location and code to the key safe outside and the house alarm code, and they were soon in and turning the alarm off. A quick look around the house to check all was well and they were all soon back to bed.

I think the back-up battery for the alarm was old so it was replaced. The key safe is a god send, and I would certainly recommend them. It was a fraction of the price of a new window that's for sure.


When we came home though I hadn't realised we lived so minimalist

[Mervyn and Trish]

We have a good neighbour we leave the key with, along with the code to the alarm and our mobile number. If we're only away for a few days they just keep an eye but if it's longer they go in to check round and move any post that's piling up inside the door

[Stephen]

We have a good neighbour we leave the key with, along with the code to the alarm and our mobile number. If we're only away for a few days they just keep an eye but if it's longer they go in to check round and move any post that's piling up inside the door

More like junk mail

[Kendhni]

We have a golden rule with the people who look after our house. They know how to contact my brothers and if there are any emergencies then contact them. I trust that between them they will sort things out for me ... however under no circumstances (apart from the death of a close family member) are we to receive any bad news on our holiday ... it would spoil it for us.

If we are looking after someone else's house I always ask if they want to be contacted or just let me sort it out as best I can until they get back ... I have never once been asked to contact them but, like us, they refer me to family members.

The worst that has happened to date, when we have been looking after someones house, have been a couple of plumbing issues where a tank in the roofspace was overflowing (fortunately the tank had an overflow pipe to the outside, but it needed a new ball cock) and a tap that had locked in the on position (needed a new washer). I fixed both of these myself.