Expert: David Beckett - 8/27/2008

Question
Hi David,

I read your answers about Burlington and my husband & I decided to move here from Los Angeles a few months ago... We love it here. I am French and we need to go back to France for family reasons from November through March 2009 and I would hate to leave the house empty for a host of reasons.

Ideally we could rent the place (we have a beautiful 4 bedroom house in the Hill section) but I am not sure where to post an ad. The other option would be to have a professional come on a regular basis to ensure that everything is OK (i.e. heating still on). Do you have any recommendations for either solutions?

I assume we are not the only people to leave Vermont in the winter, I was just curious if there were any obvious resources available that we are not aware of.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Answer
Hello Isabelle -

Glad you like Burlington!

There are people here in Burlington who do "housesitting". I don't know any personally, but a quick search on google turned up a few, one of whom seemed to be advertising on Craigslist. Ask for references, of course.

You might also post a note on your "front porch forum" email list, without your address of course, just asking if neighbors have people to recommend as short term renters or housesitters. If you haven't gotten onto your neighborhood "front porch forum" yet - I recommend it. You can read archives and sign up at www.frontporchforum.com

Finally, I do know an excellent property manager. Curt Wheeler is at curtjw@aol.com - feel free to mention me. He may be away for a few days though and not return email immediately as he usually does...

Please feel free to contact me directly - I'm happy to help. I live in your neighborhood.

Best,
David Beckett
david (at) askdavidbeckett.com