Before leaving
Photograph key exterior edges, wet areas and meter readings relevant to your property.
Explore before leaving →Create continuity while nobody is there
Termite checks for holiday homes
A holiday property may remain unobserved long enough for leaks, drainage problems, vegetation growth or visible termite evidence to go unnoticed.
Local handover
Give a trusted contact clear instructions for leaks, storm damage and suspected insects.
Explore local handover →On return
Compare the same locations rather than relying on memory.
Explore on return →Property file
Keep inspection, treatment and repair records available away from the house.
Explore property file →Managed occupancy
Where tenants and managers share access, use the rental coordination pathway.
Explore managed occupancy →While nobody is there
A drone or thermal camera can check a subfloor or roof void between visits without needing anyone on site to open it up.
Explore while nobody is there →Building a Simple Away-Property Routine
Most of what protects a holiday home while nobody’s there isn’t a service call, it’s a routine anyone can run. Before you leave, photograph the same reference points every time: subfloor vents, the external wall line at ground level, any garden bed hard against the house, and where downpipes discharge. That gives you something to actually compare against next time, rather than relying on memory of what “normal” looked like months ago.
Give whoever checks on the property between stays — a cleaner, a property manager, a neighbour — plain instructions: what a leak looks like, what to do about storm damage, and who to call if they notice something that could be termite activity, such as mud tubes, discarded wings or damaged skirting. The goal isn’t to turn them into an inspector; it’s to make sure anything unusual gets reported instead of sitting unnoticed for another six weeks. Tweed Coast holiday lets carry a particular version of this risk, since coastal humidity keeps working on timber whether or not anyone’s there to notice. On return, compare the same points you photographed rather than doing a fresh generic walk-through, and keep whatever inspection, treatment or repair records exist somewhere accessible even when you’re not at the property — see understanding your report for what to look for in an existing document.
Questions on this page
Quick answers for holiday home owners
How often should an unoccupied holiday home be checked?
There’s no single interval that suits every property, but the ones that go longest without anyone noticing a problem tend to be the ones with the longest gaps between any kind of check — even a quick walk-around by a cleaner or manager between guests closes a lot of that gap.
Do I need professional photos, or are my own enough?
Your own are fine, as long as they’re consistent: same locations, a similar angle, ideally similar lighting, so a comparison actually means something later.
What if a guest reports something odd but isn’t sure what they saw?
Ask them to photograph it if it’s safe and easy to do, and treat an unsure report as worth a look rather than dismissing it — see what to do if you’ve found termites for how to handle a suspected sighting without disturbing the evidence.
Does a holiday home need a different inspection approach to a permanently occupied home?
The inspection itself covers the same accessible areas, but timing matters more. I work around booking calendars, and I pay closer attention to how long it has actually been since anyone was last on site.