Closing up your Spanish home: the checklist before you fly back
By Home Kare · 7 min read · Owner’s Guide
The last morning is always the same: the taxi is coming, the bins need doing and something gets forgotten. Then you’re 2,000 km away for four months. Most of the problems owners at Hacienda del Álamo come back to — the smell, the stain on the ceiling, the fridge full of something unidentifiable — trace back to twenty minutes of work nobody did on departure day. Here’s the list.
| Water | Turn off at the stopcock |
| Power | Leave the fridge on or empty and open |
| Damp | The enemy of every closed-up home |
| Keys | Someone local needs a set |
Water: the one that causes real damage
Electrical faults are inconvenient. Water is expensive. A burst flexible hose under a sink can run for weeks in an empty property, and you find out when the neighbour below calls.
- Turn off the mains stopcock. Not just the taps — the stopcock.
- Run the taps afterwards to drain the pipes and confirm it’s actually off.
- Pour a little water into every drain and toilet and cover them if you’ll be away for months. Traps dry out, and when they do, sewer smell comes back up. That’s the mystery smell owners return to.
- Check the flexible hoses under sinks and behind the washing machine while you’re at it. They perish, and they’re cheap to replace.
Electricity and appliances
Whether to leave the power on is a judgement call. Leave it on if you want the fridge running, an alarm working or a dehumidifier on a timer. Turn it off if the property will be genuinely dormant.
- The fridge: either leave it running with nothing perishable in it, or empty it, clean it and leave the door wedged open. A closed, switched-off fridge grows things.
- Unplug everything else — TV, microwave, chargers, router if you don’t need remote access. It protects against storm surges and cuts standing consumption.
- Air conditioning: clean the filters before you go, not when you arrive.
- Water heater: switch it off at the breaker.
The pool, if you have one. A private pool doesn’t pause. Left untreated through a Murcian summer it turns green in days, and recovering it costs far more than maintaining it. Either arrange regular service or arrange a proper shutdown — never just leave it.
Damp, the slow disaster
Closed-up properties in this climate get damp inside even when it never rains, because there’s no air movement. It shows up as mould on north-facing walls, in wardrobes and behind furniture.
- Leave internal doors and wardrobe doors open so air can move
- Pull furniture slightly away from external walls
- Put moisture absorbers in bathrooms and wardrobes
- Leave cushions and mattresses upright or uncovered where possible
- If you can leave power on, a dehumidifier on a timer solves it almost entirely
Security and the terrace
- Close and lock the persianas, but consider leaving one partially open at an upper window for airflow if it’s secure
- Bring in everything from the terrace: cushions, umbrellas, lightweight furniture. Levante winds move more than people expect
- Store or secure the barbecue and any loose pots
- Don’t leave anything valuable visible through windows
- Check the alarm, if you have one, and that the contact number on the account is current
Admin before you go
- Direct debits current: IBI, community fees, water, electricity. A returned payment while you’re away can end with a supply cut off.
- Bank card in date. A card expiring in your absence stops the direct debits behind it.
- Insurance checked, particularly any unoccupancy conditions in your policy.
- Post: nothing signals an empty home like a stuffed letterbox.
- Contact details left with the community administrator and with whoever holds your keys.
Somebody needs a set of keys
Everything above prepares the property for a few weeks. For a few months, preparation isn’t enough — someone has to look in. Storms, leaks from a neighbouring property, a failed pool pump and a break-in all have one thing in common: the cost depends entirely on how long it takes for someone to notice.
That’s the whole logic of key-holding on a resort like this. Regular checks, someone to let a plumber in, and the property aired, cleaned and ready before you land rather than after.
Want your HDA home checked while you’re away? Talk to Home Kare →
Frequently asked questions
Should I leave the electricity on or off? On if you want the fridge, an alarm or a dehumidifier running. Off if the property will be completely dormant. Either way, unplug individual appliances.
Why does my apartment smell when I come back? Almost always dry drain traps. Water evaporates from the U-bend and sewer gas comes back up. Pour water down every drain before you leave, and cover them.
Do I need to do anything about the pool if I’m away for two months? Yes. A pool left untreated deteriorates quickly in this climate and costs more to recover than to maintain. Arrange servicing or a proper shutdown.
Does my insurance still cover an empty property? Often with conditions — many policies limit cover after a set number of consecutive unoccupied days. Read the wording, and tell your insurer how you actually use the home.
Is it worth having someone check the property? For anything beyond a few weeks, yes. The cost of a check is trivial next to the cost of a leak that ran for three months.
This guide is for general information. Insurance conditions and community rules vary. Check your own policy and your community’s regulations.