The house, as it will be left

• Water in its recorded positionOn, off at the main, or off with the pressure released. Whichever it is, it should be the position that is written down rather than the one somebody chose at the door.
• Cooling and heating set — and confirmed runningSet and running are different facts. Somebody should have felt the supply air, not only read a display.
• Humidity target set, and the reading notedA figure written down on the day the house closed is what next month's figure gets compared to.
• Dehumidifier draining, if there is oneAnd its setpoint confirmed rather than assumed.
• Refrigeration running, and everything perishable goneIncluding the ice maker and anything in a garage refrigerator.
• Refuse outThe commonest pest problem in a closed house starts in a kitchen bin.
• Every opening secured, including the garage and gatesWalked, not assumed. Somebody opened a window during the visit.
• Alarm in its away stateAnd the call list correct for who is actually reachable this month.
• Anything loose outside brought in or securedFurniture, cushions, umbrellas, anything on a deck or dock.
• Irrigation set for the season ahead, not the week behindAnd nothing watering the siding.

Access, and who may enter

• Who holds keys, fobs and codes — and who the backup isRecorded as who, never as what. No credential belongs on a sheet like this.
• Who may enter without asking youAnd who may not, including anybody who has been in the house before but should not be now.
• Who can let a trade in while you are awayIf something needs a licensed hand, somebody has to be at the door.

The people

• Who is called first, and in what order after thatWith a method that reaches a person. A number nobody answers in February is not a contact.
• Who may approve spending, and up to what figureWithout a figure, in practice nobody can approve anything.
• What may be done before anyone reaches youThe emergency question, answered in advance rather than during.

The providers

• Everyone who will come while you are gone, and whenPool, landscape, pest, housekeeping, anything on a schedule.
• Whether each of them can get in, and who lets themA service that cannot reach the thing it services is a line on an invoice.
• Anything booked that needs somebody presentDelivery, installation, an annual service. Decide now who stands there.

What is still open

• Every unfinished item, with the person responsible for itWhat it is, whose it is, what happens next, and what happens if it waits.
• Anything you are waiting on a decision aboutIncluding the ones waiting on you. Those are the items that quietly become next year's.

Documents and the record

• Photographs of the house as you leave itEvery elevation and every room. They cannot be taken after the fact, which is when they are needed.
• The record updated with anything that changed this seasonNew equipment, a repair, a provider swapped, a setting altered.
• Where the record lives, and who else can reach itIf only you can open the file, nobody else can use it.

Your instructions, written once

• What must always be asked, whatever it costs
• What never needs asking
• How you want to be told things, and how oftenWeekly note, monthly summary, only when something is found. Say which.
• Anything about this house that is not negotiable

The return

• Your arrival date, given to whoever prepares the houseEven roughly. Arrival preparation is a different job from keeping a house safe, and it needs a date.
• What you want done before you arrive, and how far aheadCooling, water on and run, pool, refrigeration. The return sheet covers this properly.

Anything specific to this house, or this departure