Vacant property care in Leipzig: someone regularly checks that everything is in order

What happens on every inspection

An empty house gives you no work — until it does. A dripping connection is noticed within minutes in an occupied flat, but in an empty one only when the ceiling is wet at the neighbour’s. That is why we go through the same list every time:

• Doors and windows — locked, sealed, no marks on the lock or frame
• Water — briefly run every tap so that nothing stands in the pipes and the traps do not dry out; a look under the sink and washbasin
• Heating — is it running, are pressure and temperature right, is the frost protection set? We take readings and report; we repair nothing
• Damp — water stains on the ceiling under the bathroom, mould in the corners, wet outer walls after a storm
• Airing — burst ventilation and cross-ventilation while we are there
• Letterbox — post and junk mail out; a full letterbox shows everyone that nobody lives here
• Fridge and electricity — leave switched-off appliances open so that nothing goes mouldy; keep an eye on the fuses
• Outside — pavement, yard, leaves, in winter snow and ice
• Meter readings — electricity, water, gas, for the next billing

After every visit you receive a short report with date, time and photos, by WhatsApp or e-mail. If something is not in order, we get in touch the same day — not only with the next report.

How often? What buildings insurance expects

Most residential buildings insurance policies require two things for unused buildings: the house must be checked often enough and, in the cold season, it must be heated and checked — or all water-carrying pipes must be shut off, drained and kept that way. Many insurers also want you to report the vacancy.

No fixed number is given anywhere for what “often enough” means. The Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice) looks at the heating system — its type, age and maintenance (IV ZR 233/06). Our rule of thumb: once a week in summer, twice a week in winter with the heating running, and where the water is shut off and drained, every two weeks is often enough.

Draining a heating system or the drinking-water pipes throughout the house is a job for a heating and plumbing firm. Afterwards we check that everything stays that way, and report if it does not.

What it costs per month

We charge by time, at 30–45 €/hr — an inspection of a flat takes about an hour including airing, flushing and the report, longer in a house with a cellar and garden. Three typical cases:

What can come on top is fixed beforehand: small repairs at 40–60 €/hr, winter service on the pavement at 1–2.50 €/m², removal of leaves and green waste at 20–50 €/m³. There is no travel charge within 50 km of Leipzig. For longer distances we quote one total price from your photos, travel included.

When vacant property care is needed

• Inheritance — the parents’ house stands empty, the heirs live in Hamburg or Munich. Until the estate is settled, someone checks in regularly
• Care home or hospital — the flat stays, but the resident may not come back. The family needs someone on site
• Between two tenants — renovation, viewings, meter changes: we unlock so that you do not have to drive across half the city
• Sale — a property with a mown lawn, a swept yard and a cleared letterbox sells better than one where the vacancy shows
• Pause in refurbishment — the building site is idle, the house is open to the weather and to the curious

When the vacancy ends, we can clear out straight away on request: household clearance, cellar clearance or renovation before re-letting.

Keys, access, one fixed contact person

Whoever receives the key to an empty house has to be trustworthy — and transparent. That is why it works like this with us:

• First inspection — on the first day we record the condition with photos. Later you can see from them what has changed
• Key handover against a receipt — you know who has which key
• We do the work ourselves — no middlemen, no different people each time
• Every visit in the report — you can always see who was in the house and when

What we do not do

• Guarding — we are not a security service. We check the condition and report damage. Guarding a property requires a permit under § 34a GewO, which a security company holds
• Repairs to heating, electrics and water pipes — licensed firms do that. We report the damage immediately and unlock for the firm
• Property management — Mietverträge (tenancy agreements), Nebenkostenabrechnung (service-charge statements) and the search for tenants stay with you or your managing agent

For ongoing work on an occupied house — stairwell, yard, bins, winter service — there is our caretaker service.

How to get started

• Request — address, type of property, from when it stands empty, by WhatsApp or e-mail
• First inspection — condition with photos, meters, heating, keys
• Set the schedule — by season and what your insurance requires
• Ongoing visits — report after every visit, same-day contact if something is wrong
• End — until re-letting, sale or until the estate is settled; you decide the period