Buying a house in the US (window, air conditioning, living room, mold)

[Junita]

My parents live overseas but plan to move to the US in 2-3 years, they want to buy a house here soon, in Florida in particular, pay in cash, and move here when they get their greencards later on.

Is there any dangers in leaving a vacant house? My in-laws live in FL and we were thinking they can go and check on the house every week or so, what does everyone think?

[Ellwood]

If they purchase a home in an area that is not crime ridden, and if you in laws keep up the property, i.e. landscape/termites/repairs, etc. and indicate someone is around the property, it should be okay. Unfortunately there are many areas that are run down so they should check out the area thoroughly. They might consider paying someone to keep up with maintenance.

[beachmouse]

Because Florida is so humid, mold can be a concern if you don't run the air conditioning a little on a regular basis or do other things to mitigate the humidity. As already mentioned, landscaping has to be kept up. (You can get fined by the local government in most places if the grass grows high enough it's considered to be hazardous.) During the rainy season, you'll probably have to have someone mow the lawn every two weeks.

For cheap increased security, you can buy timers for lamps in the house. Have the lamps turn on in the living room for a little while at night, and it looks like someone is at home if a potential thief is doing a drive by in the neighborhood. Also, it's Florida and we have hurricanes, so you should have a plan in place for someone in the area to board up the windows/put up the storm shutters if that's the window protection the house comes with.

[ShaneSA]

Most insurance companies will not cover an un-occupied house over 30 days. they may have a problem with getting and keeping insurance if the house is empty for the lentgh of time you indicate.