Emergency Planning for Homeowners

Emergency planning gets a bad rap — often dismissed as overkill or something to “worry about later.” But when you manage high-value homes (or live in one), the truth is simple: you’ll never regret being prepared.

Most emergencies aren’t dramatic; they’re inconvenient. A power outage during a storm. A leak while you’re out of town. A blown transformer on a holiday weekend. These aren’t apocalyptic events — but they are expensive, stressful, and disruptive when you’re unprepared.

This Field Note walks through practical, non-paranoid steps to get your home ready for outages, natural disasters, or even just an extended trip. Because when something does go wrong — and it will — preparation buys peace of mind.

Emergency Planning for Homeowners

We tend to prepare for emergencies after we’ve already lived through one. But if you own a property in California (or anywhere, really), planning isn’t paranoid — it’s practical. Whether it’s power outages, earthquakes, wildfires, or extended absences, smart homeowners and estate managers treat emergency planning like a service category.

And in high-value homes — where systems are complex, vendor response times vary, and properties often sit empty — emergency planning for homeowners isn’t optional. It’s part of responsible ownership. Estate management at any level works best when the “unexpected” is treated as expected.

Your Basic Emergency Planning Toolkit

This is the bare-minimum setup every home should have, whether it’s your primary residence or a secondary property:

• Flashlights, lanterns, and headlamps intentionally placed in key drawers

• Battery backups for garage doors, fridges, and routers

• Emergency water shutoff and gas shutoff instructions (and the correct tools)

• A vetted vendor list for urgent issues: plumber, roofer, electrician, water mitigation

• Basic supplies for 72 hours of disruption

• A laminated “When Power Goes Out” cheat sheet mounted by the electrical panel

These aren’t advanced measures — they’re the fundamentals that prevent chaos when the lights go out.

Estate-Level Add-Ons

For larger or more complex homes (or owners who travel frequently), level-up your preparedness with:

• Whole-home battery or backup generator

• Monitored leak sensors and automatic shutoff valves

• Emergency supplies* staged in the garage or secondary structure

• A master emergency contacts list — one per property in your portfolio

The goal is simple: if something fails at 2AM, onsite staff, family members, or service providers should know exactly what to do without guessing.

Your Annual “What If” Review

One of the easiest and most effective habits: Walk your home once per year and ask, “What if…?”

What if the power went out right now?What if a leak started in the upstairs bath? What if you were out of the country for two weeks?

Whatever slows you down or stumps you becomes your next to-do list. Preparation isn’t about predicting every scenario — it’s about removing friction when they inevitably happen.

*For comprehensive emergency supplies lists checkout Ready.gov  and the Red Cross