Sometimes when speaking with potential new clients they tell us (with almost a sense of pride) that they have left their home empty over the summer for 10 or 20 years without anyone checking on it and they haven't had any problems. When I hear that, my heart skips a beat.
First of all, if you have left your home unchecked every summer for 10 or 20 years, you are due for a problem. Overdue in fact. And did you know that if you leave a home empty for any length of time and don't have it checked at a minimum of every other week, your homeowner's insurance may not pay a claim?
That's right. Insurance companies will deny claims for damages on non-monitored homes because to their way of thinking, the problem may well have been less severe if someone had checked in. And that's true. That's exactly why we stopped offering once per month visits. And keep in mind too - saying your housekeeper or neighbor checks in may not be enough either - the insurance companies may want hard proof.
Many years ago, we had a once per month home that suffered a clogged condensate line which caused a leak in the garage. By the time we checked the home, the HVAC platform was ruined and mold had set in which ended up being a much bigger and more costly situation than it would have been had the leak been caught earlier.
Most of our clients get weekly home checks and rightly so. A home is a huge investment -- why would you take the risk? Even a week between visits is a long time if you spring a leak or get a rodent problem or the refrigerator breaks.
After 12 years, we have seen the gamut of damages. From green pools to bee hives. From broken AC systems to bat intrusions. From leaking roofs to broken windows. Cars and golf carts have their own unique sets of problems.
We even had a home that one week was fine and the next week every single faucet was leaking and several sprinkler heads had blown off. Turned out it was as we suspected -- a bad water pressure regulator. What do you think would have happened had we skipped a week? Or worse, didn't check that home at all?
You bet -- every one of those faucets would have blown out and flooded the home. We saved that homeowner tens of thousands of dollars in potential damages by stopping in to check the home. These home checks are no joke.
As far as proof goes: We utilize a proprietary software system and we track every visit. Your home check data is retained in perpetuity. Need to prove you have home checks? Easy! You can log in or we can email the report.
Benefits of having professional home checks include: You want to keep your home looking lived in to deter anyone with bad intentions. And you want to make sure everything is in good working order. You also want to make sure things are secure, clean, and kept up properly. If you have your own pool or landscape technician, they too should be monitored because, as many of you know, some people slack off during the summer (which is when your home needs the most attention!).
In fact, you need someone whose job it is to care about your home the way you would (insert shameless plug for Executive Errands®!) We offer a free booklet called Old Wives Tales -- Fact or Fiction Prepping Your Home for Summer. We are happy to mail you a copy -- just send an email and let us know you'd like a copy. We have it in e-format too, if you'd prefer it that way.
If you are already a client, great! We appreciate you! If you are not yet a client or if you have neighbors or friends who need absentee home care, remember: Your referral is the best gift we can receive.
Until next time, everyone should care about protecting their home investment (we care about yours!). We customize our services for each individual homeowner and we utilize a proprietary software system so you have full visibility to everything we do! Call us at 760-898-9604 to sign up today! Or just drop us an email.
