Quote:
Originally Posted by Toymeister
I really don't care for the doomsday predictions people make here on the forum, that said let me share this:
I had a rental, designer home and a home watch service that is widely praised on the forum for nearly four years. The home is also smart, sensors, monitors and locks. I was promised weekly checks which usually happened monthly. During one summer run two months passed with no checks followed by photos of the exterior on the third. That seemed odd usually I received interior photos when they came. The sensors indicated they haven't even entered the home.
In the case of a rental home watch is useful to have for renter issues but not so for home checks.
For my last home which was not rented, I skipped the home watch.
Yes it meant I shut off the potable water, saran wrapped the toilets and so on.
If my experience is representative you don't need home watch at all.
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Just a heads up, some HomeOwners Policies have a Vacancy Clause. If you are not Occupying the property Full Time and you do not have an actual company doing weekly visits this clause allows the Insurance Company to deny a claim. They do not consider a Friend, Neighbor or even a Relative as qualifying. Not all have this clause but worth checking to be safe. I manage around 100 (Rentals & Snowbirds ) and have run into this a few times and also heard from a New Owner to my Service that he experienced this issue. Another thing to keep in mind your Neighbor/Friend watching your house has no insurance so if something occurs you are on your own to cover any costs.