When a person is looking to hire someone to do work at his home, one of the first questions that comes up should be whether the contractor is licensed (if required by the state), bonded, and insured. This means the worker or company has all of the proper state and local permits to perform the work, discloses if the company or worker has lawsuits or violations against them and has the proper insurance to cover any what-ifs that happen on the job. Hiring a home watch company is money well spent and here’s why.
Everyone loves a great deal. But do you really know what you’re getting for your money? Most of the time, it’s too good to be true or “you’re getting what you paid for”. If something’s priced really low, how much can you really expect to get?
Home Watch is a unique business. There is the “Neighbors Doing Favors” program where a neighbor looks in on your home for free, or for the small cost of a dinner, a bottle of their favorite bubbly, or a couple of movie tickets. The problem with your neighbor doing that is they are not insured, licensed, bonded or trained professionals who utilize a comprehensive checklist to insure that everything in your home is working properly. In fact, most neighbors won’t call you until the smoke is coming from the roof or water is running out the front door. By then, the damage has been done.
You and your insurance company will have to negotiate the impact on future premium rates and whether they will even pay your claim. Who is compensating you for the loss or damage if your neighbor doesn’t lock up your house properly and vandals or burglars gain easy entry? Is it your insurance company’s responsibility or your neighbors for being negligent? If you aren’t asking yourself this question, you can bet that your insurance adjuster will be. What happens to your future relationship with this neighbor? Guess whose insurance is paying if your neighbor gets injured on your property while doing you this favor? If you guessed yours, you are right!
There are individuals that offer home watching as an add-on service to dog walking, house , yard work or laundry services for extra income. If someone offers a monthly visit, think twice. Home Watch visits should be no less frequent than every 2 weeks. Remember, the goal is to prevent damage from becoming a costly disaster. Can you imagine how much more damage a broken water pipe will do in 30 days versus 7? The better program, especially during times of infrequent visits by the homeowner or during the off season would be to have a series of weekly visits as an added safety precaution.
Fortunately, there are a handful of professionals that take home watch very seriously and treat it as a full-time business. They are a LLC, are city and/or county registered, insured (if required) and bonded. They are trained to handle even the most difficult situations.
A proper home watch visit takes time and expertise. A home watch specialist is trained to know the early signs of damage or recognize potential areas for future damage and catch these before any of these become an expensive disaster.
The question is not “if something will happen, but when will it happen?” Nothing lasts forever! Every component in your home, from your water heater to the light switch on the wall, has an expected lifespan before it will fail and many times it seems to fail when we are not around. A trained home watch specialist will pay close attention to those areas that are nearing the end of their useful life.
Even the most minor mold or water damage will cost thousands! Mold can start growing within 24 to 48 hours so early detection is the key to saving money, hassle and heartache.
So yes, you pay now for a qualified home watch service, or pay a great deal later to repair the damage or disaster!
For the sake of your “peace of mind”, good neighbor/family relations and confidence in having a dedicated professional watching your home, we are your solution.
Contact us for an absolutely free consultation!
