Home Watch is defined as a visual inspection of a home or property, looking for obvious issues. Someone walks through and around the house on an agreed schedule while you are away, and records what they see. The point is to find a small problem while it is still small.
That definition comes from the National Home Watch Association, the trade body for home watch in the United States and Canada. Most owners run into the term when their home starts sitting empty for part of the year.
A visit is a walk, not a repair job. Someone arrives at an agreed time, goes through the rooms, and then circles the outside of the property. They look and listen for anything that is out of place.
The walk follows a fixed list, so nothing depends on memory or mood. One standard run covers 35 checks in nine categories. Every check is visual and non-invasive, which means nothing gets opened, pulled apart or tested with tools.
Stains, damp spots, standing water, a running toilet.
Is the unit running, is the set temperature holding, does the air feel right.
Water level, pump, surface, screens and cage.
Trails, droppings, nests, gaps where something can get in.
Locks, latches, glass, and anything left open.
Growth, watering, visible damage to the yard.
Packages, flyers, and a front door that does not look empty.
Dry traps, slow drains, smells, visible drips.
Breakers, exterior lighting, obvious faults you can see.
Together those nine categories make up the 35 checks. A visit ends with a written record, so you can see what was covered and by whom. That record is the reason people book home watch in the first place.
This is where most of the confusion sits, so it is worth being direct. Home watch stands next to several other services. It replaces none of them.
Any company that blurs these lines is worth a second question.
Home watch exists in other states too. It is far more common here, and that has more to do with climate than with crime.
None of this is dramatic on its own. It adds up, though, because these things develop while nobody is in the building. A house that is lived in gives you signals every day, and an empty one gives you none.
How storm monitoring works is a subject on its own, and we cover it on a separate page.
Home watch is not tied to a type of person. It is tied to a situation, namely a house that stands empty for stretches of the year.
If you also want to rent your property when you are not using it, our partner Florida First Class Villas handles full vacation rental management on Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com. See floridafirstclassvillas.com for rental management services.
There is no legal rule for this. In practice the market has settled on a rhythm, and most providers work the same way.
Bi-weekly is the norm. A visit every two weeks is what most owners pick, and it is what most companies build their schedules around.
Weekly is common for homes that stand empty for the larger part of the year. The longer a house sits closed, the more a single week matters, because a leak has that much longer to spread.
Ask your insurer before you decide. A required interval in your own policy outranks anything a provider suggests, and it is the one answer you can check in writing.
Home watch is not a licensed trade in Florida. Anyone can start one tomorrow, which leaves the checking to you. Four questions get you most of the way.
More on the first two questions is on our page about what NHWA accreditation means.
Suncoast Property Care is an NHWA-accredited home watch business, working out of Cape Coral. The NHWA accredits home watch services only.
Every completed visit follows the same full inspection. Choose the schedule that fits how you use your home. Weekly, bi-weekly and as-needed schedules are available, and the inspection itself does not change between them.
After each visit you get a photo report with the geolocation of your property and the name of the person who did the walk. You never have to ask for it. When something turns up, you hear about it the same day and you decide what happens next.
Suncoast Home Watch reports are visual property records. They are not licensed home inspections or insurance inspections and do not guarantee coverage or claim approval.
Based in Cape Coral, serving Cape Coral, Fort Myers, North Fort Myers and the surrounding area within about a 30 to 40 minute drive. Not sure if we reach you? Just ask.
No, and the two are easy to mix up. A home inspection is a licensed, one-time survey of a building's condition, usually ordered when a home changes hands. Home watch is a visual check that repeats on a schedule, so a problem gets caught early.
A house sitter stays in your home and lives there while you are gone. A home watch provider comes for a scheduled visit, runs the checks, sends a report and leaves again. House sitting gives you presence, and home watch gives you a documented record.
Bi-weekly is the market norm, and weekly is common for homes that stand empty most of the year. Your insurance policy may name its own interval, so read that first. A pool, the age of the home and the length of your absence all play a part.
You hear about it the same day, with photos of what was seen. You decide what happens next, not the provider. A company worth hiring brings you options and waits for your go-ahead before arranging anything.
No, and no honest company will tell you otherwise. A pipe can fail the day after a visit. What regular checks do is shorten the time between a problem starting and somebody seeing it.
An alarm reports intrusion, not a slow leak or an AC that has quit. A neighbor is doing you a favor, and a favor is hard to schedule and harder to document. Home watch gives you a fixed rhythm and a written record instead.
Some Florida policies expect a vacant home to be checked at a stated interval, and some ask for proof. Read your policy, or ask your agent.
Suncoast Home Watch reports are visual property records. They are not licensed home inspections or insurance inspections and do not guarantee coverage or claim approval.
Tell us about your property and how often you are away. We come back with a schedule and a clear proposal, with no obligation. We reply within one business day.
Based in Cape Coral, serving Cape Coral, Fort Myers, North Fort Myers and the surrounding area within about a 30 to 40 minute drive. Not sure if we reach you? Just ask.