Home Watch vs. House Sitting: What's the Difference in Tequesta, FL?

A house sitter physically stays in your Tequesta home. A home watch service is a scheduled professional inspection — typically weekly or bi-weekly — performed by a credentialed inspector who documents the visit with photographs and a digital report. For most high-value Tequesta second homes, certified home watch provides stronger protection and accountability than a house sitter.

House sitting is an informal arrangement where someone stays in your home, usually rent-free, in exchange for occupying the space and feeding pets or watering plants. It is not a regulated profession. House sitters are not insured for damage they discover or cause, they are not trained in what to look for, and they do not produce documentation.

Home watch is defined by the National Home Watch Association as the visual inspection of a home or property, looking for obvious issues. A Certified Home Watch Professional walks a written checklist, looks for problems (leaks, pests, HVAC failure, security concerns, storm damage), and delivers a photo-documented report after every visit. NHWA-Accredited firms also carry general liability and dishonesty/fidelity coverage.

Tequesta has a distinctive seasonal pattern — many residents leave by late spring and don't return until late fall, exactly when summer heat, humidity, and hurricane risk peak. That is the period when a documented, insured, professional inspection has the most value. A house sitter watching TV in the living room can't tell you whether your A/C condensate line is backing up or whether the river-side window seals are still tight.

House sitting can be appropriate for shorter absences (a week or two), homes with pets that need constant company, or owners who simply prefer the lived-in look. Even then, many Tequesta residents use both: a sitter for the brief absences and A-Z Home Watch Solutions for the long seasonal departures.

Questions about your specific Tequesta property? Call 561-972-5352.