House Sitter or Home Watch, What’s the Difference?
Thinking about having someone watch your house while you’re away? From housesitting to checking on whether your car starts, very often homeowners have been away from their vacation home for an extended period and need a variety of things completed in time for their arrival. Read on to learn more about all the services we provide and how we can customize them to meet specific needs.
Need your packages or mail picked up? We can help. (photo by Kira auf der Heide)
At a high-level, the definition of a House Sitter is simply a custodian who lives in and cares for a house while the regular occupant is away (usually without an exchange of money). While a Home Watch Service is more proactive as we provide a visual inspection of a home to identify issues to prevent possible damage. This is performed on a regular basis with a lengthy checklist in an attempt to mitigate impending situations that could cause the homeowner concern and or serious damage.
A-Z Home Watch has a laundry list of services, as you’ll see detailed below. Whether you are seasonal homeowners, frequent travelers, vacation rental homeowners during off season, or anyone who may need their home looked after in their absence, hiring a “live in house sitter” may not be the right choice. In fact, most of us have no real affinity for a stranger living in our home unless they’re close friends or family. Ultimately, it’s the simple need for peace of mind that the property is being cared for and watched after in a professional and responsive manner.
House Sitters are often friends or neighbors without any training, or may be in between residences and simply using your home as a place to stay while they’re in transition. A house sitter’s role does not include showing up with a carefully planned out check list for all of your home’s needs, they tend to be more reactive and only address issues as they arise. Are you traveling for the holidays and sending gifts or packages? We can help make sure those get picked up and placed inside the house, along with a variety of other tasks. The list below is just as few of the things we can help you with in preparing for your visit, there are many more. We also have a 21-point inspection list, click here to learn more about all the services we provide.
- Auto transport arrangements coast to coast and worldwide
- Auto attention (must be registered/insured)- drive car 10-15 miles
- Key holder services for delivery, vendors, contractors, guest arrivals/departures
- Storm check/preparation/post storm check/damage control
- Home open and close preparation
- Package receipt and forwarding
- Grocery Shopping – prepare for you and/or your guests to arrive
- Cleaning service – provide choices, schedule and key-in
- Owner request for emergency visits
- And many other customized services from A-Z tailored to your needs
We encourage you to learn more about A-Z Home Watch Solutions service offerings to see if we fit bill for all your “house watch” and/ or concierge needs. Contact us today for your free consultation and stay tuned for December’s issue when we interview our co-founder, Doris Fink.
