5 Reasons You Should Hire a Professional to Check on Your Second Home
Here are five reasons hiring a professional home management service is worth it.
Hiring a team to inspect your second home while you're away can end up saving you time and money. Left unchecked, a small repair can turn into a big nightmare. When you’re gone you need someone reliable who can monitor your home and give it proper attention.
KEEP ON TOP OF MAINTENANCE
If you can catch a problem early, you’ll save on repairs or avoid them all together.
Ray Schmidtke, a stockbroker from the Seattle area, knows the value of home management services. Last September, he got a call that water was flowing out of his second home in La Quinta, California. “If you had a water issues like I did, and it went undetected for a long period of time it’s going to create mold,” he said. “That’s when you go from a $15,000-$20,000 problem to $100,000 problem.”
Another liability? Vendors and guests. “It’s easy for people, even if they’re friends or family, to miss something as they’re leaving,” Schmidtke said. When management services check on homes after visitors have stayed they often find a door unlocked.
“For people who have a second home, having someone frequent the house and check on these things is a valuable service — no question,” he said.
QUALITY WORK AND REPAIRS
A home services company brings their qualified team of professionals
Not only is it important to have a team that’s reputable and carefully looking over for your second home, you need professionals who can master a repair should something go wrong. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for someone lacking luxury home building experience to be hired for repairs only to cause more damage in the long run.
Scott West, Owner of West Construction and West Construction Home Services in Scottsdale, Arizona has seen a lot of this. Stucco fixes that didn’t match the existing stucco. Botched plaster jobs. Landscaping that was replaced but did not comply with the HOA requirements and had to be ripped out and done again.
“The attention to detail when someone is used to working on $200,000-$500,000 home is much different than someone used to working on a house that’s $2 million plus. It’s a different mentality and level of detail,” said Scott.
With a strong family legacy in construction, Scott and his team know the ins and outs of building high-end custom homes. If they can build it, they can repair it. That’s the kind of experience to look for when hiring a home services company.
“Our guys have been doing this for years and years and years. This is not just someone who started yesterday doing the repair. These are craftsman,” he said
HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS AND INSURANCE
Meet the requirements and have the documentation needed to make a claim
You never know when something could go wrong. Especially when your second home sits empty part of the year. Some insurance plans and homeowners associations require periodic checks on the property when vacant and ask for proper documentation when filing a claim.
Andrew Hobden, an agent with Allstate stressed that having someone looking over the home while you’re gone is an important way to minimize risk. “From a homeowner’s point of view, having a management team looking over the property, they’re going to either know of a loss sooner or make sure a loss doesn’t occur in the first place.”
PHOTO DOCUMENTATION
Photos keep you up to date and provide a time stamped record
West Home Services takes 200 to 300 photos every time they visit a property. Clients can access the images from their personal portal. Schedules are often on a weekly, biweekly or monthly bases.
“We take photos to prove number one, that we’re there. Number two, it shows the owner that the home still looks immaculate. Number three, if anything is wrong we have the photo to show them what is going on,” said Barbara who helps lead the West Home Services team.
If something needs to be fixed the home services company makes the call to the owner, brings in the right professionals, gets the bid and ensures the works is done properly. Once the repair is complete the homeowner receives an updated image.
PEACE OF MIND
Look for experience, expertise and a good reputation not just someone you trust
You've invested a great deal in your second home, it's worth it to know your home is in good hands when you're not in town. “Trust is one thing. In any relationship you should have trust,” said Tricia Cormie, a top-producing realtor with Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty. “You need people who are educated and aware. Someone who is trained properly. You need someone to be your eyes on the ground.”
“I’ve worked with the West family for over 15 years and refer them to my clients because I know they’ll meet their high-quality standards,” she said.
An experienced home services management company should pride itself on attention to detail and high standards. And, when the homeowners are set to arrive, they’ll make sure the pool is heated, the cars run, the fridge is cold and the air conditioning is on so you can get to relaxing.
