Top Shopping and Errand Services in Naples, FL 34103
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Home Check Plus
By Anonymous September 19, 2014
This guy broke into a home in village walk, in February 2014, where he lives! People do your homework before you hire someone to watch your home!!!! ...read more
Cottage to Castle Home Watch LLC
By Anonymous March 15, 2011
Thank you again to both of you for your attention to detail. Peace of mind is priceless when its long distance like this. G.M/M WI ...read more
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A Close Call
Wow....another close call today! We inspected one of our clients home just last Saturday and all was well. A painter had to come on Monday to do some touch up work on the interior doors, so we met them at the clients home to let him in. Imagine our surprise to findthere was no power! Protocol dictates we turn off all the circuit breakers and then turn them back on. If they don't switch all the way on, there is usually a problem with the electrical panel. If they turn all the way on and still no power, there is a way bigger problem. Here in Florida, we have Florida Power and Light (FPL). Since the breakers stayed all the way on, we called FPL. To make a long story short, there was a problem in the underground wiring from the electric pole. This is a client whose home we inspect every week. Imagine if we hadn't gone back to the home until our next inspection. Rotten things in the refrigerator. Contents of freezer thawed and a puddle on the floor. No AC!! And to top it off, NO WORKING ALARM SYSTEM! Food can be replaced, but with no AC a mold problem could have easily developed. Mold remediation is very expensive, even for a small area. And what if the home had been broken into? I shudder to think of all the beautiful things that could have been missing. This is why we recommend weekly inspections. While these things can't be prevented by home inspections, at least they are discovered quickly and can prevent a host of heart ache down the road. Another example of inspections being so important, we had a client that signed up with us and the very first time we went to their home, we found the front door unlocked! A call to the owner said only the painter they had hired had been in the home, but that he had finished up a couple weeks before. Well, guess what? The painting WASN'T finished and this painter had left doors unlocked. Because the painter told the owner he was finished, the owner paid him....for work that was never done! Plus, you wouldn't believe what this guy charged. Having a reputable home watch company can save you a lot of money, as shown in these two real life examples. We could have painted this clients home for literally half of what the other guy charged, we would have done a professional job, and the job would have been finished. Making sure doors and windows are locked and the power and other systems are working is SO important. And it isn't just vendors that make these mistakes. We've gone to homes after an owner has left to find doors unlocked, food left out, freezer doors left ajar, wet clothes left on the floor and in washing machines. All recipes for disaster. Make sure your home is safe. Hire a responsible, professional home watch company with experience in home watch and other related areas, such as construction and property management. The money you save could be substantial. nt whose home we inspect every week. Imagine if we hadn't gone back to the home until our next inspection. Rotten things in the refrigerator. Contents of freezer thawed and a puddle on the floor. No AC!! And to top it off, NO WORKING ALARM SYSTEM! Food can be replaced, but with no AC a mold problem could have easily developed. Mold remediation is very expensive, even for a small area.And what if the home had been broken into? I shudder to think of all the beautiful things that could have been missing.This is why we recommend weekly inspections. While these things can't be prevented by home inspections, at least they are discovered quickly and can prevent a host of heart ache down the road.Another example of inspections being so important, we had a client that signed up with us and the very first time we went to their home, we found the front door unlocked! A call to the owner said only the painter they had hired had been in the home, but that he had finished up a couple weeks before. Well, guess what? The painting WASN'T finished and this painter had left doors unlocked. Because the painter told the owner he was finished, the owner paid him....for work that was never done! Plus, you wouldn't believe what this guy charged.Having a reputable home watch company can save you a lot of money, as shown in these two real life examples. We could have painted this clients home for literally half of what the other guy charged, we would have done a professional job, and the job would have been finished.Making sure doors and windows are locked and the power and other systems are working is SO important. And it isn't just vendors that make these mistakes. We've gone to homes after an owner has left to find doors unlocked, food left out, freezer doors left ajar, wet clothes left on the floor and in washing machines. All recipes for disaster.Make sure your home is safe. Hire a responsible, professional home watch company with experience in home watch and other related areas, such as construction and property management. The money you save could be substantial. ...read more
By Cottage to Castle Home Watch LLC September 27, 2011
De-mystifying De-humidistats
People are so confused about de-humidistats and I don't blame them. Everyone seems to tell a new homeowner what to set them at..45%..50%..55%..60%. Which one is correct? Well, what is a de-humidstat? It is an energy saver. It will only have your air conditioning system come on when it hits the percentage the de-humidistat is set at. Humidity is all we care about so we can keep mildew and mold out of our homes. Many owners set their de-humidstat at 60 or 65 percent thinking that will save them a lot of money in energy costs. That is partly true. It doesn't save a lot of money, but it saves some. However, according to the University of Florida's Professor Lee, the ideal setting is between 30-50%. I attended a seminar recently given by Dave Borowski, Vice President of Wiegold Air Conditioning and he said 50% was ideal. At 60%, mold and mildew can have a open door to your home. Many owners think setting their AC at 80 degrees will keep their home free of mold and mildew. But if their de-humidistat is set at 60%, the AC will not come on until it senses 60% humidity in the home. These homes can get up to 88 degrees! When the AC finally kicks on, it is already warm and moist in the house. This is a disaster just waiting to happen. You could set the AC at 60 degrees at the AC will still not come on until the humidity is 60%. Most de-humistats are not digital and are not very accurate. These dial types should be set a little less than your optimum setting to make up for the inaccuracy. For example, it you want the humidity no higher than 55%, it should be dialed to 50%. Remember, even if it 100 degrees inside your home, the AC will only come on when it reaches that humidity setting. A home should have air flow to keep moisture down. If the AC doesn't come on, that's not going to happen. One of the things we do during our inspections is leave all closet doors open and all doors under sinks open. This air flow is critical for areas with water pipes. Another thing we do is we carry a weather station with us and take it into every house to measure the humidity. This is reported on their Inspection Report, along with the temperature in their home. So what do we recommend? We recommend a de-humidistat setting of 50 and the AC set at 82 degrees. When in residence, the de-humidistat should be set to 'On'. Not to any percentage..just On. Why take chances with your home? Mold and mildew is harmful to health and very expensive to eradicate. The cost of having your AC come on at 50% versus 60% is very small..especially compared to mold and mildew removal. ...read more
By Cottage to Castle Home Watch LLC September 18, 2011
Another New Client...Another Sad Story
Everyone is going home and they want to get all the last minute things done....like hiring or changing their home watch company. In the last two days I gained two new clients and they both had similar sad stories. I have to tell you, I am amazed that people that have had a bad experience with their home watch company have the faith and trust to try again. That is really awesome if you think about it. One of my new clients told me that when they arrived for their visit, they were literally locked out of their home because the hurricane shutter over their front door had never been taken off....from last year! They couldn't open the garage door because the hurricane brackets were still on. This was not a good start to their vacation after a long flight. When they finally got inside, it was to find a leak under a bathroom sink. There were other smaller things, too...but those two things were major. Later, they checked with the security guard at the gatehouse who had the ability through his computer system to see how many times the home watch person had been to their home. Would you believe 6 times in over a year!!!! Needless to say, this client paid for a lot more visits. My other new client had a similar story in that they were very sure their home watch person had not even visited their home at all. Besides all the other things you can say about these home watch people....what about the fact that taking money for something you aren't doing is stealing? And yet my new clients were willing to try again. They realize how important it is to have someone check on their homes while they are gone...yet they are really at the mercy of anyone that says they are a great home watch company and promises them the moon. So how do you find a good, honest, home watch company? Like finding the perfect doctor, there is no foolproof way, but there are things to look for and things you can do after you hire them. If they claim to be a corporation or an LLC, go to www.sunbiz.org and look up the company. See if they are who they say they are. Ask for a copy of their Certificate of Liability and see how much they are insured for, if they are insured at all (and they should be)! It should be at least one million dollars. Ask if they are bonded and request a copy of their bond. Make sure there is a contract, not just a handshake. Make sure their prices are in writing. While these things won't guarantee a good company, you will know they are a legitimate company that has insurance if something goes wrong, and you know up front how much you will be charged for the services you sign up for. Some other things to look for: Is it possible to get references? This can be a little harder than you think, but hopefully they will have 2 or 3 clients that will talk to you. The reason it is not easy is because most clients require complete confidentiality. (Even the ones that don't shouldn't have their name repeated without their permission.) While not having an actual office shouldn't be held against them (home watch is very conducive to the home office...it allows us to work til the wee hours....LOL!), theyshouldhave a phone line dedicated to their business. Many of our clients feel a website is a sure sign of legitimacy, and one client told me she insists people she deals with have one. While a website is terrific and we've gotten a lot of clients in this manner....there are websites and there are websites. Look for one that educates you! They are teaching you something because theyknowsomething! After you hire a home watch company: If your home has an alarm, give your home watch person their own code. You can check with your alarm company to see when and how often the code is used. You can even check online with some companies. If you are in a community with a guarded gate, check with them on a regular basis to see if your home watch company has been there. Ask neighbors if they have seen them at your home. Get a report every time they've been there. Either verbal or by email. It's worth your peace of mind to know that everything is ok and that they've been there. Do they answer the phone when you call? If you have to leave a message do they call back in a timely manner? Do they answer your emails? Both of my newest clients told he that they called and called and emailed repeatedly and never heard back from their home watch people. That's a dead giveaway that something is not right. Communication is very important and to some clients it is everything. Make sure they say what they do and do what they say! And if you have to let your home watch company go? Please have your locks re-keyed even if they give you back your key. You don't know how many copies they may have had made. I have another client that learned this too late. Well, this has gotten very long, and if you are still reading...good for you! It is just that this is a very important subject and I seem to have a lot to say....lol! There are probably more things I'll think of after I sign off...if so and they are important...I'll update this. I hope this has helped you in the search for an honest, reliable, legitimate home watch company. ...read more
By Cottage to Castle Home Watch LLC July 14, 2011