A walk-through is the heart of the service. It is not a security patrol, and it is not a repair call. It is a careful look at a house that is supposed to be quiet, done by someone who has agreed with you, in advance, what “ordinary” looks like.
The National Home Watch Association describes home watch as a visual inspection of a home or property, looking for obvious issues. That sentence is the boundary. We are looking. When something needs a licensed trade, we tell you, and we can meet the vendor if you want that hour.
Before the first visit
We meet you at the house. You walk us through the rooms at your own pace: which lights stay as they are, how the HVAC should sit while you are gone, where the water shutoff is if you want us to know, who else holds a key, and which outbuildings are in the plan. Homes over 3,000 square feet are quoted from that walk, because the route simply takes longer.
You also tell us the dates you will be in residence. Home watch is billed only while you are away.
The exterior
We begin outside, where an empty house shows itself first. Doors and windows. Gates. The approach. Anything that has collected against the walls. In summer and in wildfire season that look includes gutters, vegetation touching the structure, and whether a gate you care about is secure. It is a visual check, the same standard as the rest of the visit. The wildfire page describes that season on its own.
Room by room
Inside, we follow the route we agreed. Kitchens and baths get particular attention because a slow leak is quieter than a broken window and often more costly. We look under sinks, along supply lines, and at ceilings where a stain would announce itself. Floor coverings, window latches, and the general order of a room tell us whether the house is as you left it.
We do not rearrange your life in the house. If a chair has been moved by a contractor you sent, the report says so. If nothing has moved, the report says that too.
The systems
HVAC, the water heater, and the appliances on the route are part of every standard visit. We are not performing a mechanical service. We are noticing what a careful person notices: an unexpected temperature, a pan that is no longer dry, a unit that is not in the state you asked for, a sound or a smell that was not there last time. Those observations go in the report, in plain language, with a photograph.
The report
Every walk-through ends in a report with timestamped photographs and notes. You read it in the portal, along with messages and the history of visits. A sample report shows the shape of those notes. It is an illustration, not a client’s house, and not a promise that every property will look like the example.
When something is not ordinary
If we find an obvious issue, we tell you rather than waiting for the next scheduled day. From there the choice is yours. Some owners want a recommendation and a photograph only. Others ask us to meet a plumber, a roofer, or a cleaner. That meeting is concierge time, at the published hourly rate, and it is not folded silently into the monthly plan.
How often
Twice monthly is two walk-throughs each month, $250 for a house up to 3,000 square feet. Weekly is four, at $350. Both include the interior, the exterior, and a photo report each visit. A different rhythm can be written for a house that needs one. The sequence from first call to a year of reports is spelled out separately, and the towns we cover begin with Napa Valley as a whole.