The business in one offer
Who it serves
Snowbirds and second-home owners who leave a house empty for three to six months, plus adult children managing a parent's vacant home during a move to assisted living. They pay because a burst pipe or a silent HVAC failure in an empty house can run for weeks unnoticed, and their insurer may expect regular checks.
What to sell first
A biweekly interior and exterior check of one single-family home: a 40-point checklist, a 30-to-45-minute visit, a photo report emailed the same day, and a phone call within an hour if you find water, entry or temperature problems. Excluded: cleaning, repairs, yard work, pool care, concierge errands and any decision to hire vendors without the owner's approval.
A fixed checklist and fixed visit frequency make the service easy to price per month and easy to compare. Owners see exactly what you inspect. Because you only observe and report, you avoid trade licensing questions, and routes of homes in the same area keep drive time down.
What could it cost to start?
This is an original example budget for the limited pilot described above. It is not a researched market average or a complete quote for every location.
| Item to price | Example allowance |
|---|---|
| General liability and bonding quote allowance | $650.00 |
| Inspection app or report template, three months | $90.00 |
| Lockbox, key tags and locking key cabinet | $160.00 |
| Moisture meter, flashlight and infrared thermometer | $130.00 |
| Background check for your own record | $60.00 |
| Service agreement template reviewed by an attorney | $400.00 |
| Example total | $1,490.00 |
What this assumes—and excludes
Assumes you own a dependable vehicle, a smartphone with good photo storage, and live near a cluster of seasonal homes. Excludes business license fees, a state-specific contractor or property management license if your duties require one, owner pay and advertising. Get local quotes and legal advice before relying on this budget.
Collect actual supplier, insurance and local-authority information. Add a reserve for delays and unexpected costs; the example total is not a funding recommendation.
How the unit economics work
At an assumed $140.00 per monthly client and $16.00 in direct costs, contribution is $124.00 before monthly fixed costs, owner pay and taxes. With 2.2 all-in working hours per unit, that is $56.36 per delivery hour before those deductions. These inputs illustrate the arithmetic; they do not establish a market price or expected earnings.
The example also allows $95.00 in monthly fixed costs. Include unpaid acquisition and administrative time when deciding whether the offer is worthwhile.
Try your own numbers
These are editable planning assumptions, not prices we have verified. Calculations stay in your browser.
Operating result = (price − direct cost) × units − monthly fixed costs. Before owner pay, taxes, financing and startup recovery. At these inputs, delivery requires 22 hours per month, plus any work not included in your per-unit estimate. Sales volume is a scenario, not a forecast.
How to find the first customers
Test a small offer before scaling traffic. Record the source of each enquiry, whether it fits the offer, and whether the buyer pays.
- Introduce yourself to managers at local insurance agencies and ask what their clients with vacant homes need to show. Leave a sample report so they can see the checklist and photo format.
- Ask homeowner association managers in seasonal communities whether you can place a flyer in the departure-season newsletter. Include your insurance details and a sample visit schedule.
- Meet estate attorneys and senior move managers who handle vacant homes during probate or transitions. Offer a short-term watch plan that ends when the house sells, priced per month.
- Publish a plain checklist of what you inspect on your website and let owners request a free key-handoff meeting. Record which channel each signed agreement came from.
What to validate before spending more
- Ask your state and county whether checking homes, holding keys or calling vendors on an owner's behalf falls under property management licensing. Write down who you spoke with and their answer.
- Run a free pilot on two homes owned by people you know for one month, timing each visit including drive time. Check whether biweekly visits actually fit your route before you set prices.
- Get quotes for general liability, a fidelity bond and care, custody and control coverage, and confirm whether key loss and alarm false-dispatch fees are included.
- Send pilot owners two report formats and ask which one they read fully. Keep the one they understand quickly, and cut checklist items no one reviews.
The operational catch
Owners often forget to tell you about a smart thermostat schedule, a water shutoff or an alarm zone change, and you then report a false problem or trigger a police dispatch. Build a pre-season handoff form covering alarms, water shutoffs, approved vendors and spending limits, and refuse to start service until the owner signs it.
A practical way to fund the first step
Charge the first month in advance at signup and hold off on buying an inspection app until you have five homes. A shared spreadsheet and a phone camera are enough for pilot reports, and the prepaid months can cover insurance.
Separate cash already available from money still to earn. Count only proceeds after direct expenses, and do not spend customer funds needed to fulfill their existing orders.
Questions before you start
Is home watch the same as property management?
Not usually. Property managers often handle leasing, rent and repairs. Home watch focuses on visual checks and reporting. Some states draw the line differently, so confirm locally before you accept tasks like scheduling repairs or collecting money.
How often should I visit each home?
Many owners ask about weekly or biweekly visits, and some insurers have their own expectations for vacant homes. Ask the owner to check their policy, then price a weekly and a biweekly option so they can choose.
What should I do after a storm?
Offer a paid post-storm check as an add-on in your agreement, with a clear window for completing visits. After a major storm you cannot reach every home in an hour, so state realistic response times in writing.
Source-backed checks
These references support the specific checks below. They do not endorse this business idea or substantiate the example prices, costs or demand.
SBA describes several types of business insurance, including general liability and professional liability, and suggests working with a licensed agent. U.S. Small Business Administration: Get business insurance.
The IRS publishes standard mileage rates that can be used to calculate the deductible costs of operating a vehicle for business. Internal Revenue Service: Standard mileage rates.
Google's Business Profile guidelines say a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours to be eligible for a profile. Google Business Profile: Business eligibility and ownership guidelines.
- Get business insuranceU.S. Small Business Administration · Reference checked September 8, 2026
- Standard mileage ratesInternal Revenue Service · Reference checked September 8, 2026
- Business eligibility and ownership guidelinesGoogle Business Profile · Reference checked September 8, 2026
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