Dockside Chat - Property Managament

I need some kind of property management to look after our place while we are gone. I need suggestions on what I should be looking for. The house will be vacant while we are away. The company is paying for this so don't think cheap. :grin:

Thanks!

Have you considered a central station-monitored security system, with an Uplink backup?

Eyeball,
I'm thinking you are going to need an on-site live-in manager. Since money is no object, I would suggest a professional, like myself. I don't come cheap, and my expenses would probably be significant (hey, hookers, pot, and alcohol ain't cheap!), but this would afford you, your best protection.
Let me know when I can start!
SeaHawg

seahawg....Now that’s funny, I don’t care who you are.

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Ray, Tennessee 2180DLX Carolina Skiff 90HP Honda

CaptWill – I have central station monitoring (ADT). And I have video around the place; can monitor/control it from anywhere I can get on the internet. There is enough hd capacity to run 24/7 for 6-mons on all cameras. That hardware is going into a filter-air box under the house where it is cooler during the summer months. Best decision I ever made was to put video around the home.

Seahawg – the pot and alcohol I don’t have a problem with. However, this is the San Francisco Bay Area so the hookers, well, some of them dangle in places you wouldn’t be expecting your hooker to be dangling, if you know what I mean. Hey, you spin the wheel, you take your chances. :grin:

Eyeball, in addition to the measures you have mentioned you may consider a "roving patrol" from one of the local security companies. It's not as expensive as one would imagine and the random visits tend to keep the bad guys off a schedule.

If you are thinking of a revenue proposition, check the "Yellow Pages." Many realtors do this sort of work for short-term rentals for weekly and monthly tourist visitors. They will arrange the bookings and cleaning services and manage any deposits required.

For security coverage you can check the listings for patrol and guard services. I havent spoken with anyone who has done this recently but I'd expect different price levels depending on the amount of oversight you'd feel comfortable with. I guess the services you could expect would be on-site day or night or 24hours. Drive by (how frequent?) checks. Perimeter checks. Enter and inspect the premises.

If you have a trusted friend you can probably get them to house-sit. I dont know what your lead-time is on this but sometimes folks have a "guest-house" or small apartment (maybe over the garage). The tenant gets to use your pool or other privileges in exchange for keeping an eye on things.

Good luck!