Home watch keeps your house safe while you’re gone. These services handle everything else – the arrival, the departure, and the small stuff in between that’s hard to manage from two time zones away.
All of it is available to home watch clients as add-ons. No packages, no minimums. You ask, we handle it.
Pre-Arrival Home Prep
There’s a version of arriving at your desert house where you walk into 92 degrees, a dusty patio, and an empty refrigerator. Then there’s the version where the AC has been running since yesterday, the water’s back on, the beds are made, and there’s cold drink or a coffee waiting.
I do the second one.
A typical pre-arrival visit includes:
- Thermostats set and running ahead of your arrival so the house is actually comfortable when you walk in
- Water main and water heater back on, fixtures flushed and checked
- Blinds and shutters opened, lights on, patio furniture uncovered
- Refrigerator stocked to your list
- Pool and spa checked, spa heated if you want it warm on night one
- A quick walkthrough so anything that broke over the summer gets found before you find it
Schedule it 24 to 48 hours before you land and the house is ready, not just unlocked.
Post-Departure Closeout
The reverse, on your way out. Perishables cleared, water shut off, thermostats set to away, patio furniture covered, doors and windows secured, trash and recycling out. You leave for the airport, we take the house from there.
Airport Pickup & Light Transportation
Palm Springs International is twenty minutes from most of the valley, and getting there and back shouldn’t be the hardest part of your trip.
For retained home watch clients, we can coordinate private transportation to and from PSP as a scheduling accommodation – arrival pickup, departure drop-off, and short local runs when you’re between cars. Availability is limited and scheduled in advance around your flight, so give us your itinerary as early as you can.
Errands & Grocery Stocking
You send the list. We handle the rest.
- Grocery and liquor stocking ahead of arrival
- Receiving and putting away delivery orders placed on your own account
- Pharmacy and dry cleaning pickup
- Package retrieval and secure storage between visits
- Post office and shipping runs
Groceries and purchases are billed at cost using a card you keep on file. No markup, receipts every time.
Contractor & Delivery Access
Somebody has to be there when the pool guy, the HVAC tech, or the furniture delivery shows up. From out of state, that somebody is us.
We meet the vendor, provide access, stay on site for the duration, lock up afterward, and send you photos and a written summary of what was done. If a repair needs a decision, you get a call before anything happens, not a bill after.
Storm & Wind Event Prep
The valley gets monsoon cells in late summer and serious wind through the passes year round. When a system is tracking our way, we’ll secure your property ahead of it – patio furniture and umbrellas stowed, shade sails dropped, pool equipment checked, drains cleared – and go back out afterward to document any damage while it’s fresh.
Available on call. If you’re a home watch client and a storm is coming, we reach out to you.
How It’s Priced
What This Costs
| Service | Rate |
|---|---|
| Pre-arrival prep and stocking | $65 |
| Post-departure closeout | $65 |
| Storm or extreme-heat response | $65 per visit |
| Errands, deliveries, and contractor standby | $65 per hour, one hour minimum |
| Groceries and purchases | Billed at cost, receipts every time |
| Airport transportation | Arranged at the car service’s rate |
Ask For What You Need
If it’s not on this list, ask anyway. This is a one-person operation by design, which means the answer is usually yes, and it’s always a real person deciding.