First Mate Home Watch Services
As the First Mate, I understand how hard you as the captain of your home have worked for everything that you have. I just want to be that extra set of eyes on your property while you are away so we can prevent some of the issues that inevitably happen in a vacant home, examples being mold, mildew, insect infestation, leaks or how about coming back to your Florida home to find the Air Conditioner not working. With First Mate Home Watch providing weekly home inspections we will try to mitigate the risk of any of the issues becoming a major problem. We are proactively looking for problems while a standard home sitter maybe a little more reactive to a problem they stumble upon while using your home.
During our visual inspection if we discover a problem, we will begin collaborating with you to coordinate repairs and can oversee that the problem gets corrected. Each property is unique, and a custom inspection report is generated for your individual needs however, an example of the items we check are listed:
- Home monitoring
- Minor maintenance
- Contentment knowing your property is being looked after
- Change air filters and smoke alarm batteries
- Help with home deliveries
- Start and run garaged/stored vehicles
- Package pick-up
- Problem identification
- Emailed GPS and time stamped report
- Personalized plan for your individual needs
- 24/7 alarm assistance
- Care for house plants
- Arrange for and meet with contractors

Exterior of property:
- Roof, chimney, gutters, and downspouts (ground level visual)
- Signs of Vandalism
- Door and window locks and breakage
- Animal or rodent
- Insects
- Listen for unusual sounds of any equipment
- Pool equipment
- Water level in pool
- Lawn, shrubs, and plants
- Irrigation system
- Check and collect mail, forward any packages that you may need
- Faucets and hoses
- Screened in porch/sunroom
- Outside decorations and patio furniture
Interior of property:
- Check windows and doors for intrusion or manipulation
- Ceilings for leaks or damage
- Animal/rodent/insect infestation
- Lighting and bulbs
- Mold and Mildew
- Air Conditioning unit, controls, handler, and filter
- All Major Appliances
- Breaker Panel
- Check for bugs and animal
- Wi-Fi is still on and working properly
- Sinks and showers
- Many, many more. Yes, we flush the toilets too.
With First Mate Home Watch you will have peace of mind knowing that your property is being monitored by a professional.
Hurricane Services
Available only to current Home Watch Clients
We only work in safe weather conditions. If or when evacuation orders are issued we will not be able to access your home until conditions are all clear. WE DO NOT HANG STORM SHUTTERS
Pre Storm Preparation and Inspection – once a storm has been named
- Moving outdoor furniture secure area
- Moving exterior items that can be moved to secure area as per agreement
- Move outdoor grill to garage or inside hurricane shuttered lanai, if possible
- propane tank left outside and secured
- Secure the home, closing all shutters and making sure all doors and windows are locked
- Report with photos of home ready for storm emailed.
Post Storm Inspection – as soon as safely possible (reports sent as soon as internet and cell service is available)
- Do an inspection of your home to determine damages and report them to you immediately
- Open shutters as per your HOA rules. Leave closed for season if allowed.
- Email or communicate and finding with photos of any major damages
- Meet with insurance company and contractors.
Some key items should be done for securing your home before you leave prior to hurricane season.
- Make sure all branches are trimmed away from the roof
- Remove dead branches/limbs from trees and bushes. Have them taken away to prevent them from clogging storm drains.
- Clean all gutters and downspouts
- Inspect windows and doors for any gaps or cracks and repair if needed to prevent leaks
- Check all self-closing shutters. We can do a trial run prior to a named storm. WE DO NOT HANG SHUTTERS.
- Pool deck drains should be cleared of any debris, all pools toys/ floats should be brought inside or stored in appropriate containers.
- Remove propane tanks from grill and store properly.
Concierge Services
First Mate Home Watch offers our Concierge Services to Treasure Coast of FL. We will get your home ready before you arrive, we can get the cars detailed and full of fuel, do the grocery shopping, bring patio furniture outside. We will also make sure that the house is set to the desired temperatures for you and your guest. If you have a friend or family member coming in to use your home let us know. We can arrange for cleaning services before and after. We can do the trivial things such as having fresh flowers on the counter when anyone arrives to making sure the big things are prepped also.
- Shopping and stocking supplies for the home.
- Coordinate repairs/maintenance services
- Water inside plants and plants in the lanai, as directed per client
- Provide access to contractors and service providers
- Wait Services/Key Holder Services (repairs, deliveries, installations)
- Meet the car carrier or pick up or drop off of your vehicle(s)
- Open home for arrivals. The courtesy of 24 hour prior notice is requested.
- adjust the air conditioner
- turn on water and water heater
- grocery shopping
- Close home after departures
- adjust the air conditioner
- turn off water main/water heater
- empty ice
- clean out cabinets and refrigerator of any open products or perishable products
- Personal Assistant
- general help at home
- clean garages, closets and cabinets.
- Trash/Recycle Bins Service (bins out to curb for pick up and/or bring bins in)
- Scheduled appointment for special package pick-up (bring in packages delivered to property) outside of basic service scheduled.
- Emergency services 24/7 at an additional charge
- Administrative services: Help with bill paying, scheduling appointments, picking up medications.
- Ask if you need help and we will try to make it happen
Key Holder Services
To me, Key Holder Services is one of the most important parts of leaving Florida.
It is crucially important that someone close has a copy of your key to get in while you are away. First Mate Home Watch can provide 24/7 access to your home for anyone that may be visiting, if you need repairs done, emergency services or you just lost your keys. This service is great for investors, snowbirds, children with elderly parents, rental homeowners etc. We provide you peace of mind knowing where your keys are and how many copies are floating around. With First Mate Key Holder Services you can rest easy knowing that your keys are never going to be duplicated.
Under Construction/New Construction
We provide weekly pictures and updates sent to your email, keeping you in the loop while you are away. Our weekly updates make it easier for you to notice something not quite right during construction and you can contact your builder to discuss. We can also do video chat so you can experience your property project while your new home is being built.
Home Watch Visit Reporting
First Mate Home Watch uses HomeWatchIT for our reporting and operations management system. We are able to create a customized checklist with you to ensure we are taking care of your needs and utilizing industry best practices.
At the completion of each visit we will provide an emailed report noting any problems we found. This report is digitally time-stamped so you know when we checked and our GPS based location is reported so you know we were at your home.
Watch the video for more information about our Home Watch Check reporting.