Some absences run long: an extended overseas assignment, a medical stay, an estate in transition, a home held between sale and settlement, or an owner splitting time abroad for a year. A Palm Beach County home empty for six months or more accumulates risk in a way that a short trip never does.
Extended absence home watch is built for those situations — continuous documented inspection, insurance-ready records, and one local point of contact with authority to act.
Quick Answers
What counts as an extended absence?
Generally three months or longer — overseas assignments, medical stays, estates, or homes held vacant. Call 561-913-2023.
How often should a long-vacant home be inspected?
Weekly. Long vacancies compound risk, and weekly inspection limits unobserved time to seven days.
Do you provide records for estates and trusts?
Yes. A continuous chronological photo record can be shared with attorneys, trustees, and family offices.
Can you authorize repairs?
Within limits you set in advance, we coordinate and supervise licensed contractors and document the work.
Is insurance documentation included?
Yes — dated, timestamped reports suitable for carrier and adjuster review. Email admin@pbchomewatch.com.
Risk Compounds With Time
Over a long vacancy, small things become structural. Humidity that stays above the mid-fifties for months damages millwork, flooring, and cabinetry. A drip under a sink saturates a subfloor. Pests establish colonies. Pool water goes untreated and equipment fails. Exterior maintenance drifts and HOA violations accumulate. And every one of those problems is discovered later, when the repair is far larger.
Weekly documented inspection is the countermeasure. The point is not the visit itself; it is that nothing gets more than seven days of unobserved time to develop.
Insurance and Legal Documentation
Long vacancies are exactly the scenario where Florida policy vacancy and unoccupancy provisions matter most. Carriers ask when the property was last inspected and what condition it was in. Estates and trusts have a parallel need: a dated record of condition and care during administration.
We provide a continuous chronological record of dated photo reports for the full absence period, and can copy your broker, attorney, trustee, or family office on every visit.
Authority to Act and Vendor Management
Over months, things need doing: an AC repair, a roof patch after a storm, a pool pump replacement, a landscaping correction to satisfy the HOA. We coordinate licensed local contractors, meet them at the property, supervise the work, and document it — all within whatever authority you set in advance.
You will always know what happened and what it cost before it happens. Call 561-913-2023 or email admin@pbchomewatch.com to set up extended absence coverage.
Palm Beach County Communities We Serve
We inspect properties in Wellington, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Boca Raton, Manalapan, and Stuart — along with more than ninety other Palm Beach County communities. Local knowledge matters: each of these communities has its own gate procedure, vendor registration process, and building or association rules, and we handle that credentialing before your first inspection rather than negotiating it at the gate.
Inspection Detail
What We Check During Every Palm Beach County Inspection
Every Palm Beach County inspection follows the same documented protocol from the first visit to the last, so nothing is left to memory or judgment on the day. Our inspector begins with a full interior walkthrough — every room, every level, every closed door — looking for water intrusion, ceiling and wall staining, musty odor, and anything out of place since the previous visit. We run and check all water fixtures: kitchen and bathroom sinks, every toilet for silent running valves, showers and tubs to clear stagnant lines and keep trap seals full, and the water heater for corrosion, weeping fittings, and pan moisture. A single slow supply-line leak is the most expensive thing that can happen inside an unoccupied Palm Beach County home, and it is the item we check most carefully.
From there we verify the HVAC system: operation, filter condition, thermostat setpoint, and the interior temperature and humidity reading against the levels we agreed on for your property. We open the electrical panel to check for tripped breakers, scorching, and visible wiring issues, then move outside for a full exterior walk — roof and soffit condition from ground level, missing or lifted shingles and tile, gutter and downspout blockage, and drainage away from the foundation after Florida's afternoon storm cycle.
The pool receives a visual inspection every visit: water level, clarity, pump and filter operation, and cage or screen condition. Security systems are confirmed — every exterior door, window, and sliding door locked, alarm status verified, cameras and smart-home panels operating. We look for signs of pest activity including rodent droppings, insect trails, and termite evidence at baseboards, garage corners, and exterior wood. The garage is checked for door operation and the condition of vehicles, storage, and equipment inside. We note landscaping problems — obvious overgrowth, fallen branches, irrigation breaks, and standing water or drainage issues along the property line. Finally, mail and deliveries are collected so nothing accumulates and signals an empty house to anyone watching the street.
Interior walkthrough — every room, every level
All water fixtures — sinks, toilets, showers, water heater
HVAC system — filters, operation, thermostat settings
Electrical panels — breakers and visible wiring
Roof and exterior — visible damage, missing shingles, gutters, drainage
Pool visual inspection — water level, clarity, equipment
Security systems — doors, windows, locks, alarms
Signs of pest activity — rodents, insects, termites
Mail and deliveries collected — no visible accumulation
Interior temperature and humidity documented every visit
Reporting
After Every Palm Beach County Visit
Every Palm Beach County inspection ends the same way: a GPS-verified photo report delivered to your email the same day. The report opens with the date, arrival and departure timestamps, and GPS confirmation that our inspector was physically at your property — not a checkbox on a form filled out somewhere else. Inside you get a detailed written description of every item checked, organized by system and by room, along with the interior temperature and humidity readings for that visit.
If we find an issue, you see photographs of it. A stain forming on a ceiling, a corroded fitting at the water heater, a lifted roof tile, a pool pump that has stopped, a breaker that tripped while you were away — all of it is photographed and described in plain language. For anything urgent we do not wait for the report. You get an immediate phone call, and we coordinate directly with licensed contractors for repairs when you ask us to.
Reports are yours to use. Owners forward them to family members who want visibility into the property, to insurance carriers who require documented inspections on an unoccupied home, and to adjusters when supporting a claim after a storm or a water event. Every Palm Beach County report is retained as a permanent dated record of the property's condition, which is exactly the evidence trail an insurer looks for. And you always have direct access to the person inspecting your home at 561-913-2023 — never a call center, never an outsourced dispatcher.
GPS verified photo report emailed the same day
Detailed written description of every item checked
Photographs of any issue found on the visit
Immediate phone call for urgent issues discovered
Reports easy to share with family members
Reports accepted for sharing with your insurance company
Documentation that supports insurance claims
Permanent dated record of every visit
Direct access to your inspector — never a call center
Why Us
Why Palm Beach County Homeowners Choose PBC Home Watch
Palm Beach Home Watch is locally owned and based in Wellington, Florida. We are not a franchise operating from a national playbook, and there is no regional office between you and the person who walks your Palm Beach County property. That matters when something goes wrong at nine o'clock on a Sunday night: you call 561-913-2023 and reach the people who are responsible for your home.
We are an active member of the National Home Watch Association, the body that sets professional standards for this industry — accreditation requirements, insurance minimums, and background screening for anyone entering a client's property. Every inspector is background checked. We are fully insured, and a Certificate of Insurance is provided on request naming your property, your association, or your building as additional insured.
Local knowledge is the part that cannot be outsourced. We know Palm Beach County, we know the surrounding Palm Beach County communities, we know how the HOAs and gate operations here handle vendor registration, and we know which local contractors show up when a property needs an emergency repair. We coordinate directly with your HOA, your property manager, or your building security so access is arranged before your first inspection rather than negotiated at the gate. There are no long-term contracts, scheduling is flexible around your travel calendar, and you can add or pause visits as your season changes.
Locally owned — based in Wellington, FL, not a franchise
NHWA certified member
Fully insured — COI provided on request
Background checked inspectors
We know Palm Beach County — the communities, HOAs, and contractors
No long-term contracts required
Flexible scheduling around your travel calendar
Direct coordination with your HOA, property manager, or building security
Direct inspector access — 561-913-2023
Storm Season
Hurricane Season Home Watch in Palm Beach County
Florida's hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, and it is the period when an unoccupied Palm Beach County property is most exposed. Before a named storm approaches we conduct a documented pre-storm visit: storm shutters and impact protection verified as closed and secured, outdoor furniture and loose items brought in or secured, drains and gutters cleared, pool water level adjusted, generator checked for fuel and start-up where one is installed, and interior systems set for the property to sit safely through a power outage. Every item is photographed so you have a dated record of the property's pre-storm condition.
After the storm passes and access is safe, we return for a post-storm inspection. We document roof and tile condition, window and shutter integrity, water intrusion at doors and sliders, screen and cage damage, fallen trees and debris, pool contamination, and whether power has been restored and the HVAC is running again. Photographs are timestamped and delivered the same day, which is precisely the documentation an insurance adjuster needs and precisely what most owners cannot produce from a thousand miles away.
We monitor National Hurricane Center advisories and local Palm Beach County weather alerts through the season and proactively schedule checks around named-storm activity rather than waiting for a call. This is why we recommend weekly visits from June through November even for owners who use bi-weekly service the rest of the year — the window between a problem starting and a problem becoming catastrophic is far shorter in storm season. Call 561-913-2023 to set your hurricane season schedule.
June through November hurricane season monitoring
Documented pre-storm property preparation visit
Storm shutter and impact protection verification
Generator fuel and start-up check where applicable
Post-storm inspection with timestamped photo documentation
Photo evidence formatted for insurance adjusters
Weekly visits recommended June through November
Proactive checks after every named storm affecting the area
My home is unoccupied while an estate is settled. Can you help?+
Yes. We provide documented inspections and a chronological condition record for estates and trusts throughout Palm Beach County. Call 561-913-2023.
Can you manage utilities and mail during a long absence?+
We monitor utility status, report outages, and collect mail and packages at every visit.
What happens if a major repair is needed?+
You get a call with photographs, a licensed contractor recommendation, and supervision of the work through completion.
Is Palm Beach Home Watch insured and NHWA certified?+
Yes. Palm Beach Home Watch is a locally owned, fully insured member of the National Home Watch Association. A Certificate of Insurance naming your property, association, or building as additional insured is provided on request. Call 561-913-2023.
Which Palm Beach County communities do you cover for Extended Absence?+
All of them — from Wellington and Palm Beach Polo to Admirals Cove in Jupiter, BallenIsles and Old Palm in Palm Beach Gardens, St Andrews Country Club and Boca West in Boca Raton, Addison Reserve in Delray Beach, and the Palm Beach island and Manalapan waterfront.
How do I get started?+
Call 561-913-2023 or email admin@pbchomewatch.com. We schedule a complimentary walkthrough of your property, confirm gate and HOA access requirements, and most Palm Beach County homes are onboarded within one week.
Get Started
Schedule Your Free Extended Absence Consultation
Call 561-913-2023 or email admin@pbchomewatch.com. We schedule a complimentary walkthrough of your Palm Beach County property and typically begin service within one week.