Checklist

Home Watch Checklist for Palm Beach County

By Nick Martinsen, Owner · Updated August 2026

This is the home watch checklist we actually run on client properties in Palm Beach and Martin Counties — interior water and climate, interior systems and security, the exterior envelope and grounds, and the report that makes the visit count.

Published in full, on purpose. Use it to run your own visits, or to hold whoever you hire to a standard. If a company cannot tell you which of these they do, they do not do them.

Interior: water and climate

Every expensive failure in an empty Florida house starts here. This part of the walk is non-negotiable.

Air conditioning under load: Confirm the system is running and measure supply air at a register. A unit that hums but delivers 70°F air is already failing.
Condensate line and drip pan: Clear the line, treat it, and confirm flow at the discharge point. Verify the pan is dry and the float switch works. This is the single most common source of interior water damage in a vacant South Florida home.
Humidity reading: Take an actual reading, not a glance at a thermostat. Interior relative humidity should hold near 50–55%. Above 60% and millwork, veneers, and wall cavities are already at risk.
Water heater: Inspect the tank base, relief valve, and connections for corrosion or seepage. Confirm the breaker state matches the closing instructions.
Every fixture and supply line: Under each sink, behind each toilet, at washer connections, at the refrigerator line, at filtration and softener units. Look and feel for damp, not just for standing water.
Run and treat drain traps: Run water at each fixture so trap seals do not dry out and admit sewer gas. Treat traps with mineral oil or vinegar on long closures.
Ceilings, walls, and baseboards: Scan for staining, bubbling paint, and swollen baseboards — the tells for a leak that has been going for a while.

Interior: systems, safety, security

The house should be as safe and as intact as it was the day you left.

Electrical panel and GFCIs: Breakers seated, no tripped GFCIs, no burning smell or discoloration at the panel.
Appliances: Refrigerator holding temperature, ice maker behaving or properly shut down, dishwasher and washer connections dry, no error codes.
Smoke and CO detectors: Chirping units silenced with fresh batteries and logged. A dead detector in an empty house is a documented liability.
Pest and rodent activity: Droppings, ant trails, wasp nests in the lanai, and evidence at pantry and utility spaces.
Doors, windows, and intrusion: Every exterior door and accessible window checked, locked, and confirmed unopened since the previous visit.
Alarm and cameras: System armed and communicating, camera feeds live, sensors reporting, no low-battery faults.
Lighting and timers: Interior schedules realistic and running, exterior lighting operating at dusk. A house on an obviously automated pattern advertises vacancy.

Exterior: envelope and grounds

The envelope is what keeps the weather out for the eight months you are gone.

Roof line and tile: Visible displacement, slipped or cracked tile, staining at soffits and fascia, debris in valleys.
Gutters and drainage: Downspouts clear and directed away from the foundation; no standing water against the slab after a storm.
Window, door, and shutter hardware: Seals intact, tracks clear, panels and accordion shutters operable — tested, not assumed.
Salt-air corrosion: Hinges, handles, railings, light fixtures, outdoor kitchen and grill components, and A/C condenser coils on coastal properties.
Pool and water features: Water level, pump running, chemistry within range, cage or screen intact, deck clear of staining debris.
Irrigation: Zones firing, no broken heads flooding a bed, controller schedule appropriate for the season and any restrictions.
Landscape and trees: Branches clear of roof lines, service disconnects, and generator; beds tidy enough that the house does not look unattended.
Generator: Exercise cycle running, fuel and oil levels, battery health, no fault codes on the controller.
Vehicles: Started, run long enough to charge, tire pressure checked, battery tenders confirmed.
Mail, packages, and street presence: Mail collected, packages removed, storm debris cleared, nothing accumulating at the door.

The report

If the visit is not documented, it may as well not have happened. This is the deliverable.

Timestamped photographs: Dated images of each area walked, filed the same day — the record an insurer or warranty administrator will ask for.
Written exceptions: What was found, what it likely means, what it will cost to address, and what needs your approval.
Confirmation of the routine: Explicit confirmation of the readings that matter: supply temperature, humidity, water state, alarm state.
An accessible archive: Every report retained in one place — in our case, the EstateEase portal — so the home has a continuous service history rather than a folder of emails.

Cadence

How often the checklist should be run.

Every 7 days: Waterfront, oceanfront, and fully furnished homes; anything during hurricane season; homes with active insurance requirements.
Every 14 days: The practical minimum for an unoccupied Florida home, and the interval many high-value policies reference for water-damage coverage.
Before a named storm: Full pre-landfall protocol plus documentation, run in sequence rather than in a panic.
After a storm: First access as soon as roads reopen, with a documented damage assessment and mitigation coordination.

Where to go next

Seasonal versions of this list: the hurricane preparation checklist and the summer departure checklist.

If you would rather not run it yourself, see home watch services near you, what home watch costs, and how to choose a home watch company. Owners who want the whole calendar carried for them read about estate management in Palm Beach instead.

Questions

The checklist, answered.

What should be on a home watch checklist?

A complete home watch checklist covers four areas: interior water and climate (A/C under load, condensate line and pan, humidity reading, water heater, every supply line and fixture, drain traps, ceilings and baseboards); interior systems and security (electrical panel and GFCIs, appliances, detectors, doors and windows, alarm and cameras, lighting schedules); the exterior envelope and grounds (roof line, drainage, seals and shutters, salt-air corrosion, pool, irrigation, landscape, generator, vehicles, mail); and the report — timestamped photographs, written exceptions, confirmation of key readings, and an accessible archive.

How long should a home watch visit take?

A genuine systems walk on a large home takes roughly forty minutes to an hour. Anything under fifteen minutes is a drive-by. Ask any company you interview how long they spend and how many properties are on a route.

How often should the checklist be run?

Every 7 to 14 days year round for an unoccupied home, weekly for waterfront and oceanfront properties and for everyone through hurricane season, plus a pre-landfall visit and a post-storm inspection.

Can I run this checklist myself?

Yes, and you should if you have someone local you trust — that is why it is published. What a hired service adds is cadence you do not have to remember, insurance and bonding behind the person in the house, and a documented record that stands up to a claim.

Does a home watch visit include repairs?

The inspection itself does not. Findings are reported with recommendations; with your approval a licensed trade is brought in and the work is supervised. Owners who want the maintenance calendar run for them move up to estate management.

Is a checkbox report enough?

No. A list of ticks proves nothing. Insist on timestamped photographs and written exceptions after every visit — that is the difference between a service record and a claim of one.

Before you hire

What is home watch?
The plain definition: a scheduled inspection of an empty home, with a photo report after every visit.
Choosing a home watch provider
What separates an accountable firm from a neighbor with a key and good intentions.
Selecting an estate manager
The credentials and habits that matter when one person speaks for the house.
Home watch cost in Palm Beach County
Why square-footage pricing gets a waterfront house wrong, and what we charge instead.
Questions owners ask first
Terms, scope, and what is included before you commit to anything.

Have this run on your home

Every visit, documented, on a cadence that suits the house. Or call an owner at 561-351-6323.