The published starting rates
We publish a starting figure for each level of service:
- Home Watch, from $500/month. Scheduled interior and exterior visits, a visual inspection of systems and the envelope, a timestamped photo report after every visit, and prompt notice when something needs attention.
- Estate Care, from $2,000/month. Everything in Home Watch, plus oversight of the maintenance calendar, vendor coordination for routine service, and one accountable point of contact.
- Private Estate Management, from $5,000/month. The whole household run by one firm for one monthly number: grounds, pool, housekeeping, handyman work, vendors, bills, projects and hurricane season.
The full breakdown of each tier is on our pricing page.
What the $500 covers
The $500 starting rate covers a typical monthly retainer at a standard cadence, usually a visit every 14 days. Homes with a higher risk profile, and most homes during hurricane season, move to weekly visits. We set the exact cadence after walking the property and reading your insurer's unoccupancy language.
Every plan is month-to-month. Unused prepaid time is refunded if you cancel.
The six things that move the price
We do not price from a square-footage table. Two houses of the same size on the same street can differ by an hour of work per visit. These are the factors that actually set the number, roughly in order of impact:
1. Visit cadence
This is the largest line in any quote. Every 14 days is the minimum most Florida carriers accept on an unoccupied home. Every 7 days is standard for waterfront homes and any house sitting empty through hurricane season.
2. How long a walk takes
Systems matter more than size. Several A/C zones, a summer kitchen, a dock, a generator, an elevator or a wine room all add time to every visit.
3. Waterfront and salt air
Intracoastal and oceanfront homes need corrosion checks inland homes do not: rails and fasteners, exterior A/C coils, dock hardware, lifts, screens and impact-glass seals.
4. Furnished or not
A furnished seasonal residence needs traps run, humidity held, and the refrigerator and ice maker checked. A stripped, unfurnished house needs far less.
5. Coordination on top of the inspection
Home watch is inspection and reporting. Once you want vendors scheduled and the maintenance calendar run, you are buying Estate Care or estate management instead.
6. Documentation
Timestamped photographs of every area walked and a filed history in your portal are our standard. That record is what a carrier asks for at claim time. A cheaper provider is usually cheaper because that record does not exist.
What is not in the monthly fee
Major repairs, contractor invoices, materials, hurricane shutter panels or boarding supplies, fuel and specialized equipment pass through at cost, with no markup. Storm shuttering, arrival and departure preparation, and supervised repair visits are quoted as they come up. Nothing is authorized without your approval.
Is the cheapest quote worth it?
Usually not. The two things cut to reach a low price are time on site and documentation. A clogged condensate line found on a weekly visit is a service call. Found months later, it is drywall, cabinetry, flooring and a mold protocol, plus an insurer asking for proof the house was being monitored.
For the full reasoning behind these factors, read our home watch cost guide. To see what a visit includes, see our home watch service. If the house needs more than inspections, compare estate management in Palm Beach County.