Home Watcher LV Las Vegas - Blog

NHWA for 5 YEARS

8/2/2016

Five years of NHWA membership, currently a Member of the NHWA Advisory Board and a participant to the Best Practices sub-committee.

The NHWA Best Practice sub-committee is working to establish the best practices of the Home Watch industry. Home Watch companies from all parts of the US and Canada are involved and the result of this effort is going to be extremely valuable for not only new members but for seasoned companies as well. We realized that merging our ideas and practices made all of us learn bits and pieces of new material and more than expected, we discovered a different approach to common situation. The NHWA members will definitely be stronger once the best practices are released at this year's NHWA convention in September.

JP at Home Watcher LV

Permanent filter does not mean "Permanently Clean"

7/31/2016

Permanent filters.

Oh well, they are not permanently clean. They need to be checked and maintained as often as throw away filters.

Why is your A/C not performing well? Why is your electrical bill so high?

In Nevada, this minor problem turns into major expense. A/C is already quite expensive with clean filters, so let's be on top of this one to avoid unnecessary expenses.

JP at Home Watcher LV

Another sad find.

7/19/2016

Unfortunately, another client's house break-in. The burglar(s) broke a window to access to house, turned everything up side down and left through the rear sliding door. A classic.

Fortunately, during our walkthrough, we attempt to walk around the house first prior to entering the property.

An open sliding door or broken window are signs that something else happened.

After reaching the owner and the authorities, we secured the property and ensured that the broken glass be replaced within hours.

Imagine if this owner did not have a Home Watch program in place? A drive by from the HOA security would certainly not see this either.

Short Term Vacation Rental. What are you waiting for?

3/10/2016

If you are not using your vacation home for a long period, there is a way to rent it to travelers without giving yourself a second job.

It is an interesting way to get extra income instead of just paying the bills for your empty property.

Have a look.

https://mbsy.co/dPvqM

Summerlin Home Show

3/5/2016

Home Shows are a valuable form of marketing for the Home Watch industry. My wife and I participated at the Summerlin Home Show today.
We met many people who learned about the Home Watch industry and services. This form of discussion can turn into many sales leads with the people you meet and the people they know.
Overall it was fun and we had a good day.

JP
Home Watcher LV
Las Vegas NV

Busted Irrigation Vacuum Breaker

2/21/2016

Busted Irrigation Vacuum Breaker

Las Vegas winters are not very cold however, we do have days when the night time low is below freezing. Your exterior faucets, valves and vacuum breakers should be properly protected against freezing by adding foam cups, pouches or other devices.

In today's case, an old towel was used but it was not properly covered to remain dry. Besides the obvious corrosion issue, when the towel is wet, it does not insulate much at all and allowed the vacuum breaker to start freezing to the point where the top cap snapped off the unit and the vacuum breaker started to leak. Fortunately, it was not a big leak but over time if not found and repaired, this damaged device will waste thousands of gallons of water and possibly burst and cause a real disaster.

JP

Home Watcher LV
Las Vegas, NV

Windy in Vegas?

2/20/2016

High speed winds in Las Vegas is a regular event. Wind speed like last Thursday are extremely rare. It was reported that we almost beat the highest wind speed record of the 1970s. It was not a pleasant day with desert dust and loose debris flying everywhere. Several trees were knocked down throughout the valley. Of course, on the following day we had a beautiful sunny day as expected in Southern Nevada.

If you are not home, you may be concerned about possible damage to your property.

As we perform our Home Watch service, we will report any findings or let you know that everything is normal.

JP
Home Watcher LV
Las Vegas Nevada.

Squatters?

2/10/2016

Part time and seasonal residents. This can happen to you if your home is not monitored frequently by a Home Watcher.

A couple days ago I saw this on the local news. This happens to be less than a mile from our home. This was a very strong reminder of what can happen if your home looks like it is vacant for a while. Your driveway, your front door and gates can display signs that you are not home and that's all it takes for squatters to spot their new home.

JP
Home Watcher LV
Las Vegas NV

Weeds... What???

1/30/2016

Weeds in January?

The temperature today went up to 70F and there is rain in the forecast for tomorrow. That's all the weeds need to appear again!. Actually, it's already started. This picture was taken today and the weeds are definitely healthy and growing fast.

Not treating or removing weeds on a timely basis can make the house looking like an abandoned house, a foreclosed house or worse, a vacant house. This is where the Home Watch service comes in. Don't let your property send the wrong signal.

JP

Home Watch LV
Las Vegas NV

Let's start the year on a wet note!

1/4/2016

A water heater about to give up and cause a disaster.

Here I am, performing an initial walkthrough of a new VRBO client from Evolve Vacation Rental. As of this morning, the house was completely redone, new flooring, new paint, new furniture, new beds and mattresses, new window treatment, everything looks great! Then we head to the garage and the discoloration of the water heater stand immediately got my attention. Looking at it closely, the whole thing is wet, the bottom pan of the heater has water in it, this thing is about to split open. Oh well, by tomorrow morning, a new heater will be put in and another disaster was avoided.

JP at Home Watcher LV.

"Reliable" pool service?

12/1/2015

Here is the scenario, you are not home, you have a "reliable" Pool Service who decides to take a vacation without a backup plan.

What does the Home Watcher find?

The pump is very noisy, screaming for help, sucking air, all strainers are jammed of debris, the pool is dirty and the robot is unfortunately stalled and tangled with debris without water flow.

Without our intervention, the pump would most probably get damaged over time.

Pool pump strainer packed of debris.

Pool bottom full of debris. The robot is stalled.

Certified Pool Operator Certificate

11/4/2015

Winter Watering Restrictions

10/30/2015

It is that time of the year again. November 1st is the date when the winter watering restrictions start. Identify your watering group and adjust your irrigation system according to the correct schedule. Home Watcher LV will take care of this for you if you are not home at this time of the year.

Here is a link with more information about irrigation systems. (HERE)

JP at Home Watcher LV

Certified Pool Operator

10/21/2015

JP at Home Watcher LV is now a Certified Pool Operator.

This certification from the National Swimming Pool Foundation is a requirement in order to maintain a public or commercial pool. The certification comes after a two day class and tests. The class covers several aspect of pool operation from basic but very important water chemistry to pool water treatment, pool water problems response, State regulations, etc.

We are not in the pool maintenance business at this time, but this additional knowledge allows me to identify quickly when a pool is not maintained properly by looking for specific signs and performing a few simple tests.

JP at Home Watcher LV.

The Lake Mead third water intake is now open.

10/12/2015

This is a significant project for Southern Nevada. Although Southern Nevada uses a small amount of the Colorado River supply (less than 1.8%), a lower level intake was necessary to maintain an adequate water supply in the event that the lake level goes below the previous lowest intake.

Here is an interesting article from the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

JP at Home Watcher LV

Why is my electrical bill so high?????

9/19/2015

Home Watcher LV checks Air Filters

Today we visited this house for the first time in months. As usual we have a look at the air filters condition and "et voila!"

The air flow was restricted to a minimum, the filter was about to collapse. I would not want to pay the electrical bill for this house during the Nevada summer.

Changing your air filters is important, if you do not, your A/C will cost a fortune to run, it will damage itself by clogging up the evaporative coil, the air will find ways to bypass the filters and your lungs will do the rest of the cleaning. Nice, isn't it? Not at all.

More information here.

Let's be smart and proactive.

JP - Home Watcher LV of Las Vegas, Nevada

Wide open highway for insects.

9/14/2015

You may have asked yourself, where are all these crickets and insects come from? Well, if they are in your house, look no further. Here is an example of a damaged door weather strip. If not noticed, your are welcoming home all kinds of insects. Our Home Watch process is performed without turning lights on near entry doors. This allows us to see day light around the bottom and the vertical portion of the doors. Replacing door seals may be very inexpensive and will make your life more enjoyable.

JP at Home Watcher LV
Las Vegas Nevada

Why is the water bill so high??

8/24/2015

Split irrigation line gushing water

Leaky irrigation valve wasting water.

Leaky irrigation line vacuum breaker wasting water on the sidewalk and street.

Here are three findings for today. A split irrigation tube spraying water where there should be none. A leaky irrigation water valve and a leaky vacuum breaker. All are good reasons to go up in the tier pricing and see the water bill go up. Water is a precious resource in Southern Nevada. Any unaddressed irrigation system leak will cost a bundle.

These problems will cost a lot more than the cost of the Home Watcher who can stop the bleeding in a heart beat!

JP at Home Watcher LV

Pest control. (Scorpions on the run)

7/26/2015

I heard that scorpions were everywhere in Las Vegas. I had not seen one in three years but in 2015 so far, we must have seen about 20 as we performed our property walkthrough. Actually I saw four today and one was running away from me. I do not know what is special about this year, but keep up with your pest control because they are out there waiting for an opportunity to get in.

It's official.

6/2/2015

Home Watcher LV is now on the preferred vendors list of Keller Williams in Las Vegas. This Ad will be appearing on the Realtor's document folders which are provided to their customers.

The Art Designer did a great job combining the message and the logo.

JP at Home Watcher LV

Leaky faucet damage

6/1/2015

Mineral deposit

Even in a vacant home, a leaky faucet will cause damage to itself, the sink and the drain plug. Water slowly leaks through the faucet and evaporates leaving a deposit of minerals on the surface finish. Some cleaning chemicals will remove the minerals but chances are, the surface finish may be damaged permanently.

It is important to detect and address this problem early to avoid permanent damage and possible costly replacement of the fixtures.

JP at Home Watcher LV

Smart timer, what a great device..

5/27/2015

Smart timers will self adjust to sunset and sunrise time everyday. This means you can have a lamp turn on from sunset to 12am and then 5am to sunrise in the living room or by the entrance of your home. Many timers of the same style have a random feature which will randomly adjust the ON-OFF time up to 30 minutes around your programmed times. Electronic timers are reliable and have very few moving parts compared to an old style mechanical timer.

It is a cool device that you can use when you are occupying your home or not. Smart timers and LED light bulbs are a winning combination.

As we walkthrough the property we test the functionality of your timers and ensure that bulb is actually working.

An inexpensive way to automate your home and add a small theft deterrent device.

JP at Home Watcher LV

This week's finding - Another classic problem in Southern Nevada

5/19/2015

Irrigation system underground leak

This week's problem is a very frequent occurrence in Las Vegas. An irrigation system leak.

Most leaks we find come from the light duty flexible 1/2" tube used for the irrigation lines. We can only see it when we test the irrigation system.

This leak was more significant since it was coming from the ABS water supply line and leaked 24/7. If not caught soon, the problem would have become severe quickly.

This problem was resolved immediately at minimal cost to the owner without damage to the property.

Another example of being proactive by using a Professional Home Watch service.

JP at Home Watcher LV.

The find of the week. Busted...

5/9/2015

Busted front door

Unfortunately, this week we found a break-in.

This is by no means a desirable event. Fortunately, we were able to reach the customer who flew in the next day.

After contacting the proper authorities, the property was secured temporarily until the owner arrived.

There are many ways to improve the security of your home. On most home, the weakest point is the front door. It can be pushed in easily by breaking the small amount of wood holding the deadbolt plate as you can see in this picture. Here is an inexpensive way to strengthen the front door and door frame using parts readily available at major hardware stores. Just the appearance of steel reinforcements may be enough to make the burglars go to a different home.

Here are the two recommended steps.

JP at Home Watcher LV

Step 1, Striker plate and frame reinforcement.

This device adds a significant amount of strength to the deadbolt striker plate and it is secured with several long screws .

Step 2, Door reinforcement.

This device will prevent the door from breaking or splitting at the deadbolt.

Disaster avoided. A note from one of our customers.

4/6/2015

Hi JP,

The bad news is I was in town this past weekend and discovered I had some damaged pipes in the ceiling over my kitchen. The good news is that you got me in the habit of shutting off the water when I am away, so I did not have water gushing inside for a month. The water started leaking when I turned it back on and I noticed it dripping out of the ceiling about 12 hours after turning the water on. So the damage could have been way worse!

Jay. WA 2015

I love to hear stories like this. That is a good reason to rely on a professional Home Watcher instead of a neighbor or a friend.