Copyright 2013. Bradenton Home Sitting Services: Your Home Concierge Service, LLC. All rights reserved.

Before hiring a home watch service one must consider the background and qualifications of the person or persons who will be checking your home in your absence.

It is important for a home watch professional to have a construction background or some knowledge of how the mechanical systems of a home operate.  If there should be a problem while you are away, that person should be able to identify what it is, what might be causing the problem, and who to call to fix it.

Home watching may sound like an easy business, but when done properly, there is a lot of knowledge and responsibility attached to the job.

The company you select to watch your home should be bonded and insured, and able to provide a certificate of insurance upon request.  The officers and employees of the Company also should have background checks.

Also, it is best if they have lived in the town where your home is located for several years and are well established in the Community.  This gives the home watch service stability as well as credibility.  Such home watch service will know which contractors are reliable and they can advise a new homeowner about the Community, such as the restaurants, parks, beaches, festivals and other activities which are regular and recommended events of the particular area.

Another attribute of a good home watch service is that they belong to local organizations, such as local chambers of commerce, board of real estate as a business partner, and other community organizations.

Membership in such organizations indicates stability, community involvement and gives the home watch service credibility as an organization.

The home watch service you select should be able to supply you with a list of references, and a few select references should be called.

Finding a home watch service that has all of the above qualifications should give the homeowner added peace of mind when they are away from home.

Prepared by Denise O’Neill, President
Your Home Concierge Service LLC

Copyright 2013. Sarasota House Sitting Services. All rights reserved.

There are numerous ways in which a home sitter, home watch or concierge service protects an absentee homeowner, whether the homeowner is on vacation for just ten days or for an extended period of six months or more.

Most important, a good concierge service is conscientious and observant.  A good concierge service will spot and report evidence of leaks … roof leaks, leaking or burst pipes inside the home, leaks from defective window frames, broken doors and windows, and other leaking problems and defects.  The concierge service will also spot defective door and window locks and latches, the presence of pests, and a host of other possible problems.

Leaks and other water problems and defects often cause much greater damage if left unattended for an extended period of time.  For example, a roof leak initially may cause a homeowner only minimal discoloration of a small area of a ceiling.  However, if left unattended, such leak may very well end up causing the ceiling to buckle or even collapse and other damages as well. The concierge service may itself be in a position to immediately remedy any problems by touching up the discoloration, or it may attend to getting the defect taken care of by an appropriate professional repair service.

The concierge service also checks all appliances … including running the garbage disposal, and at least one cycle of the dishwasher and washing machine to prevent gaskets from drying out and other problems resulting from prolonged non-use.  In addition, refrigerators, air conditioning and associated dehumidistats are checked to determine whether they are functioning properly.

In addition, a good concierge service will attend to performing routine simple chores, such as picking up the homeowner’s mail and forwarding it as directed, replacing worn out batteries in smoke detectors, repairing loose door stops, adding lubricant to squeaky doors, tightening the screws of loose door hinges, removing and destroying wasp and bee hives on the house before they become a greater problem, as well as a myriad of other chores too numerous to mention.

Activities of a concierge service include picking up newspapers, tree limbs, flyers, palm fronds and other debris from the driveway and other parts of the property.  Such activities of a concierge service in and out of the home by itself gives the appearance the owner is home and caring for the property, thereby discouraging would-be burglars and others up to no good.

After departure for an extended period, the homeowner often realizes some personal item, medication, or document required by the homeowner, has inadvertently been left behind. A concierge service with access to the home can quickly resolve the problem by forwarding the item to the homeowner.

In the event of severe weather, after a storm the home concierge service will check the home for damage and reports the status to the homeowner.  In the event of uprooted trees, broken tree limbs, or other damage, the concierge service may attend to their removal or hire a professional service to perform required repairs and/or tree removal and cleanup.

In the event of a hurricane, the concierge service will attend to having storm doors and shutters installed and after the storm have them taken down.  Throughout the process the homeowner will be kept advised of the status of the home property in the storm … as such, homeowners will have peace of mind concerning their property.

Actually, all activities of a good concierge service give homeowners peace of mind, while protecting their homeowner’s investment.

Prepared by Leighton Q. J. Klevana,
Vice President, Your Home Concierge Service, LLC (941) 201-6717

Copyright 2013. Sarasota/Bradenton Home Care Takers. All rights reserved.

If a homeowner is on vacation or away from home on business trip, an important part of a home-watch or house-sitter concierge service is to watch for the development or build up of mildew and/or mold in your home.

Mold and mildew is a fungi or microbial spore, which thrives in hot, humid conditions … the real culprit is humidity above 55 or 60 percent, which as a weather condition is prevalent in Florida during a good part of the year.

To prevent mold or mildew from invading your home, the environment of your home should not foster the growth of mold or mildew … and, it is always important to keep a watchful eye out for mold and mildew in the home.  Your air conditioning thermostat should be set no higher than between 78 to 82 degrees while you are away from home.  The use of a de-humidistat on your air conditioning system is sure to reduce your electric power bill as well as reduce the humidity in your  home.  If your system does not have a humidistat, the use of desiccants (water absorbing materials, such as DampRid) may be used to capture and thereby reduce moisture.  These desiccants should be replaced no less than twice per month.

It is important some air circulation should be present in all rooms and closets.  So, for example, leave closet doors ajar to benefit from air circulation, and if your couches and chairs have loose cushions, pull them out to let air circulate in their place, thereby preventing growth of mold and mildew.

It is important to check for leaks in the plumbing under the sinks and elsewhere, as well as leaks in the roof.  A water leak left unchecked can cause the same havoc as high humidity in contributing to the growth of mold and mildew.  Depending on the severity of the mold and mildew contamination, it can lead to structural and other damage.

Mold and mildew in your living environment can be dangerous to your health.  In their website the Florida Department of Health says, “There are four kinds of health problems that come from exposure to mold or mildew: allergic illness, irritant effects, infection, and toxic effects.  For people that are sensitive to molds, symptoms such as nasal and sinus irritation or congestion, a dry hacking cough, wheezing, skin rashes, or burning, watery or reddened eyes, may occur.”  Other health problems include hay fever-like symptoms and shortness of breath.

Once mold or mildew takes hold in your home, it spreads quickly.  It is possible for a homeowner to take a one month vacation and while on vacation the air conditioning goes off allowing black mold and mildew take over the home … it has a nasty musty odor … and the mold can take over in all parts of the home, in the closets, in the bathrooms, in the cabinets and drawers in the kitchen, and even in the air ducts and motors of the air conditioning system.

The problem of ridding a home of mold and mildew contamination can be extensive and very costly.  Since mold is resilient and easily adaptable to its environment, it is important in the first place to minimize the chances of creating an environment conducive to the growth of mold and mildew.

An absent homeowner’s best insurance against mold and mildew contamination is having a good home watch service periodically check your home … such a service checking your home on a regular basis should substantially alleviate any mold and mildew problems, and reduces the stress levels and concerns of the homeowner.

 Prepared by Leighton Q. J. Klevana, Vice President, Your Home Concierge Service, LLC

There are numerous ways in which a home sitter, home watch or concierge service protects an absentee homeowner, whether the homeowner is absent for just ten days while on vacation or the homeowner is absent for an extended period of six months or more.

Most important, a good concierge service is conscientious and observant.  A good concierge service will spot and report evidence of leaks … roof leaks, leaking or burst pipes inside the home, leaks from defective window frames, broken doors and windows, and other leaking problems and defects.  The concierge service will also spot defective door and window locks and latches, and the presence of pests.

The concierge service also checks all appliances … including running the garbage disposal, the dishwasher and washing machine to prevent gaskets from drying out and other problems resulting from prolonged non-use.  In addition, air conditioning and an associated humidistat is checked to determine whether they are functioning properly.

Leaks and other water problems and defects often cause much greater damage if left unattended.  For example, a roof leak initially may cause a homeowner only minimal discoloration of a very small area of a ceiling.  However, if left unattended, such leak may very well end up causing the ceiling to buckle or even collapse and other damage as well. The concierge service may itself be in a position to immediately remedy any problems by touching up the discoloration, or it may attend to getting the defect taken care of by an appropriate repair service.

In addition, a good concierge service will attend to performing routine simple chores, such as picking up the homeowner’s mail and forwarding it as directed, replacing worn out batteries in smoke detectors, repairing loose door stops, adding lubricant to squeaky doors, tightening loose door hinges, removing and destroying wasp and bee hives on the house before they become a greater problem, and so on.

Activities of a concierge service in and out of the home by itself gives the appearance the owner is home and caring for the property, thereby discouraging would-be burglars and others looking for trouble.  Ordinarily a concierge service will pick up papers, flyers, tree limbs, palm fronds and other debris from the driveway and other parts of the property.

After departure of the homeowner, the concierge service can forward items inadvertently left behind or required by the homeowner.  We know of several situations of a homeowner leaving home for an extended period and then realizing the need for some personal item, medication, or documents left behind … a concierge service with access to the home can quickly resolve the problem by forwarding it to the homeowner.

In the event of severe weather, after a storm the home concierge service will check the home for damage and report the status to the homeowner.  In the event of uprooted trees, broken tree limbs, or other damage, the concierge service may attend to their removal or hire a professional service to perform required repairs and/or tree removal and cleanup.

In the event of a hurricane, the concierge service will attend to having storm doors and shutters installed and after the storm have them taken down.  Throughout the process the homeowner will be kept advised of the status of his/her home property in the storm … as such, the homeowner will have peace of mind concerning his property.

Prepared by Leighton Q. J. Klevana of Fl Home Concierge Service, Serving Bradenton and Sarasota.

The real estate professional also benefits from the involvement of a home concierge service (such as the services we offer in Bradenton and Sarasota), especially those which routinely work with real estate professionals because from experience they better understand how to present a property for sale.  As a rule, the real estate professional directly requests the concierge service for whatever is needed or requests the homeowner to engage the concierge service to perform the work required.

There are two areas in which the concierge may benefit the real estate professional in his work.  First of all, just before or just after obtaining a listing, the real estate professional may realize the listing needs a little “polish” to improve the presentation of the property to prospective homebuyers … for example, the windows need to be cleaned, the “shine” needs to be brought out on the stainless steel exterior of the refrigerator and dishwasher, and the stove top and marble countertops need to be polished to a sparkle.  The concierge’s work in spiffing up the kitchen, bathrooms and the rest of the house pays dividends in the real estate professional’s work to sell the property.  This work may be carried out if the homeowner is living at home, lives at home part-time, or is an absentee.

If there is a lot of traffic in the home resulting from showing the property to numerous interested persons, the home in time will become soiled, and dusty and dirty … in such a case, once again it should be cleaned up by a home concierge service to be able to continue to show off the property to prospective homebuyers.

A home concierge will also attend to the numerous other unexpected chores of keeping a home presentable for prospective buyers, such as replacement of batteries in smoke detectors, vacuum, steam clean or mop high traffic areas of the home, replacement of a cracked window pane, and the like.

An advantage of having a home concierge service perform the tasks specified above instead of the real estate professional is that generally insurance covers the concierge service but not the real estate persons performing the same work.

The cost of a home concierge service involved in cleaning up a property and preparing it for presentation for sale as a listing is very small indeed compared to the rewards of selling the property in less time with less hassle at a better price to a qualified buyer.

By Leighton Q. J. Klevana of Your Home Concierge Service, LLC.

However, no matter which city you live in, if you’re consideing a vacation- we urge you to seek out a home sitting service.

One rarely associates concierge services with reducing criminality.  However, in fact the work of a good and effective concierge often helps to protect against criminal elements or those bent on malicious misconduct on a particular property.

By criminality we mean breaking and entering, burglary, theft/larceny, malicious destruction of property, and other criminal acts against the property of a homeowner.

Just the presence and activity of a concierge service on the property puts persons with criminal intentions on notice that the property is subject to the watchful eyes of a concierge or another … often that will be enough to keep a wrongdoer away from the property.

A good concierge will make the property appear as if it is occupied.  The concierge service will pick up newspapers and debris from the driveway and yard surrounding the house, pick up the mail and take it inside the house (or forward it to the owner), check windows and doors for evidence someone has tampered with the locks, and carry out other activities which will dispel the idea that the owner of the house is absent.

Some concierge services have electronic switching devices which are installed and used in the home during a homeowners extended absence from the home which turn lights, a radio or television on (and off) during the evening and nighttime hours thereby giving the impression someone is home.

The cost of engaging a concierge while the homeowner is absent is small compared to the peace of mind and protection one has from the efforts of a concierge to protect a property against criminality.

By Leighton Q. J. Klevana of Your Home Concierge Service, LLC

A home concierge service, also sometimes referred to as a home sitter service, helps prevent calamities while absent from home.  When you are away from home on vacation or an extended business trip, you are a snowbird or absentee home seller, on a cruise or an extended visit with relatives or away from home for some other reason, wisdom dictates someone should keep an eye on your home in your absence.

Someone should check to determine that the various utility, mechanical and electronic functions in the home are in good working order, as well as that no leaks, flooding, electric shorts, bug infestation, dead batteries in smoke detectors, a defective lawn sprinkler, litter in the driveway, sidewalks and in the yard (a good concierge service will remove such litter and debris from your property), broken windows or doors, or whether a host of other possible malfunctions or other problems have developed … and these often have the potential to generate other bigger problems including property damage … in short, potential calamities.  After the inspection of your property, you will promptly receive a written report from your concierge service.

Everyone knows the potential problems to which we refer.  A defective lawn sprinkler can cause substantial soil erosion and ruin part of your lawn or garden.  Newspapers and other litter and debris in the driveway is an indication no one is at home and is an invitation to thieves and burglars.  A defective air conditioner/humidistat will cause excess humidity and moisture, and thereby water damage or mildew.  A leak from a pipe, a broken window or defective door can cause major water damage to ceilings, walls, floors and/or furniture.

Another aspect of someone looking after your home, is to run the various utilities, mechanical and electronic devices in your home to keep them in good working order.  The refrigerator would be checked to determine it is functioning properly, the garbage disposal, dishwasher and clothes washer would be run to keep the gaskets and other components in good working order, both the hot and cold water would be run to prevent the buildup of gases, calcium and other minerals.

A walk through the inside of the home and the surrounding property may reveal a myriad of other possible and potential problems, too numerous to elaborate.

BOTTOM LINE:  If you plan to leave your home for a period of time, for your peace of mind, to avoid a calamity, and many other reasons, it is smart to arrange to have a concierge look after your home during your absence.

Written By Denise B. O’Neill of Your Home Concierge Service, LLC.

Many expenses of a rental property are deductible on your Federal Income Tax return …the rental property is treated as a separate business with both income and expenses taken into account in calculating your Federal income tax bill. In order to treat your rental property as a business, the property must be used “regularly and exclusively” for the production of rental income.

The tax status of the property does not change even if it was for an extended period of time and one is unable to find tenants for the rental property. Of course, the interest charged on the mortgage of your rental property and the real property taxes (as well as some types of annual real property assessments levied by some tax or municipal districts) paid on your rental property are deductible. It should be noted that these interest and tax deductions are deductible on a second home even if it is a personal vacation home and not a rental property.

Also, as a personal vacation home one can rent the property for up to 14 days per year without being required to declare the rental income for Federal income tax purposes. In addition, all expenses paid by the property owner associated with the ordinary upkeep and maintenance of the rental property may be taken into account for Federal Income Tax purposes, including expenses for advertising the property for rental or lease, condominium and home owner association fees, cost of utilities, insurance, home repairs (provided they are not capital expenditures), window and shutter cleaning, parking fees, mosquito/termite/flea/rodent and other pest control, painting of the exterior and interior of the home, remodeling costs required by a prospective tenant, purchase and replacement of appliances, landscaping and lawn maintenance, security services, and other expenses attributable to the rental property.

Also, expenses of inspection of the property by the property owner or others, and fees attributable to collection of rents/lease payments, including travel expenses, are to be taken into account for Federal Income Tax purposes. Last, but not least, one must not forget to take advantage of the deduction for depreciation. See a tax professional before taking these expenses as tax deductions on your Federal income tax return. Also, see IRS Tax Publications 530 and 587 for a more detailed explanation of these tax deductible items.

Written By Leighton Q. J. Klevana Of Your Home Concierge Service, LLC.

Written for: Your Home Concierge Service, LLC., a Bradenton Home Sitting Service

By Leighton Q. J. Klevana

A number of readers have requested information as to the deductibility of home service expenses for Federal Income Tax purposes.  The key to such deductibility is that the expenses qualify as legitimate business expenses pursuant to our US Federal Income Tax laws and regulations.

Expenses of a personal nature as well as other expenses which do not qualify as a business expense are not deductible for Federal Income Tax purposes.

Business expenses are the costs of carrying on a trade or business.  In order for such expenses to be deductible, the expense must be both ordinary and necessary … an ‘ordinary’ expense is one that is common and accepted in the trade or business and a  ‘necessary’ expense is one that is helpful and appropriate in your trade or business.  Also, as for the business, it must be operated so as  to make a profit.

If you use a home as a rental property to generate income, for tax purposes that would be considered a business and as such your ordinary and necessary expenses in that business are deductible.

If your business is operated in your home or a portion of your home, the expenses may be deductible if the portion our home for which a tax deduction is sought is used exclusively for business purposes.  If the services which benefit the business are performed in the entire home while only a portion of the home is used for business, the tax deductible expense is prorated on the basis of some formula … area or some other fair method of allocating the expense.

The items of expense which are deductible for Federal Income Tax purposes may include some of the expenses incurred for services ordinarily performed for home owners.  Of course, the expense must be for services performed in the portion of the home utilized for business and the service must benefit the business.

Some of the services for which expenses are deductible as deductible business expenses include monitoring of the home and property for pest infestation, water leaks, and other problems, checking the proper functioning of appliances and utilities, cleaning of the home and maintenance, watering house plants, performing minor repairs, replacing worn out batteries and air filters on your air conditioning system, picking up/forwarding mail, and other services which directly or indirectly are required or benefit your business.

See a tax professional before taking these expenses as tax deductions on your Federal income tax return. Also, see IRS Tax Publications 530 and 587 for a more detailed explanation of these tax deductible home expenses.

Your Home Concierge Service, LLC (a home caretaking service based out of Bradenton, Fl), would like to share this tid bit of advice with absentee home owners. If you own a second home used as a vacation home, or absent from your home for weeks at a time, you should read this article!

In the home, there may appear numerous different kinds of water leaks which cause water damage … and such damage often is insidious and it may appear as just a small spot of discoloration on the ceiling or a wall, or it may show up as something more serious, such as the disintegration of a sheetrock wall, or the dry rot of structural support beams, or the buildup of mold on the inside of particular walls in the home.

Leaks may be presented in many different forms … there are leaks in the roof of the building, leaks in water pipes in the home, leaks in drain pipes, leaks from broken or defective windows and doors, leaks from water getting into vents and ducts, and there are numerous other types of leaks as well.

Recently, a defective sprinkler head geysered water into the vent of a microwave in the kitchen … the water entering the vent made its way into the microwave, damaged it and shorted out the electricity.

The damages caused by such leaks are minimized when the homeowner is home and watching over his property.  However, when the homeowner is away from home, such damages can be more severe, unless the homeowner makes arrangements for periodic inspections of his property … such inspections should reduce and may even eliminate damages in the home.

By Leighton Q. J. Klevana