Live far from your holiday home? We check it after storms and frost

A holiday home on the West Coast is a wonderful thing to own, but few owners live just around the corner. Many have their permanent address in Copenhagen, elsewhere in Denmark or in Germany, and only visit the house a few times a year. The rest of the time it stands alone against the weather, and when an autumn storm rages or frost bites in winter, the worry sets in. Did the roof hold? Has a pipe burst? Is the heating still running as it should? That is exactly where our house watch comes in.

What a house watch is

A house watch is simple. After a storm, heavy rain or a spell of hard frost, we drive out to your holiday home and look it over thoroughly, inside and out. You do not have to get in the car yourself and drive for hours to find peace of mind. We do it for you and send you photos and a short report, so you know exactly how the house is doing, wherever you happen to be.

What we check

We go through the places where weather and frost most often do damage:

• Roof and tiles for loose or blown tiles and visible storm damage.
• Windows and doors for leaks, cracks or anything that has shifted during a storm.
• Signs of water inside, damp patches, drips or rain getting in.
• Frost damage and burst pipes, one of the most expensive winter problems if it is not caught in time.
• Heating and power, that the frost protection and essentials are running as they should.
• Break-ins and intruders, that doors and windows are intact and there has been no unwanted visit.
• Garden and outdoor area, garden furniture, a trampoline or anything else that may have moved or been damaged in the wind.

Afterwards you get photos of it all and a short, easy-to-read report. If there is something to deal with, we agree how to fix it before a small thing has time to become a big one.

Who it suits

A house watch is especially worthwhile if you rent out via Airbnb or an agency and want to know the house is in order between guests and during the quiet periods. It is also ideal if you close the house down over winter and cannot pop by to keep an eye on it yourself. For owners abroad, for example in Germany, a regular watch means the distance is no longer a worry.

Two ways to get it

We offer the watch in whichever way suits you best:

• A single visit on request, for example right after a heavy storm, when you would like it confirmed that everything is as it should be.
• A fixed winter-watch agreement, where we keep an eye on the house through the cold months with regular visits, so you have peace of mind for the whole period.

The price depends on what you choose and where the house is. It can be a single visit from a small per-visit fee, or a combined agreement for the whole winter. Contact us and we will give you a price based on your specific house and your wishes.

When a check is worth most

There are four moments when it makes most sense to have somebody look in, and they are all about weather rather than the calendar.

• After a storm with gusts at gale force or above. Roof tiles, gutters, garden furniture and trampolines are the classics.
• After a long frost, and again when it thaws, which is when a burst pipe starts running.
• Midway through the long low season, typically January or February, when the house has stood shut longest.
• Before the first booking in spring, so there is time to fix whatever is found.

Four times a year covers most of it. If the house sits right out by the dune ridge there may be reason for more.

What it is not

A house check is not a structural survey, and we are not tradesmen. We look for what can be seen and tell you if something looks wrong. We do not carry out repairs, and we do not judge whether a crack is serious.

In return, it is often enough. Most damage in an empty holiday home starts as something visible: a wet patch, a smell, a door that does not close, a roof tile on the terrace. Caught there, it is a job rather than a claim.

The local advantage

Our biggest strength here is that we are local. We are based in Bork and Hemmet, so we are close by and can respond quickly once the weather has passed. We cover the coast and the surrounding area, including Hvide Sande, Nymindegab, Nørre Nebel, Henne Strand, Blåvand and Bork. When the storm has just died down, we are not hours away, but right nearby.

What you get back

A check is not worth much if the result is a message saying everything looks fine. So we send photographs rather than a conclusion.

You get an outside round covering roof, gutters, doors and windows, and an inside round covering the places where damp and damage start. If there is something, you get a photo of it and a description of what we see, not a judgement of how serious it is. That last part is a tradesman's job.

If there is nothing, you get the photos too. That sounds redundant, but they are what you hold the next visit against, and it is how you notice that a patch has grown.

Get peace of mind

We are a dedicated local team based in Bork, and we know the houses and the weather along the West Coast. If you want your holiday home checked after a storm and frost, or you would like to hear about a fixed winter agreement, send us the address and tell us a little about the house, and we will come back with a quote.