What to put in a home watch agreement

Most disagreements in this trade are not about money. They are about somebody assuming a thing was included. A short written agreement, signed before the first visit, removes almost all of it.

This is not legal advice and it is not a template — have a local attorney look at whatever you end up using, because the enforceable wording differs by state.

Scope

What you check, written out. Interior and exterior, item by item, ideally as the checklist itself attached to the agreement. Just as importantly, what you do not check: the roof from above, inside locked rooms, the boat, anything requiring a ladder, anything requiring a licence you do not hold.

Frequency and timing

How often you visit, and what counts as a missed visit. Whether visits are on a set day or within a window. What happens in a week where the property is inaccessible — a road closure, a storm, a contractor already on site.

Access

How you get in, who else holds a key, what the alarm code is and who is allowed to know it. Whether you may let contractors in, and whether that is billed separately. A clause saying the owner tells you when somebody else has been in the property prevents a genuinely awkward conversation later.

What you are not liable for

You are inspecting on a schedule, not guaranteeing nothing will ever go wrong between visits. Say that explicitly. A leak that starts the day after a visit and is found six days later is not a failure of the service; without a clause saying so, it can be argued to be one.

Reporting

What the owner receives after each visit, and how quickly. Commit to something you will actually do every time — a same-day report with photographs is a strong promise and a keepable one.

Problems

The escalation path. What you do if you find water, what your spending limit is before you must reach the owner, who you call if you cannot reach them, and whether you may authorise an emergency repair. Agreeing this in advance is the difference between acting decisively at nine at night and standing in a flooding kitchen trying to get somebody to answer the phone.

Money and ending it

Rate, what triggers extra charges, when invoices go out, and how either side cancels. Thirty days either way is normal and fair, and being relaxed about letting people leave makes them likelier to sign in the first place.