Greetings!    

As a professional company who cares for other people's homes, we hear all kinds of horror stories related to homes left unattended during the summer, or about those who were in the care of neighbors, friends, or amateur absentee home service providers.

We've heard many accounts of homes that were emptied by burglars posing as moving companies, floods of all sizes, homes left unlocked, pest invasions, vandalism, pool and landscape neglect, golf ball damage and the like.

But this month, we heard a story so unbelievable; we simply have to share it with you.  With permission from the homeowner, the following is a true story.  Names have been changed to protect the innocent and the guilty.  Sometimes the gall of people is beyond comprehension.

The homeowner's story starts with a question:  Do you care for homes when homeowners are gone for the summer?  Yes, of course.  That question was followed by many others - most of which were typical, but each question was permeated by an undertone of worry.

Finally their story emerged:  There is a man, Mr. X, who lives in their small community and he works for the association.  His job is twofold: 

1.  Manage all the community services and

2.  Perform absentee home checks during the summer

Because this man was sanctioned by the association, our homeowners elected to hire him.  For a long time, everything mostly seemed ok - occasionally Mr. X asked if he could leave something in their home for a short time (boxes or knickknacks for example).  And while the homeowner didn't like Mr. X using their home for storage, they okayed the occasional use.

That is, until one year when the homeowners came back to the desert unannounced for a quick weekend.  They found their freezer full of food.  Not their food.  Mr. X's food.

When confronted, Mr. X said he had all this excess food and thought it would be ok to store it in the homeowner's freezer since they were gone and not using it.   Because their visit was unplanned and this was the first time the homeowners had arrived to find Mr. X's items actually in their home, it made them question other actions that now seemed suspicious.

On one occasion, Mr. X called saying he had inadvertently locked his keys inside the homeowner's place and he was frantic to get into the house.  He called on a Saturday evening and wanted the homeowner to take the keys to the airport and send them counter-to-counter so he could get them as soon as possible.  When the homeowner declined, saying the home would be ok until Tuesday when the keys arrived via an overnight carrier; Mr. X was more agitated than the situation warranted.

All this made the homeowners uncomfortable and the food in the freezer was the last straw.  But needing to leave again and at the mercy of Mr. X's services, they didn't say anything for fear he would do something destructive to their home.

They did, however, install a small and unobtrusive webcam in the kitchen.

On a whim one day, the homeowner flipped on the webcam.... In the kitchen, plain as day, was Mr. X and his partner (a noted chef from a large golf club), cooking.  They had started a catering business and were using the homeowner's kitchen for food preparation.  Now the homeowner understood why Mr. X was so anxious to get the keys - he probably had food left out on the counter, spoiling or perhaps he had a catering event in progress.  Whatever the reason, using the homeowner's kitchen was totally unacceptable.

Once again, concerned that Mr. X would take negative action if fully confronted, the homeowners installed a motion-activated closed circuit camera system throughout the home.   They told Mr. X only that it was for normal security purposes.  The cameras stopped the catering business cold.

However, that season there was an unusual amount of rain here in the desert causing the homeowner's roof to leak.  It leaked so much in fact, there was a large hole in the ceiling and water went everywhere.  When did the homeowners find out about the water damage?  Not until they returned for the winter months.

Mr. X allowed all that damage to fester and exacerbate for months until the homeowner returned.  Once here, the homeowner gasped and demanded "Why didn't you call us?"  Mr. X's response?  "I didn't want to bother you".

The homeowner believes the extent of the damage to his home was a direct retaliation for the installation of the closed circuit cameras.  Can he prove that? No.  Perhaps Mr. X is just inept, but he ended up costing this homeowner thousands and thousands of dollars in repairs.

The moral of this story:  Just because someone calls themselves a concierge service or just because they say they care for homes in your absence, does NOT make them a legitimate home caretaker.  Be sure to check references and insurance before hiring anyone to care for your home - whether it is for a weekend, a month, or a season.

[[Update: This homeowner is now our client, but Mr. X still lives in that community and despite other homeowners who have experienced similar problems with him, he still continues to work for the association.]]

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Executive Errands - nearly 5 years in the desert providing legitimate concierge and absentee home services from Palm Springs to Indio.  www.executive-errands.com  760.469.2487