← Back to Blog · March 2025 · Home Watch
By Adan Miranda, CPMM · Total Home · The Woodlands, TX
We get asked this question fairly often: if I have a monitored alarm system, why do I need someone to check the house? It's a fair question. The answer comes down to what an alarm system is actually designed to catch, and what it isn't.
Alarm systems are built for intrusion and smoke. They do those two things well. They don't know that your AC has been running constantly for three days without cycling off. They can't see that a toilet is running silently and will add $200 to your water bill by the time you get back. They won't notice that a window seal failed and moisture is working its way in behind the drywall. They don't catch the wasp nest that appeared over the back door in the week you've been gone.
A Home Watch visit is a physical inspection of the property. We walk the exterior, check the roof from the ground for anything obvious, look at the pool equipment, and note any changes to the landscaping or drainage. Inside, we check that HVAC is running properly, look at exposed plumbing, run water in sinks and showers to keep traps from drying out, flush toilets, and check for any signs of moisture, pests, or entry. We test smoke and CO detectors. We verify the garage door and all entry points are secured.
After every visit, you get a written report with photos of anything we noted. If something requires attention, we can coordinate the repair. If it's urgent, we call.
Over the years, the most common things Home Watch catches that alarms don't: slow plumbing leaks under sinks, AC units not cycling correctly (which usually indicates a refrigerant, drain, or filter issue), condensation or moisture around windows that points to a seal failure, pest activity, and occasionally an entry point that wasn't secured properly when the homeowner left. None of those trigger an alarm. All of them get worse the longer they go unnoticed.
Most of our Home Watch clients travel regularly, either for work, to visit family, or to a second property. Some snowbird in the fall and winter. Some just travel frequently enough that they'd rather have professional eyes on the house than rely on a neighbor's best guess. The service runs weekly or bi-weekly depending on what makes sense for the property and the trip length.
It's not a replacement for an alarm system. It's what covers everything the alarm system was never designed to catch.
If any of this gives you pause, that's exactly what Total Home is for. Members just call or text, and we handle the rest.
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