If you’re planning to leave your Miami home for a while — whether it’s to visit family or for vacation — there’s a lot you need to take care of first in order to keep your house secure while you’re away.

In addition to making sure you’ve packed everything and locked all of your doors and windows, you also need to have someone who can watch your home. You need a keyholder to give you peace of mind while you’re gone.

But what exactly is a keyholder and why are they necessary? Keep reading to find out!

What Does a Florida Keyholder Do?

A keyholder is someone who has a spare key to your property while you’re away from home.

This is important is because it means someone will have 24/7 access to your home in the case of an emergency, so you must trust them. If there’s anything you need to be done while you’re away, a keyholder can do it for you.

With your permission, a keyholder can also let a friend or family member into your home. A professional keyholder will keep a spare key to your property in a secure location and use it upon request.

Benefits of a Florida Key Holding Service

When you consider the risk of an emergency such as a flood, fire, or break-in happening while you’re not home, it becomes clear that a keyholder is essential.

In fact, there are a lot of other situations where having a keyholder can help. For example, say you lose your key and can’t get into your house. No problem! Your keyholder will come over and let you in.

Did you leave home and forget to turn off the water or the stove? Your keyholder can enter your house and fix that for you!

Clearly, having a keyholder can be a big help while you’re away from home. Knowing that someone else has a spare key and can fix problems for you is a big relief.

When you’re not around to take care of your home, the last thing you want is to be worrying about these things. A keyholder and house watch service can keep your house safe from:

Break-ins
Squatters
Water leaks and molds
Electrical problems
Infestations (rodents/insects)
Appliances being left on
Floods
Fires

These are just a handful of things having a keyholder and home watch service can take care for you while you’re away. You’ll rest easy knowing that your home is in good hands.

Why Should You Hire a Keyholder in Florida?

There are many good reasons to hire a keyholder to watch over your Florida property. Here are just a few:

1. Your Neighbor Isn’t Qualified for the Job.

If you’re like most people, you’ve probably considered giving your neighbor a spare key for when you’re gone.

While it’s nice that you trust your neighbor enough to consider this, it’s generally not a good idea. This is because your neighbor isn’t a professional keyholder and they don’t have the knowledge or experience professionals have when looking after a home that isn’t their own.

Firstly, if you ask your neighbor to check up on your home, how do you know if they’ll do a good job? Chances are, they’ll just pop their head in and give it a quick look around, possibly missing things that could become problematic. A professional keyholder will inspect and care for your home in every way possible. If anything is wrong, they’ll be able to fix it before it becomes a large issue.

What if you’re away, and the neighbor with whom you left a key becomes sick or has to leave town on short notice? Since it’s the keyholder and home watch service’s job to watch your home, you’re guaranteed that someone trustworthy will always be looking after it. For a professional, your home is their top priority.

If something goes wrong, does your neighbor know how to resolve it? A neighbor who has to solve issues while you’re away may think of it as a burden. This can both cause them to be less careful with your home and strain the friendship. A professional keyholder will know what to do and who to call in order to resolve the issue at hand.

While a professional has a responsible and nearly foolproof way of securing your keys, your neighbor isn’t likely to do the same. If your neighbor loses your keys, you’ll have to change your locks in case a stranger happens to find it.

In just about every case, hiring a professional keyholder is the best option.

2. Professional Keyholders are Licensed and Insured.

A reputable keyholder company will be fully licensed and insured for your protection.

Income Realty Home Watch is an accredited member of the National Home Watch Association. This means our company and employees are bonded and insured. On top of that, everyone who is involved in the safety of your home needs to pass a background check.

If you let just anybody have a key to your house, even a neighbor or family member you trust, things can go wrong.

As a keyholder services provider in Florida, we follow the best practices as outlined by the National Home Watch Association.

A professional keyholder can also offer many more services than just one person. For example, we provide our clients with a geo-location-based electronic report with a time stamp. This means our clients know when we check and find problems.

And, if we come across an issue that requires attention, we mitigate it as much as possible and follow up with the homeowner to take care of it. The kind of attention and care we offer you as a professional company is more than what a friendly neighbor may be willing to do.

3. You Can Prevent Small Problems Turning into Big Ones

“We won’t be gone long. What’s the worst that can happen?” This is an unfortunately common thing we hear from homeowners.

The truth is, it doesn’t take long for a small problem to arise. If you don’t take care of it right away, a small problem can turn into a big issue.

Here are just a few examples of things that can happen while you’re gone:

Vandals or burglars can break a window, leaving your home vulnerable to water damage, mold, insects, vermin, and more
A storm can occur and may cause flooding, broken windows, or even a house fire.
A leak from a faucet, shower or toilet can cause serious damage over just a short period. It can lead to water damage in the walls, ceiling (if it happens on the upper floor), and floor.

You never expect anything bad to happen while you’re gone, but it’s always best to be safe. When your home is unoccupied and unwatched, there’s a greater risk of damages and break-ins.

4. A Keyholder Can Provide Other Services

Aside from having access to your house in the case of emergencies, a keyholder can also provide other services.

For example, here at Income Realty Home Watch, we handle many things while homeowners are away. If you’re expecting a delivery, we can be there to collect it. If you need someone to watch over your car while you’re away, we can also provide that service.

If service or maintenance providers need access to the property, we can let them in and wait for them to finish the work. Once they’re done, we’ll ensure the home is secure before leaving.

We also conduct checks before and after storms when needed.

Clearly, a keyholder isn’t only useful during emergencies situations!

Florida Keyholder Services

A Keyholder service provider in Florida is there to give you peace of mind while you’re away from home. At Income Realty Home Watch, we provide keyholding services along with a home watch service.

If you’re going to be away from home, even for just a few days, let Income Realty Home Watch be here to keep your property safe. Our team of licensed, insured professionals will ensure your home is safe while you’re gone.

We can keep a spare key to your property for emergency use and conduct weekly or bi-weekly visits, depending on your needs. Get in touch with us today!

What Does a Keyholder Do?