Bob Myers and Home Watch Group of SWFL make the grade...again!

Home Watch Group of SWFL of Fort Myers, FL, has attained Accredited Member status in the NHWA for the second consecutive year. Owner Bob Myers served on our Advisory Board during Home Watch Group's first year of membership. His company continues to flourish in probably the most competitive geographical area in the Home Watch world. Bob's work ethic and high expectations of both himself and his staff, continually give his clientele unparalleled service.

Bob formed the Home Watch Group of SWFL in 2007 with his wife, Colleen. Bob hails from just outside of Reading, PA, and attended Temple University. Commuting between Pennsylvania and New York City while working in the garment industry, Bob and Colleen moved the family to Florida in 1988, where he worked in the swimming pool and construction industries.

Bob Myers

Recognizing the need for a Home Watch company in the area, they put their energy and resources into Home Watch Group of SWFL. Bob is a boater and fisherman, with a minor in golf. Bob and Colleen have five children, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Bob can be reached at Bob@HomeWatchGroupSWFL.com. You can also visit his website at www.homewatchgroupswfl.com.

As always, I wish you

Much success,

Jack

Travis Bumgarner does it again!

Greetings and Salutations!

I am very happy to announce that Florida Estate Management Services of West Palm Beach, FL, has attained Accredited Member status in the National Home Watch Association for the second consecutive year. FEMS is owned by John T. (Travis) Bumgarner. Travis graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a business degree in 1999 and started Clean & Treat, Co Pest Services in 2000. In 2005, Travis purchased Florida Estate Management Services from a friend and colleague who was relocating out of state, and who entrusted her company to Travis, knowing he would care for it as she did. Since 2005, he has grown the company name, brand and reputation, primarily through word-of-mouth, community involvement and reputation. FEMS’s mission is to provide unparalleled service and commitment to their clients as it strives every day to achieve its goals.

Travis Bumgarner

Travis married his beautiful wife, Jessica, in March of this year, and they are expecting their first baby (a boy) in March of 2013.

FEMS serves Palm Beach County, Florida, and can be reached at info@FloridaHomeWatch.com or (561) 721-9537. Or you can visit www.FloridaHomeWatch.com. 

Congratulations again to Travis and  the staff at Florida Estate Management Services. Great job.  Until next time, I wish you

Much success.


Jack

Home Watch Service Plus of Kenai Peninsula brings Alaska into the fold!

Greetings and salutations!

Home Watch Service Plus KPB, of the Kenai Peninsula, has become the first Accredited Member of the NHWA in the great state of Alaska. Talk about going from "hot to cold", Stace Escott decided to get involved in the Home Watch industry while living on Amelia Island, Florida. Yes, Florida. Stace was an award-winning Director of the Year (2007) for an upscale retirement community. As Osprey Village's former Director of Facility Services, Stace gained an incredible amount of experience by implementing policies and overseeing an operation that affected the residents' day-to-day lifestyle and enjoyment. In addition to Stace's facility management, 10 years in law enforcement/loss prevention—and currently employed as a Sergeant for the Soldotna Police Department—prompted him to seek out an opportunity through Home Watch Service Plus to bring that same peace and quality of life to members of the public.

As a Director of Facility Services, Stace planned, directed, organized and supervised the short-term, scheduled, preventative, and emergency maintenance for equipment, buildings and grounds of a large upscale retirement campus. He provided overall supervision for all maintenance personnel, housekeeping personnel, and projects pertaining to each department as well as renovating numerous homes and construction projects. Stace also gained professional experience in project management, painting, siding, cabinetry, rain gutter installation, auto mechanics, along with acquired skills in flooring, electrical, plumbing, and many other trade skills, enabling him to tackle almost any household problem. Stace has lived in Alaska for over 17 years and understands what it takes to care for an Alaskan home. It is this unique experience that Home Watch Service Plus utilizes to serve members of the community.



Stace  Escott

HWS Plus KPB serves Soldatna, Sterling, Kenai, Nikiski, and Kasilof. Stace can be reached at StaceEscott@HomeWatchServicePlus.com, or you can visit his page at http://www.homewatchserviceplus.com/kenai.

Welcome, Stace. We wish you 

Much success,

Jack

New York Joins the National Home Watch Association!

Greetings and salutations!

I am very pleased to announce the NHWA accreditation of C’s Home & Office Management of Sag Harbor, NY. Cynthia Capalbo has grown her small cleaning business into a force to be reckoned with. Her story:  In 1993, Cynthia Capalbo started cleaning homes in her hometown of Sag Harbor to bring in extra money while earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management. After graduating, she realized she didn't want to join the corporate world, so she decided to put her energy into growing her small cleaning business. In 1999 she met her husband Christopher, an experienced property manager. After giving birth to twins Haley and Christopher in 2000, she became interested in finding alternates to chemicals she was using in her cleaning business. She also became very interested in organics and herbs with respect to treating illnesses.                              



This led to Cindy's studies and Master's Degree in Herbology. Armed with this knowledge and the addition of husband Chris' talents in carpentry and property management, C's has grown into a premier cleaning service that offers organic cleaning alternatives, house watching (Home Watch) and handyman services. As a result of the loss of both Chris' and Cynthia's mothers to cancer, C's Home & Office Management has partnered with Fighting Chance and Cleaning For A Reason to offer cancer patients free cleanings to help them while they recover.

C’s Home & Office Management serves the Sag Harbor, East Hampton, Southampton, Noyac, Wainscott, Watermill, Bridgehampton and Sagaponack areas of Long Island, NY.  Cindy can be reached at Cynthia@CsHomeManagement.com, or you can visit her website at www.cshomemanagement.com.

Welcome, Cindy, Chris and staff! We wish you

Much success,

Jack

Superstorm Sandy: It will make all of us re-evaluate things.

Greetings and Salutations.

(This blog was actually written immediately following Sandy, but I didn't think that talking about Home Watch was appropriate at the time. Now that my best friend finally has power in his home, I will post it. - j)


As I watched the devastation unfold on television and online, my heart broke. Places where I spent my childhood summers, and most summers of my life, in fact, were gone. The boardwalks of Seaside Heights, Seaside Park, Point Pleasant Beach and Atlantic City, where I worked my way through school, spent my youth, met my wife and raised my kids, were completely devastated. I was able to speak with some friends and family who, while in the middle of this disaster, couldn't see what was happening all around them. They had no idea how bad the situation truly was.



To me, living at the shore meant everything. That's why when my wife and I moved south, our home had to be near the ocean. I have been blessed to be able to live in this beautiful place called the South Carolina Lowcountry for the last 7 years. I always find it ironic that friends and family are always so concerned about us having moved into a hurricane zone. Now, I certainly don't want to jinx anything, but this area has been very lucky when it comes to storms. Because of the shape of the coast, tropical storms, Nor'easters and hurricanes seem to bounce off the Charleston area and make landfall around the Outer Banks of North Carolina, completely bypassing us. And since Hurricane Hugo's destruction of 1989, this part of the country has dodged a lot of bullets. My point is that what might be expected in one area won't necessarily happen. And the last place you would expect a hurricane to hit just might be the place that actually gets destroyed by one. You just can't tell anymore.

Hurricane Sandy in no way could have been prevented by having a Home Watch service, but it should however, emphasize the importance of having a storm protocol in place and at the ready. It should also reinforce the need for having a home inventory done as soon as possible.  Look at all of those people trying to piece their lives back together. I am not sure I'd know where to begin. So let's be thankful for what we do have and try to learn from what has happened.

To my friends and family that were affected by Sandy, stay strong and know that I love you all. And to everyone else, as always I wish you

Much success,

Jack

Coast Home Watch of La Jolla, CA gains second-year accreditation by the NHWA

Jack Luber, Executive Director

Greetings and Salutations!

Mary Ellen Morgan of Coast Home Watch of La Jolla, CA, has gained Accredited Member status in the NHWA for the second consecutive year. Mary Ellen’s family has been in the San Diego area since 1906. She has worked in the real estate community since 1986.

Mary Ellen Morgan

In 2011, a client who owns many homes throughout the country, came to Mary Ellen with a request to operate a Home Watch company. Until that time, she had no awareness of the Home Watch industry, even though she had sold homes to many absentee homeowners. Occasionally she would check those clients’ homes as a courtesy, and she was intrigued by the concept of operating a full-service Home Watch business, with a systematic program to check homes for absentee homeowners. Mary Ellen spent about a year researching what was involved in a full-time operation of a Home Watch business, checking to verify whether there was a service already in place within the San Diego community and questioning select Realtor associates as to the viability of offering a Home Watch service. She was very impressed with the enthusiasm of those Realtors, which she attributes to her long-time relationships with the real estate community as an ethical Realtor, whom her associates can trust to handle the tasks involved to monitor the homes of their absentee clients and the knowledge that will not interrupt the real estate relationships with their clients.

Mary Ellen is a member of the following organizations: La Jolla Parks and Beaches Committee; Children’s Pool Beautification Committee; REBA-La Jolla Brokers Association; San Diego Board of Realtors; San Diego Native Plant Society; and the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America.

Coast Home Watch serves La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Point Loma, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Cardiff, Fairbanks Ranch and Rancho Santa Fe. Mary Ellen can be reached at (858) 254-3602 or service@CoastHomeWatch.com. Visit her website at www.coasthomewatch.com.

Congratulations, Mary Ellen! 

As always, we wish you

Much success,

Jack

Not all companies that claim to be Members, actually are...

Greetings and Salutations,

Allow me to explain...

Back in 2009, I was faxed an application to become a "certified Home Watch professional" by a company out of Fort Myers, FL. The cost: $10.00. I called the head of the association, and was told that he had just raised the price of "certification" to $65.00. Certification consisted of a document with a gold sticker...poof, you're certified. As luck would have it, this gentleman, who is a very nice man, offered to sell me the National Home Watch Association, Inc., of Fort Myers, FL. Well, I spoke with my attorney, my accountant, and my wife, and bought the association, only to close it down immediately. Although it still may show up in records in Florida, the old NHWA, Inc. has been defunct since 2009. After one and a half years of research, planning and conversations with other Home Watch companies from across the country, The National Home Watch Association, of Murrells Inlet, SC, was launched. With a clear vision and detailed plan for accrediting Home Watch companies, our website was launched.

Our first order of business was to contact all of the "certified" members of the old association. When I reached out, I explained that in order to become accredited by the new NHWA, they would have to pass muster under actual guidelines and vetting. These vetting requirements included that their company must carry general liability insurance, bonding, and adhere to a code of ethics. This requirement alone eliminated eligibility for more than half of these "certified" home watchers. I offered membership to the rest of these people at the regular fee, minus whatever they had paid for their initial "certification." Only one of these companies applied for accreditation and actually gained it. A few thought that their $10.00 fee was for a lifetime membership.

The reason that I bring this up now is that some of these "certified" home watchers are still advertising as members of the NHWA. They are, for the most part, displaying the old logo: a green house with lettering. Please be advised that these companies are not accredited by us. Anyone that has this green logo paid $10.00 to get certified! Now I ask you, what kind of company is proud enough to brag that they paid $10.00 four years ago for professional accreditation. Check their insurance, and ask about background checks for their people. To be clear, I am sure that some of these companies do fine work. Just because they are not accredited by us does not mean that they are bad companies. It's just important to differentiate between the old and the new. We have also asked that they stop using the Association's name.

The actual National Home Watch Association was formed in 2010in South Carolina, charged with the goal of creating standards and guidelines for the Home Watch industry in the US and Canada. All of our Members are vetted for insurance, consumer affairs complaints, operating practices, and must agree to adhere to our Code of Ethics and Mission Statement. Our Members have gained accreditation in order to separate their companies from under- and uninsured and non-bonded Home Watch companies operating in their areas.  

As the sergeant from "Hill Street Blues" used to say: "Let's be careful out there."

As always, I wish you,

Much success,


Jack