Frequently Asked Questions

Per The National Home Watch Association, Home Watch is defined as “A visual inspection of a vacant home or property looking for an obvious issue.”

An alarm company monitors entry into your home with a fire alarm but they do not monitor potential problems that can occur due to broken pipes, mold, pests or vagrants. We identify those problems or the possibility of their occurrence and notify you accordingly. We can also be available as a local contact for our client’s security alarm monitoring company to call in the event of an activated alarm. We can even dispatch to the home if contacted to meet Emergency Services and inspect the property if requested.

Most neighborhood watch programs are passive by nature and do not provide the level of engagement with your property that Atlas Home Watch provides. We will visually check your property’s interior and exterior in far more detail than you can expect from a neighborhood watch program. Relying on friends and neighbors is the same as they typically don’t have the proper experience to effectively do the job. Would you want to be responsible for your neighbor’s home?

Atlas Home Watch can coordinate access to your property for any situation at an hourly rate. All we need is your notification of date and time and any instructions you have.

It's our best practice to visit the property weekly, bi-weekly (twice per month) or more frequently.  We don't offer a monthly service.  Home watch services cannot guarantee problems won’t arise, but significantly help lower the risk. Be concerned if monthly service is offered as that's too long and could affect your homeowner’s insurance.   Ask your insurance provider if savings on your insurance is credited if you have a professional Home Watch service. 

Atlas Home Watch will send you a report upon completion of our visit to your home. Any problems identified will be accompanied by pictures and details of the problem. If we need to take any immediate action to prevent further damage, we will contact you immediately to discuss what occurred and consider what course of action is needed for the repair.

While we visually check your property, we are not what is defined as a property inspector. Property inspectors are usually involved at the sale of a property to do a detailed inspection of the structure, plumbing, electrical and heating and air condition systems.

We are not a house sitter. Our core service includes periodic visits to your home where we follow a specific and mutually agreed upon checklist. We are in your home for less than an hour per visit and take great pride in making sure your home is as you left it for your return.  While we love pets, its not our skill set to provide pet services.

Atlas Home Watch will send you a detailed report by email with pictures of any problems identified upon completion of inspecting the interior and exterior of your home. 

Atlas Home Watch will provide access services and remain on-site for an hourly charge. We ask for at least a 48 hours notification to schedule accordingly. Atlas Estate Management can also coordinate and manage improvement projects and/or construction. 

Your Atlas Home Watch manager has 30+ years in property management and proudly holds the Certified Property Manager designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management. This designation is the highest in the field of property management and requires years of experience, adherence to a high standard of morals and code of ethics.  Our service is our full-time business and should not be compared to anyone watching homes part-time on the side. Atlas is also bonded and insured. 

Services are very reasonably priced for the value provided. When you compare just the possible damage due to leaks or fixtures failing from non-use with the cost, our services are an excellent value.   In addition, the value of your time if encumbered by these tasks.

While we do not provide home maintenance services, we can refer you to quality contractors or vendors and coordinate access to your property.

Utilize and only pay for our services for the time period you are away from your home and need Atlas to be your advocate for your home. Maybe you need us one time, a couple of months or more. That's completely up to you and what's best for your situation. Atlas strives to provide quality service achieving our client’s needs when its needed. A service contract is executed between parties to simply memorializes the agreements and expectations. 

Atlas Estate Management and Atlas Home Watch does NOT engage in any third-party tenant placement, coordinating or transactions. The focus of our business is directly with homeowners for their home while in and out of residence.

• Atlas is fully committed in protecting our client’s information and property. 
• Our customer information and reporting software is hosted by Amazon web services which meets all US  & European security requirements. 
• Customer data and property keys are de-identified from each  other with a numbering schematic known only to Atlas Home Watch.
• All property keys are kept in an electronic, combination secured lock-box.

Atlas Home Watch covers all communities in Rancho Santa Fe, La Jolla, Del Mar, Olivenhain, and coastal North County San Diego communities of Solana Beach, Encinitas, Leucadia and La Costa.