Home Watch Regina: Who Checks on Your House While You're Gone
Heading away and wondering who can look in on the house? Peggy's Home Watch does house checks in Regina on a schedule you set, and reports back after every visit. Below is how it works, what a Regina winter means for an empty house, and what to ask your insurer before you go.
Can you pay someone to check on your house in Regina?
Yes. The service is called home watch, and you'll also see it called house watching or a house check. Someone comes by on a set schedule, goes through the house, and tells you how it looks.
If you've been searching for someone to check on your house in Saskatchewan and the house is in Regina, this is that service. Call us and we'll walk you through it.
What a Regina winter can do to an empty house
−20.1°C
Average January overnight low
43
Nights a year below −20°C
12
Nights a year below −30°C
19
Days a year of blowing snow
Environment and Climate Change Canada, climate normals 1981 to 2010, Regina International Airport. Figures are rounded annual averages.
An empty house depends on its furnace. When the furnace quits in January, the temperature inside starts falling and nobody is there to see it. A frozen pipe may not show itself until it thaws, and then water runs until someone walks in and shuts it off.
The outside takes a beating too. Wind and blowing snow can hide damage until someone walks around the house, and the Regina airport station also records freezing rain or drizzle on about 11 days a year. After severe weather we can come by for an extra check.
Preparing the house matters as much as checking it. Our checklist for leaving home in winter goes through the plumbing, the heating and what to do on the day you leave.
How often does your insurer want the house checked?
Ask before you book anything, because it varies. Insurers set their own rules, and the ones we've read range from a check every day to one every seven days. Two examples:
- TD Insurance tells customers on its website, "you need someone checking in on your home every seven days".
- Saskatchewan Mutual's policy wording excludes freezing damage during the heating season when you're away more than 10 consecutive days. The exceptions are a reliable person entering daily to confirm the heat, shutting off the water and draining all the pipes and appliances, or a low temperature alarm monitored 24 hours a day.
Your policy may say something else entirely. Call your insurer or broker and ask how long the house can be empty, how often someone has to enter it, what that person has to do, and whether winter changes the answer.
We can't tell you that our visits satisfy your policy. Your insurer has to confirm that, so please check with them and then tell us what they said.
As for the schedule itself, we can do one-time checks, visits every two weeks, weekly or twice a week, and daily visits by quote. If your insurer has no rule, think about how long you'll be gone and whether it's winter. Longer trips and colder months are the times to choose more visits.
What happens on a house check
Around the outside. We look for damage, including after a storm or high wind, and check windows, doors and gates.
Through the inside. We look for leaks, damage, pests and anything out of the ordinary, and check the heating, cooling and plumbing.
Keeping things running. We can flush toilets, run faucets, air the house out, check the fridge and freezer, and adjust the light timers.
At the door and the curb. We bring in mail, flyers and deliveries at no extra cost, and we can put garbage and recycling out on collection day.
Reporting back. You get a report after every visit. If something's wrong, we contact you with photos and details, and with your approval we can coordinate repairs.
You decide what's on the list. We can also water plants, take care of small jobs like a burnt-out light bulb, and get the house ready before you're back. See everything on What We Do and what each package costs on Pricing.
What house checks cost in Regina
One-time, extra or emergency visit: $69. Daily visits by quote.
Prices are in Canadian dollars, before GST. There is no setup fee.
Who home watch suits
Snowbirds who spend the winter somewhere warmer and leave the Regina house behind.
People travelling for work who will be out of town for weeks at a time.
Anyone on a long vacation, once the trip is long enough that a problem could go unnoticed.
Owners of a seasonal or second home in Regina that sits empty for part of the year.
Owners of a vacant house with nobody living in it right now.
Do you need a house sitter in Regina, or just a house check?
Choose a house sitter if
You want someone living in your home while you're gone, or your pets need someone there. A house sitter moves in for the length of your trip.
Choose home watch if
You want the house looked at without anyone staying in it. We come by on the schedule you pick, check the house, and send you a report.
What we're not
Peggy's isn't a security company, so we don't offer alarm systems, security patrols or emergency response. It isn't property management either, so we don't deal with tenants or leases. We check on empty houses and tell the owner how they look.
Questions about house checks in Regina
Who can check on my house in Regina while I'm away?
Peggy's Home Watch does house checks in Regina. Call (639) 392-7295 or send the form on this page, and tell us when you're leaving.
Can someone check on my house once a week?
Yes, weekly is one of the schedules we offer. If you're choosing it because of an insurance rule, ask your insurer first, because some policies ask for a check more often than once a week.
My insurer wants someone checking the house. Will your visits count?
Only your insurer can answer that. Tell them what you're planning and ask them to confirm what they need. We can't promise that a visit schedule meets your policy.
What's the difference between a vacant house and an unoccupied house?
Policies can treat them differently, and your own policy decides what each word means. Saskatchewan Mutual's wording, for example, has one rule for being away during the heating season and a separate one for a home vacant more than 30 days. Ask your insurer which one applies to you.
What temperature should I leave my house at when I go away for the winter?
Don't turn the heat off. Our winter checklist suggests keeping the thermostat at 13°C (55°F) or higher. Your insurer may have its own requirement, so ask about that too.
Will you bring in the mail and water the plants?
Yes. We bring in mail, packages and newspapers on every visit at no extra cost. Watering your plants is an add-on, so ask what it would add to your price.
How soon can you start?
Once you're set up with us and we have a key or access code, your first visit happens within 24 hours.
Do I need to give you a key?
Yes. We need a way inside: a key for us to hold, an access code or a lockbox. A lockbox or key pick-up may add to your price, so ask.
Do you cover towns, acreages and cabins near Regina?
Yes. We also check homes, acreages and cabins around Regina. Travel adds to the price, so we quote these.
Can you get the house ready before I come home?
Yes. We can tidy up, turn the heat on and stock the fridge if you ask us to.
How much does a house check cost in Regina?
A visit every two weeks is $129 a month, a weekly visit is $219 a month, and two visits a week are $349 a month. A one-time visit is $69. Those are Canadian dollars before GST, with no setup fee. If your insurer has a visit rule, confirm the schedule with them first.
Read more
- Regina Winter Checklist for an Empty House
- How Often Should Someone Check an Empty House? What Insurers Say
- What Is Home Watch, and What Do You Call Someone Who Looks After Your House?
- House Sitter or Home Watch: How to Choose
- A Snowbird's Guide to Leaving a Saskatchewan House for the Winter
- What a House Check Includes and What It Costs
Book a House Check in Regina
Three things get this started:
Call (639) 392-7295 or send the form, with your dates and a little about the house.
Tell us what your insurer said, and we'll agree on a schedule and a package.
Give us a key or an access code, so we can check the inside.