What a cottage caretaking service does — and what it doesn’t
Updated
You want someone to stop by the cottage between your stays, and every company seems to promise the same thing: “we take care of everything.” Before you sign, it’s worth knowing exactly what a caretaking visit includes — and, just as important, what it doesn’t.
What a caretaking service does
It shows up on a schedule agreed in advance
Regularity is the foundation. Someone comes to the house on a written schedule: every week, every two weeks or once a month. Not “when we get a chance,” and not “if the neighbour notices something.” Frequency is the most important promise in the contract, because it sets how long a problem can go unseen.
It checks the same things every time
A good visit follows a checklist, identical every time: thermostat, main shut-off, water meter or well pressure gauge, under the sinks, the breaker panel seen through its door, doors and windows, snow along the roof edge, driveway access. A fixed list means one visit can be compared with the last. The difference is often what gives a problem away: a water meter that moved while nobody was there, a room colder than the week before.
It documents what it sees
At Mr. Lantern, every visit ends with a time-stamped photo report, sent within 24 hours. Sensitive points are photographed, the day’s weather is logged, and a “keeping an eye on” section tracks what isn’t urgent but is being followed. You see your house, not just a line saying “all good.”
It calls you when something’s off
A worrying finding doesn’t sit quietly in a report. If a valve has moved, a baseboard is cold or the heating breaker has tripped, we call you the same day, with photos. You decide what happens next.
It coordinates tradespeople
When you need a plumber, an electrician or a roofer, we refer contractors who hold a licence from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec, meet them on site and document their work. Our 12% commission is disclosed in the contract.
What a caretaking service doesn’t do
It isn’t a building assessment
A caretaking visit looks at what an attentive owner would see: stains, frost, water, an error light. We don’t remove covers, open walls, climb onto the roof or give an opinion on the structure. If you’re buying a cottage or suspect a hidden defect, have the house assessed by a building professional.
It isn’t an alarm company
Nobody watches your house between visits. A caretaking service doesn’t respond to an alarm in the middle of the night and doesn’t replace a system connected to a monitoring centre. If an alarm goes off, the monitoring centre or 911 handles it. The visit catches what an alarm won’t: an ice dam forming, mouse droppings in the cupboard, a Hydro-Québec notice left at the door.
It isn’t a rental manager
We don’t handle guest check-ins, cleaning between stays or bookings. If you rent out your cottage, you need someone else for that. A single visit before a rental is still possible, but that isn’t management.
It isn’t a contractor
We don’t repair anything that requires a licence. We don’t reset a breaker without your go-ahead, and we don’t touch a branch resting on the service wire: we report it. Plumbing, electrical and roofing work belongs to an RBQ-licensed contractor.
It isn’t a claims adjuster
After damage, we take photos, call you and meet the tradespeople. Assessing the loss and deciding on coverage belongs to your insurer. Our reports can help show what happened and when, but what counts as proof is up to them.
Why the line matters, especially in the Townships
Cottages in Sutton, Potton or Abercorn come with challenges city homes don’t have: steep roads that can be hard going in winter, wells and septic systems, outages on the mountain, mild spells followed by hard freezes. With that many ways for things to go wrong, it’s tempting to hope one person can handle it all.
In practice, looking after a second home takes several roles. The snow-clearing contractor keeps the driveway open. The propane company fills the tank. Your insurer covers the risk on its own terms. The plumber, electrician and roofer fix things. A caretaking service ties it together: it sees, it documents, it tells you, and it brings in the right person.
A provider who promises to be everything at once — alarm company, contractor, manager and adjuster — deserves a few questions.
What stays on your side
What the owner decides and provides:
- The heat setting, ideally one your plumber or insurer recommends.
- A snow-clearing and fuel-delivery arrangement that accounts for winter roads.
- Written instructions on where the main shut-off should be when the house is empty.
- A plan for the unexpected: who to call, and up to what amount a contractor can be brought in if you can’t be reached.
- Reading your insurance policy, and asking your broker what applies when the house is unoccupied. Conditions vary from one insurer to the next.
What belongs to an RBQ-licensed contractor:
- Any plumbing, electrical, heating or roofing repair.
- Installing equipment: heat cable, generator, pump, valve.
- Assessing a problem that can only be seen by opening something up.
In an empty house, what does a visit change?
An empty house doesn’t raise its hand. A split pipe, heat that quits during an outage, a window that gives way in the wind: without a visit, the problem lasts until someone walks in. A visit doesn’t stop it from happening. It shortens the time it gets worse unseen, and it leaves a dated record of the state of the house.
That’s all. And it’s often enough to keep a small problem small.
What we look at on a visit
Every visit, we read the thermostat and compare it with the agreed setting, check the position of the main shut-off, and log the water meter or well pressure gauge with every tap closed. We look at the breakers through the panel door without resetting anything, try every exterior door, and check the snow and ice along the roof edge from the ground. Every finding is photographed and time-stamped in the report.
If something’s off, we call you the same day, with photos. If needed, we meet an RBQ-licensed contractor on site and document the work.