Owner decisions
First winter, buying from afar, doing it yourself or handing it off: the choices of a secondary home owner.
- Secondary home caretaking vs water damage: comparing the real costs
How to fairly compare the price of regular cottage visits with what water damage found late really costs: the items worth putting on the list.
- How to choose a cottage caretaking service: 10 questions to ask
Who comes, how often, what you get, who does repairs: ten questions to ask any secondary home caretaking service before you sign.
- What a cottage caretaking service does — and what it doesn’t
Visits, photographed findings, a same-day call: what secondary home caretaking covers, and what belongs to other professionals.
- Your first winter with a cottage: what nobody tells you
Bought a cottage in the Eastern Townships this year? What new owners discover in their first winter, and the decisions worth making early.
- The free pre-winter audit: what we go over in 20 minutes
Main shut-off, heating, winter access, roof, insurance policy: what Mr. Lantern’s free pre-winter audit covers, with zero strings attached.
- A photo report after every cottage visit: what exactly is it?
Time-stamped photos, the day’s weather, a “keeping an eye on” section: what a visit report contains, how to read it and what it’s really for.
- Smart sensors vs cottage visits: partners, not rivals
Leak detectors, Wi-Fi thermometers, cameras: what they see at the cottage, what they miss when the power goes out, and what a visit adds.