Checking On Your Home When You’re Away
By Erin Kelly-Allshouse
A new home-watching business is serving neighborhoods throughout Santa Cruz County.
Owners David and Teri Parks, lifelong Santa Cruz residents, got requests to “keep an eye on” local residences that were clients with Parks Construction — their own company for 30 years.
The Parks family: David, Teri and daughter Savannah (center). • Photo Credit: Erin Kelly-Allshouse
They launched the new company, Pelican House Watch, in January 2019. Services include regular home visits to view the exterior, and in some cases, the interior of unoccupied and part-time vacation homes.
A typical home watch visit includes a walk around the entire perimeter of the home, observing conditions of siding and trim, doors and windows, gutters and downspouts, and looking for obvious issues that may affect the home as well as any changes from previous visits. A check of the grounds and walkways are often also included in the service agreement.
The company then provides a real-time report using software developed by iAuditor. The homeowner can view the reports and schedule and cancel house watch visits as needed.
Pelican House Watch provides similar services to condominium and townhome homeowner associations, inspecting and reporting on walkways, parking lots and common areas of the communities. This keeps the property managers and board of directors current on issues affecting these properties. Inspections and reporting are customized to fit the needs of the client.
David Parks
Agreements also include entry into the home to check for signs of leaks from plumbing, the roof or siding. Conditions such as temperature settings for furnaces, unusual odors, and signs of pest infestation are monitored. Any conditions that may need to be addressed are reported to the owners.
The recent wind storm that caused damages in Santa Cruz County prompted unscheduled visits to check for downed trees and displaced lawn furniture.
During heavy rains, Parks said, visits may be needed to check on rain gutters and drainage. A visit after dark may be scheduled to observe the operation of outdoor lighting, or interior lights that are set to turn on or off.
“We have one client, a condominium medical complex, which uses us to monitor their trash and recycling enclosures each week, as well as provide readings of water meters on a regular basis,” Parks said.
Other services include stored car warm-ups, trash service, pressure washing decks and patios, airing out the house and preparing for the owner’s visit.
Co-founder David Parks attended Laurel Elementary School, Cabrillo College and UC Berkeley, where he got his bachelor’s degree in architecture.
He began Parks Construction Company specializing in repairs and remodeling for homeowners and HOA communities throughout Santa Cruz. For a time, he was construction superintendent for a large local company building townhomes and condominiums, shopping center and doctors’ offices. He also worked for the County of Santa Clara, retiring as construction manager in April 2019.
“For the most part, performing the walk-through of the homes and reporting to the owner is stress-free compared to running a construction business or managing several multimillion-dollar public works contracts simultaneously,” Parks said. “Since most are second homes and vacation homes, and usually located in very special parts of Santa Cruz County, it gives us the opportunity to enjoy the views of the beaches and surroundings while earning a living at the same time.”
While the business is still small, Parks said, it affords him the ability to walk routes between homes along East Cliff and Opal Cliffs Drive.
His wife Teri, also a Santa Cruz native, is CFO and secretary of Pelican House Watch. She has experience as an administrative assistant for law firms as well as at a private school. Most recently she has been a photographer’s assistant and she markets her own line of photography. Over the years, she provided design and interior finish selections for Parks Construction’s new home building and renovation projects.
“Teri and I have been married for 32 years and most of our careers we never planned to work together full time,” David Parks said. “Teri has always assisted with bookkeeping as well as interior design work on custom homes that we’ve built both in both Santa Cruz, and for two years, in Bend, Oregon … it was our friends and family — as well as the surf and sun — that brought us back to Santa Cruz.”
The couple, who live in Santa Cruz Gardens, have three daughters, Kiela, Katelyn and Savannah. The youngest daughter, Savannah, helps with the business.
The owners of Pelican House Watch call it a “concierge service” for absentee homeowners and part-time dwellers, as well as for HOA communities and commercial office complexes. Let them customize a care package that will help you protect and watch over your home and properties.
•••
Office hours: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. weekdays,. Home visits can take place on weekends and evenings if needed. pelicanhousewatch.com