What to charge for home watch visits

Pricing is where new home watch businesses most often undersell themselves, usually by comparing against a neighbour who does it as a favour rather than against the cost of the problem they prevent.

Start from the cost of being wrong

A water leak found in week one is a plumber's bill. The same leak found in month three is a floor, a wall, and a mould remediation crew. Your price is not for the walk-through; it is for catching that early, and for the owner being able to stop thinking about the house at all.

Retainer, not per visit

A monthly retainer for an agreed number of visits gives you predictable income and gives them predictable cost. It also removes the small hesitation before calling you — if every extra look costs them, they will not ask, and the thing they did not ask about is the thing that becomes expensive.

What to bill separately

Waiting at the property for a contractor. Storm preparation and post-storm checks. Airport collection and grocery drops before an arrival. Anything that takes an hour you had not planned for should have a published hourly rate, agreed in advance, so nobody is surprised by an invoice.

Raise prices on the calendar, not on nerve

Decide now when you review prices — once a year, on a date, for everyone — and tell customers that at the start. Reviewing on a schedule is a business practice. Reviewing when you finally feel brave enough is a conversation you will keep postponing.