Home & Boat Watchdog nationally accredited for seventh year

Home & Boat Watchdog has earned accreditation from the National Home Watch Association for the seventh year.

The NHWA was formed in 2009 in order to establish and maintain the highest industry standards for home watch and absentee homeowner services throughout the United States and Canada. Home watch is a visual inspection of a home or property, looking for obvious issues, keeping an eye on things at a vacation or primary home while owners are not in residence.

Home & Boat Watchdog is owned by David Koster. It is a service that visits and visually inspects property and vessels to check on their well-being and notifies the owner of their status with a detailed checklist report. If a situation does occur, homeowners and boat owners can be assured of quick notification, and the company will help handle any issues to minimize further damage and resolve the problem.

Home & Boat Watchdog uses industry best practices as part of its commitment to clients, looking out for their best interests with the highest level of professionalism. It offers customized services for absentee property owners depending upon their individual needs and concerns, based on trust, communication, privacy and confidentiality. Home & Boat Watchdog is licensed, insured, bonded, vetted and accredited.

After many years of watching homes and holding keys for family, friends and neighbors, Koster said recent years seemed to have the highest number of problems while owners were away. He researched the home watch industry so he could ensure that neighbors and future clients would have everything taken care of properly. As a professional businessperson, Koster knows the value of proper insurance, industry membership, accreditation, association and training. This led him to join the National Home Watch Association, which maintains a very high set of standards which assures customers that trusted people are looking out for their best interests at all times. Members also collaborate to discuss issues and best practices.

Other companies and people may say they are insured, but what are they insured for? NHWA-accredited members are required to have insurance and bonding for specific and specialized home watch duties, along with annual background checks and license verification.

Koster is a licensed boat captain, which requires additional background and drug testing for the Coast Guard and Homeland Security. He has been living and boating at the beach for over 30 years. He also runs a successful photography studio. According to a study by Canon, a trained professional photographer has about five times more eye movements, paying close attention to detail, than the average person. Koster’s eyes have been trained to scan a scene, and quickly notice inconsistencies and abnormalities. He also has always had the ability to find four-leaf clovers in a patch of three-leaf clovers. This natural trait, observing differences in patterns and things out of place, is very useful in the home and boat watch business. Koster is also a former lifeguard and a current board member of his neighborhood homeowners association.

“We watch over your property with visual inspections of readily accessible areas for obvious issues, giving you peace of mind to minimize problems or damage,” said Koster. “We are your boots on the ground, and eyes and ears on the property to alleviate home/boat owner concerns to assure that things are OK and in order while we are doing your home watch or boat watch.” His tools include a moisture meter, voltmeter, humidity meter, temperature gun, circuit breaker tester, black light flashlight and camera.

Home and Boat Watchdog serves Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. For more information, call 302-278-4388, email dave@HBWatchdog.com or go to HBWatchdog.com.