Home & Boat Watchdog Services keeps stuff safe, clean

Noticing a growing demand for vacation home surveillance services, Rehoboth’s Dave Koster has started Home and Boat Watchdog Services, a business that visits and inspects clientele property and vessels.

“It’s needed more than people know,” Koster said recently.

Koster said he got into the business because he’s always been asked to keep an eye on the homes of friends, family and neighbors when they’re not home. It simply started to become more involved, so he looked into the home watch service industry.

“It’s not a well-known industry,” he said. “There are people who do similar kinds of things, but don’t have a focus on the items I take care of.”

Koster said he provides more than security surveillance services. He also provides home maintenance surveillance services, showing off a two-page checklist and a backpack with a number of tools including a moisture meter, volt meter, humidity meter, temperature gun and circuit breaker tester.

“I’m not a trained electrician or plumber, but I can provide a basic overview that will help lead to who to call next,” he said.

Koster said not all of his clients are second-home owners or people on vacations. He said there are elderly and disabled clients who simply need help making their homes safe; for example, changing exterior lights or fire detectors.

Koster said boats present a similar challenge. If a boat is being stored in a boat yard, the owner is renting space for the boat, not surveillance services, he said. Sometimes the shrinkwrap will tear, and it’s important to fix that before animals make a home or thousands of dollars in damage is done, he said.

Owner of Portraits in the Sand, Koster is already well-known in the area as a certified master photographer who has been taking portraits for decades. He said the relationship between photographer and watchdog go more hand-in-hand than some might think. His eyes have been trained to scan a scene, and quickly notice inconsistencies and abnormalities, he said.

Koster said he realizes he’s asking his customers to trust him with their homes and boats. He then lists a number of organizations that have completed background checks on him – Delaware State Police, Homeland Security TSA, Boy Scouts of America, U.S. Coast Guard and Safe Sanctuary Training Assessment, which is for church-related facilities. He’s also an accredited member of National Home Watch Association, a former lifeguard and a board member of his neighborhood homeowners association.

For more information on Home and Boat Watchdog Service call 302-278-4388, email dave@hbwatchdog.com or go to hbwatchdog.com.