Frequently Asked Questions

PA Property Patrol is a property stewardship service based in Pennsylvania. We provide regular monitoring, maintenance coordination, and diagnostic oversight for vacant properties, second homes, cabins, and short-term rentals. Think of it as having a capable, insured, local person who keeps eyes on your property, handles what needs handling, and keeps you informed — without you having to manage it from a distance.

The service is run by our Property Steward — experienced in enterprise systems engineering and hands-on rural property ownership. Our steward manages a demanding mountain property with solar, battery, water, and mechanical systems. We know what it takes to keep a rural property alive when you're not always there. We're insured and based in North Central Pennsylvania.

No. We don't place tenants, collect rent, or manage bookings. We handle the physical side of owning a property you can't always be at — monitoring, maintenance coordination, seasonal prep, and contractor oversight. If you need a property manager for rentals, we can refer you to someone. If you need a capable, trusted person on the ground, that's what we do.

Vacant properties in probate or estate settlement, second homes and vacation cabins, properties left behind when elderly parents move to care, homes vacant during relocation, and short-term rentals (Airbnb, VRBO) that need a local physical presence.

We currently serve select counties in North Central Pennsylvania, and we're expanding one territory at a time. We don't serve the whole state — we serve where we have a capable, trusted Property Steward. See our service area map for the current list. If your county isn't listed, you can join our waitlist and we'll let you know when service becomes available.

No, we are not house sitters or pet sitters. We don't live in your home or care for animals. However, we can help you find, vet, and coordinate with local house sitters, pet sitters, or animal caretakers as part of our coordination services (Participate and Partner plans). Think of us as the person who makes sure the right people are doing the right things — not the person feeding your cat.

No, we don't provide recurring maintenance labor ourselves. Our Participate and Partner plans include coordination and oversight of these services — we'll find the right local provider, schedule the work, and verify it was done properly — but we don't run the mower or plow the driveway ourselves.

No. We monitor, diagnose, coordinate, and report. When something needs a licensed contractor (roofing, major electrical, foundation work), we'll help you find one, get quotes, and oversee the work — but we don't perform the trades ourselves.

We don't place tenants, collect rent, or manage bookings. We do provide physical oversight for short-term rental properties — guest incident response, between-stay checks, compliance with local STR ordinances — but we're not a property management company.

No. That's house sitting, and it's not what we do. We visit on a schedule, check everything, document what we find, and leave. Your property gets professional oversight without anyone moving in.

The Patrol Plan, the Participate Plan, and the Partner Plan. Each is a monthly subscription with a different level of involvement. The Patrol Plan is monitoring and reporting — regular visits, photos, and documentation. The Participate Plan adds maintenance: seasonal winterization, minor repairs, quarterly system diagnostics, and coordination of ongoing maintenance services. The Partner Plan makes us your proxy — full contractor oversight, quarterly written diagnostic reports, insurance claim support, and 4-hour emergency response.

Everything is priced on a Field Rate + Travel basis from Jersey Shore, PA (17740). Here is how it works: The Field Rate reflects the scope of work and the expertise required — checking a vacant house for storm damage costs less than a full Property Physical with a written report. Travel is mileage from 17740 to your property and back. We agree on scope and cost before any work starts — no surprise bills, no forgotten subscriptions, no long-term contracts. Every property is different — a monthly check-in on a well-maintained house in town is not the same as weekly monitoring of a 100-year-old cabin up the mountain. That is why we do not publish flat rates. You get a custom quote based on what you actually need.

No long-term contracts. Plans are month-to-month with 30-day notice to cancel. If your situation changes — the property sells, probate closes, you decide to move back — you're not locked in.

No — ongoing maintenance services like lawn care, landscaping, cleaning, and snow removal are not included in the plan fees. However, as part of the Participate and Partner Plans, we can coordinate and manage these services with vetted local providers. We schedule, confirm, and quality-verify the work. Coordination is billed separately. We don't markup the providers — you pay them directly.

A handyman shows up when you call. The Participate Plan means we are watching, consistently, on a regular schedule. We notice the sump pump cycling too often before it fails. We catch the moisture reading in the corner of the basement before it becomes mold. We handle the seasonal prep so your plumbing survives February. And we document everything — so you have a record, and so does your insurance company. A handyman fixes the problem after it's a problem. We're trying to make sure it never becomes one.

The Property Physical is our signature assessment service — a comprehensive 3-4 hour on-site inspection of all major property systems, followed by a written report (8-15 pages) that covers structural condition, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, envelope, and environmental factors. You get a condition rating for each system (Good / Fair / Poor / Critical), prioritized recommendations with estimated costs, and a customized vulnerability assessment specific to your property. It's the foundation of any ongoing plan engagement — and it's available as a standalone service.

Not required, but strongly recommended. It ensures we both know exactly what we're dealing with before committing to an ongoing engagement. It's how we get the full picture — so we are watching the right things, flagging the right issues, and advising you correctly.

A home inspection is a point-in-time transaction document for a real estate sale. It answers: 'What does the buyer need to know at closing?' Our Property Physical answers: 'What does this property need to survive, and what's most likely to go wrong if no one's watching?' It's a stewardship document, not a transaction document. We also include a vacancy vulnerability assessment — something no standard inspector does.

Yes. We offer a specific set of services for short-term rental owners who live remotely — local contact registration (for PA township ordinance compliance), turnover inspections between guests, emergency response, smart home setup (smart locks, noise monitors, thermostats), and seasonal services. We are not property managers — we don't touch your listings or guest communications. We are the physical layer.

Many Pennsylvania townships require that STR owners who live more than approximately 30 miles from the property designate a local contact who can physically respond to a call from township officials or law enforcement within 30 minutes. Failing to have a compliant local contact can result in fines or loss of your rental permit. We register as your official local contact, we're insured, and we can respond.

Yes. Lock issues, plumbing problems, broken appliances, access issues — we are available for emergency response. Response time target is under 4 hours. We handle the situation, document it, and report back to you.

Minor repairs, yes — the kind of things a capable, experienced homeowner would handle: a leaky faucet, a loose gutter, a thermostat that needs resetting, weatherstripping, a running toilet. For major work (HVAC replacement, roofing, electrical panel work, full plumbing repairs), we coordinate licensed, vetted contractors. As part of the Partner Plan, we evaluate bids, oversee the work, and sign off on quality before you pay.

Yes. We maintain a network of vetted licensed contractors across the major trades — plumbing, electrical, HVAC, roofing, general contracting. We do not perform licensed trade work ourselves (electrical panels, gas lines, main plumbing). We coordinate and oversee those contractors as your representative.

You pay contractors directly. We don't act as a financial intermediary or hold contractor funds. For Partner Plan clients, we review and approve invoices for quality before recommending payment. Parts we purchase directly for minor repairs are billed at cost + 20%.

That's one of the core values of the Partner Plan. We know local rates. We can tell when a bid is padded, when scope is missing, or when a contractor is proposing more than what's needed. You get our honest assessment of every bid before you approve it.

Contact us or send a message through the contact form. We'll have a 15-20 minute conversation about your property and your situation. If it seems like a good fit, we'll schedule the Property Physical. After that, we pick a plan — or you take the assessment report and decide from there.

Every visit generates a report — photos, notes, and findings — published to your private client portal within 24 hours. You log in and see what we saw. Insurance compliance documentation is generated monthly. If something needs immediate attention, we call you within an hour of finding it.

That depends on your plan. On all plans, if we learn of an emergency (from a neighbor, a sensor alert, or your call), we respond. Tier 3 / Partner Plan clients have 4-hour emergency response as part of the plan. On sensor-equipped properties, the monitoring system alerts us 24/7 regardless of scheduled visit cadence.

Yes. We carry commercial general liability insurance, professional liability (E&O) insurance, and are registered under Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (HICPA). Our PA contractor registration number is displayed on all contracts and materials.

Our service area covers select counties in Pennsylvania. We serve where we have a qualified Property Steward — and we expand one county at a time based on demand. If your property is in a county we don't yet serve, join the waitlist. We don't serve properties outside of Pennsylvania.

We wrap up the engagement. We generate a final property condition report, export the full portal history as a PDF archive (photos, reports, maintenance records), and hand everything to you or your representative. The record of what was done during our watch is yours to keep.