01
Trustworthiness
If I tell you I'll be at your home Tuesday, I'm at your home Tuesday. Simple as that.
Home Watch · Vail Valley, Eagle County, Colorado
Home watch for Vail Valley second homes.
When you can't be at your mountain home, I am. I'm Mark Fleecs — a retired Denver Police Commander and NHWA-accredited home watch professional who's spent the last eight years living in the valley. I inspect second homes in Vail, Beaver Creek, Avon, Edwards, Eagle, and Gypsum on a set schedule, so the worst surprise on your next trip is a snowdrift in the driveway.
Home Watch — a visual inspection of a home or property, looking for obvious issues.
Est. Eagle, Colorado
The short answer
What is home watch, and who needs it in the Vail Valley?
Home watch is a scheduled visual inspection of a vacant home by a credentialed professional. On each visit I walk the property with a written checklist — doors and windows, plumbing fixtures, HVAC and thermostat, water heater, breaker panel, refrigerator and freezer, smoke and CO detectors, signs of leaks or pests, and the full exterior — then send a date-stamped, GPS-verified photo report the same day.
Who needs it: second homeowners, snowbirds, and seasonal residents in Eagle County whose homes sit empty for weeks at a time. Mountain properties here face sub-zero freeze cycles, heavy snow loads, ice dams, wildlife intrusion, and long vacancies. A small leak found in week one is a repair; the same leak found in week eight is a renovation. A growing number of insurance carriers also require documented periodic checks to keep coverage in force on a vacant or unoccupied home.
How it differs from property management: a property manager runs rentals and tenants, and a house-sitter lives in your home. A home watch professional visits on a schedule, documents what's found, and coordinates vetted local trades when something needs fixing. Nobody moves in.
What it costs and how it starts: pricing depends on the size of the home and how often you want it visited — most clients choose weekly or bi-weekly while they're away. It begins with a free walkthrough of the property. Ask for a quote or call 720-618-9788.
A note from Mark
“Handing someone the keys to your home is one of the most personal things you can do. I don't take that lightly. Thirty-one years as a police officer taught me that the small details — the ones most people walk past — are usually the ones that matter most.”
Mark FleecsOwner · Police Commander, Ret.
How I work
Six things I won't compromise on.
02
Communication
A photo report after every visit, and a real phone call the moment something needs your attention.
03
Confidentiality
Your address, your codes, your routines — they stay between us. Always.
04
Responsiveness
When a pipe is leaking at 2 a.m., you don't want voicemail. You'll get me.
05
Honesty
If I miss something, I'll tell you. If a vendor overcharges, I'll catch it. No spin.
06
Thoroughness
Thirty-one years of investigative habits don't switch off. The little things get noticed.
Accredited Member
National Home Watch Association
Home watch is an unregulated industry — anyone can hang a sign. NHWA accreditation means background-checked, insured, bonded, and held to a code of ethics that's actually enforced. It's the standard I chose to be measured by.
Credentials
Why Vail Valley homeowners trust this business.
Home watch is an unregulated industry, so the credentials are worth stating plainly. Every one of these is verifiable before you hand over a key.
NHWA Accredited Member
Vail Valley Home Watch is an accredited member of the National Home Watch Association, which requires background checks, insurance, bonding, and an enforced code of ethics.
Certified Home Watch Professional #2250463
Mark Fleecs holds the NHWA Certified Home Watch Professional designation. The credential number is listed publicly in the NHWA accredited-provider directory.
Insured & Bonded
General liability plus crime and fidelity coverage, with a surety bond. Certificates are provided on request before any keys change hands.
31 Years of Sworn Law Enforcement
The owner retired as a Police Commander with the Denver Police Department after a 31-year career — three decades of noticing what looks wrong before it becomes a problem.
Owner-Operated, No Subcontractors
Every visit, report, and contractor meeting is handled by Mark himself. There is no rotating crew, no call center, and no answering service.
Documented, GPS-Verified Reporting
Each inspection is logged in HomeWatchIT with time stamps, GPS verification, and photos per checklist item — the documentation insurers increasingly ask for on vacant homes.
What we do
A complete suite of home watch services for the Vail Valley.
Every visit, every report, every contractor meeting — it's me at your door. No subcontractors, no rotating crew. Backed by NHWA accreditation and a 31-year career built on doing things the right way.
View all services
Home Watch Checks
I walk every room, check the mechanicals, and look for the small things — a slow drip, a thermostat that drifted, a window left cracked. You get a time-stamped photo report before I leave the driveway.
Learn about home watch checksMaintenance & Vendor Oversight
I meet the plumber, wait for the appliance tech, and stay until the job's done right — so you're not coordinating contractors from a different time zone.
Learn about vendor coordination & maintenance oversightKeyholder Services
Your key is coded, never labeled with your address, and stored under lock. When a vendor needs in or a guest gets locked out, I'm fifteen minutes away.
Learn about secure keyholder servicesDeparture & Arrival
I shut things down properly when you leave and warm the house back up before you land — heat on, water flowing, lights where you want them.
Learn about departure and arrival servicesStorm Prep & Post-Storm Checks
After every big snow, wind, or freeze, I'm out checking roofs, drains, and exteriors before small problems become expensive ones.
Learn about storm preparation and post-storm checksConcierge & Emergency Response
Groceries in the fridge, dinner reservations made, packages received — and a real person on call when something can't wait until morning.
Learn about concierge and emergency response services Service Area
From Gypsum to Vail — and most everything between.
I cover the towns and communities up and down the valley. If your neighborhood isn't on the list, ask me — chances are I'm already there each week.
Vail
Home watch for Vail Village, Lionshead, East Vail, and Potato Patch condos and chalets — snow-load checks, heat-tape monitoring, and keyholder access for ski-season arrivals.
Beaver Creek & Bachelor Gulch
Scheduled second-home checks for slopeside residences, including HOA and concierge coordination, vendor escorts, and pre-arrival warm-ups before your family lands.
Avon & Eagle-Vail
Weekly or bi-weekly inspections for valley-floor homes and Wildridge/Wildwood properties, with quick response when a freeze, storm, or alarm needs someone on site.
Edwards, Singletree & Cordillera
Home watch for larger properties on the Cordillera benches and in Singletree — mechanical rooms, crawl spaces, irrigation shutdowns, and wildlife evidence around the foundation.
Eagle & Eagle Ranch
My home base. Same-day availability for Eagle Ranch, Brush Creek, and Red Sky Ranch homeowners, plus contractor supervision while you're out of state.
Gypsum & Minturn
Down-valley and up-canyon coverage for second homes and seasonal residences, including post-storm exterior checks and mail or package handling.
Towns
- Gypsum
- Eagle
- Edwards
- Avon
- Eagle-Vail
- Minturn
- Vail
Communities
- Eagle Ranch
- Red Sky
- Red Sky Ranch
- Mountain Star
- Homestead
- Singletree
- Cordillera
- Arrowhead
- Bachelor Gulch
- Beaver Creek
- Wildwood
- Wildridge
- + many others
Frequently Asked
The questions I hear most.
If yours isn't here, call me — I'd rather answer it directly than guess what you need to know.
Think of it as a trusted set of eyes on your home while you're away. I walk through with a detailed checklist — interior, exterior, mechanicals, security — and look for anything out of place: a leak starting under a sink, a window left ajar, a thermostat that drifted overnight. You get a photo report after every visit. See the full list of home watch services.
A property manager runs rentals and tenants. A house-sitter sleeps in your bed. I'm neither — I'm a credentialed local who shows up on a schedule, documents what I find, and brings in vetted trades when something needs fixing. See the scope of what's covered and how it differs from NHWA-defined home watch. Your home stays your home.
Most of my clients land on weekly or bi-weekly visits while they're away, plus extras around storms, deliveries, or contractor work. Let's talk through what makes sense for your home and your peace of mind.
Doors, windows, plumbing fixtures, HVAC and thermostat, water heater, fridge and freezer, breaker panel, smoke and CO detectors, signs of leaks or pests, the exterior — plus anything specific you want me watching. Up here that often means heat tape, ice dams, and wildlife evidence around the foundation. The full inspection scope is built around your property.
You hear from me right away — phone call, photos, plain explanation of what I'm seeing. With your okay, I bring in one of my vetted local trades and stay on the job until it's resolved. That vendor coordination and emergency response is part of the standard service.
Yes. As an Accredited Member of the National Home Watch Association, I carry general liability and crime/fidelity insurance, and I'm bonded. Documents available on request.
Keys are coded — never labeled with your address — and stored under lock. Codes and alarm details are kept on a need-to-know basis. See how my keyholder services work end-to-end.
A digital report through HomeWatchIT after every visit — date- and time-stamped, GPS-verified, with photos and notes for each item on the checklist. You'll know exactly what I saw and when. You can build a sample inspection checklist for your property to see the level of detail.
Pipes don't burst between nine and five. Call or text me directly, any time — 720-618-9788. That's the whole point of working with the owner.
Give me a call or send a note through the contact page. I'll come walk the property with you, listen to your concerns, and put together a visit schedule that fits. No cost, no pressure.
Get in touch
Peace of mind starts with one conversation.
Tell us about your home. We'll respond within one business day.