Home watch, house sitting or rental management in Greece?

01

Start with presence, not the service label

Home watch in this guide means scheduled visits to observe agreed accessible areas and provide an update. Someone arrives for a defined purpose and leaves afterwards. The property is not continuously occupied through that arrangement. A useful discussion therefore covers the visit scope, schedule, access and what happens when an observation needs your attention.

Resident house sitting means someone stays in the home under an agreed arrangement. That raises additional practical questions about occupation, private spaces, visitors, use of the home and the end of the stay. Do not assume that a provider offering property checks also offers overnight or resident care. KeyCare’s current website describes scheduled visits; resident stays are not established by that description.

02

Write down the outcome you want

A person living in the property and a person making agreed checks solve different problems. Instead of beginning with a label, complete this sentence: while I am away, I need someone to… Be specific enough that another person can understand the request without guessing.

You might want an accessible room checked, a named technician admitted or an update before a family visit. Continuous presence, pet care and guest support are different requests. Discuss them separately rather than treating them as small additions to an ordinary property visit.

• Name the spaces or tasks that matter most.
• State whether you need visits or someone staying in the home.
• Identify any appointment requiring a separate access instruction.
• Separate observations from repairs, spending and specialist work.

03

Compare the arrangement between visits

A scheduled visit gives you observations from a particular time. Ask what information you will receive, how an unchecked area will be recorded and how you can change the agreed scope. More visits and continuous monitoring are not interchangeable descriptions; make sure the proposal answers the need you actually have.

For any resident arrangement you consider elsewhere, ask how absence from the home, personal belongings and handover are handled. The important point is not that one model is universally better. It is whether the practical agreement matches your property and expectations.

04

Keep access and authority separate

Permission to enter the home is not automatically permission to invite another person in, commission a repair or make a purchase. Identify who can give instructions and what needs a fresh decision. If there are several owners or family contacts, agree one clear route for approving changes.

Imagine a planned visit reveals something that needs a tradesperson’s assessment. The next useful question is who may arrange that assessment and on what terms. Defining the decision path before you leave avoids trying to settle responsibilities in a hurried exchange later.

05

End with a brief you can compare

Summarise the required presence, property areas, reporting and access in a short written brief. Give the same brief to any provider you are considering. Compare what each proposal includes, what is excluded and which practical questions remain unanswered. A familiar service name should never replace reading the actual scope.

Begin an enquiry with the general location and property type. Detailed travel plans, entry codes and other sensitive information can wait for an agreed handling process. You need enough context to discuss suitability, not a complete access file in the first message.