Second home care in Sotogrande
A closed villa in Sotogrande concentrates in one place everything that becomes expensive when nobody is there: a pool, automatic irrigation, hundreds of square metres of glass, smart-home systems and a replacement value that turns any oversight into a four-figure invoice. And the owner is usually in another country, which leaves no margin for finding out late.
What a month without looking costs
In a house like this, neglect is not paid for in inconvenience but in money. A failed irrigation zone in summer destroys a garden that took years to establish. An unwatched pool becomes a shell that has to be drained, treated and refilled. A small leak in a flat roof ends up reaching interior timber that cannot be replaced in a week.
A monthly inspection does not prevent faults. It prevents them happening alone for four months. That is the whole proposition, and in any of these houses it is enough to justify the fee.
What gets checked
A full walk-through with a dated report and photographs: damp and water ingress, with particular attention to roofs and to the junctions around the sliding glass; taps, drains and appliance hoses; traps refilled with water; the consumer unit and confirmation that alarms and smart-home systems are still working; irrigation and the state of the garden; pool level and water appearance; outdoor furniture; and the post.
In houses with a wine store or a climate-controlled plant room we also confirm the cooling is still running, because that is exactly the kind of silent failure only discovered once it has done its damage.
Glass, damp and salt
The villas here have vast glazed elevations facing the sea. Closed for months, moisture condenses on the inside at the frame junctions while salt works away on the outside. In houses with timber frames that is the first thing to watch, because once timber starts to open it is no longer maintenance, it is replacement.
Monthly ventilation, with rooms and wardrobes opened during the walk-through, is the cheapest and most effective measure there is against this.
Presence, not just inspection
A house of this value standing closed and visibly unattended is a problem in itself. An empty postbox, shutters in different positions from one month to the next, irrigation running and a tended garden are all signals that somebody comes by, and that is worth as much as any technical check.
Before you arrive
Tell us the date and the house is ready: ventilated, beds made, bathrooms and floors cleaned, water and power checked and the traps refilled so nothing smells when you open the door. Preparing for your arrival is included in the fee and not invoiced separately.
How it works
A first visit walking the whole property, including plant rooms and secondary entrances, a written division of responsibilities with your manager, and a fixed monthly fee with the bilingual report before the 5th.
Questions we get in Sotogrande
We already have a property manager. Do you overlap?
No, we coordinate and divide the work in writing before starting. Typically the manager handles contracts, insurance and suppliers, while we are the ones who physically enter the house each month and send the report. Overlap is the most common source of trouble in these houses and it disappears if you define it on day one.
Can we have the report in English?
In both languages, in a format your manager can forward to you without rewriting anything, with dated photographs of every area checked. For someone two thousand kilometres away, that document is the only real way to know the state of the house.
The pool turns green the moment we leave.
We watch it and tell you as soon as the water changes or the level drops more than it should, which is usually the first sign of a leak in the shell. We do not treat the water: that requires its own qualification and belongs to a pool technician. What we solve is nobody noticing until August, when recovering a neglected pool becomes genuinely expensive.
Can you let contractors or the insurer in?
With prior written authorisation, yes. We open the house, stay throughout the visit without leaving anyone alone inside, and document the result with photographs. This is the part owners abroad value most, because an insurance claim that used to depend on a flight now resolves in days.
Get in touch
The quickest way is to call. If you would rather write, the enquiry form is on the Spanish version of this page and we answer in English.