You closed up the house in April, drove or flew north, and now Fort Myers is doing what Southwest Florida does all summer — heat in the 90s, brutal humidity, afternoon storms, and the occasional named system rolling up the Gulf. A professional home watch service in Fort Myers, FL is the difference between catching a small problem on a Tuesday and coming back in November to a ceiling on the floor and an insurer asking why nobody inspected the home.
Sunstate Home Watch is a premium, founder-run home watch service for seasonal and second-home owners across Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, Naples, and Marco Island. We walk your vacant home on a scheduled basis, document everything with timestamped photos in your dashboard, and — if something's wrong — our founder Torbjörn picks up the phone and calls you personally. Licensed, bonded, and insured, with plans from $99/mo and your first inspection free.
A house in Fort Myers doesn't sit still while you're gone. The Southwest Florida climate works on it every single day — and the damage that costs the most is usually the damage no one was there to see.
With the A/C off or set too high to save money, indoor humidity climbs and mold takes hold fast in closets, behind furniture, and inside the air handler. Florida mold remediation routinely runs $2,000 to $10,000+ — and it grows in days, not months.
A failed water heater, a cracked supply line under a sink, or a clogged A/C condensate drain can run for weeks unnoticed. Water damage restoration averages around $3,800, and that's before mold. On a vacant home, a slow leak becomes a disaster.
Summer brings daily thunderstorms and hurricane season from June through November. Wind-driven rain finds loose shingles and screen tears; and a vacant lanai or garage is an open invitation for wasps, rodents, and the occasional iguana.
Fort Myers adds its own wrinkles. Waterfront and canal homes along the Caloosahatchee and in nearby Cape Coral sit in constant salt air and rising humidity, with seawalls, docks, and boat lifts that need eyes on them. Riverfront properties downtown and in McGregor and Iona are exposed to storm surge. Golf-community homes in Gateway, Fort Myers Beach, and the gated neighborhoods off Daniels Parkway may sit empty for six months at a stretch. And the Gulf-front homes our clients own in Naples and on Marco Island face the harshest salt-and-storm exposure of all. Every one of these needs a real person walking the property — not a smart sensor that pings an empty inbox.
We don't just glance through a window. On each scheduled visit we walk the full interior and exterior, looking for the early warning signs that turn into expensive claims. Then we send you a timestamped photo report you can open from anywhere.
Want the full list of what a vacant Florida home needs while you're away? See our Florida vacant home checklist.
This is the part most homeowners don't find out until it's too late. Your homeowners policy may quietly limit or void coverage once a home has been vacant for 30 to 60 days, and insurers routinely deny "gradual damage" and "neglect" — exactly the slow leaks and mold that build up in an empty house.
If a pipe lets go in July and you discover it in November, an adjuster can argue it was preventable and deny the claim. Documented, regular home watch inspections give you a timestamped record proving the home was monitored and maintained — the evidence that keeps a "gradual damage" denial from costing you tens of thousands.
That's why we frame Sunstate as value, not cost. At $99/mo, a season of inspections costs less than a single mold remediation or water-damage restoration — and it protects both your home and your ability to actually collect on the policy you're already paying for.
No automated alert into the void. If we find a problem, founder Torbjörn phones you directly, explains what's happening, and helps you decide what to do next — in English, Spanish, or Swedish.
Every visit produces timestamped photos in a private online dashboard. Open it from Minnesota, Toronto, or Stockholm and see your Fort Myers home exactly as it stands today.
Find a problem and you're 1,500 miles away? We coordinate trusted local plumbers, A/C techs, and contractors so it's handled before it spreads — no scrambling from afar.
We arrange secure access on your terms, whether that's a lockbox, a smart lock, or a key held under our bonded and insured protocol. Access details are kept confidential, every visit is logged, and you always know exactly who has been in your home and when.
Torbjörn calls you personally — not an email you might miss. We document the issue with photos, walk you through your options, and, if you'd like, coordinate trusted local repair professionals so the problem is contained before it becomes a major claim.
We cover Fort Myers and the surrounding Southwest Florida communities — including Cape Coral's canal and waterfront homes, McGregor, Iona, Gateway, the gated neighborhoods off Daniels Parkway, Fort Myers Beach, plus Bonita Springs, Naples, and Marco Island. If your seasonal home is in the region, get in touch and we'll confirm coverage.
Our standard plans are weekly, which is what most insurers and most seasonal owners want for a vacant home in Florida's climate. We can adjust frequency around storms or your specific situation — just ask.
Yes. Sunstate Home Watch is licensed, bonded, and insured, so your home is in trusted, accountable hands the entire time you're away.
Start with a free first inspection. We'll walk the home, send you the photo report, and you'll see exactly what peace of mind looks like — no pressure, no obligation.
Book My Free First Inspection