What an empty house on this island actually needs.

Most of what goes wrong in a Kiawah house that nobody is living in is not dramatic. It is slow, it is humid, and it is found late. This page is what we would tell a friend who had just bought here and was about to fly home.

The year, and what it does to a closed house

February to April — pollen and damp

Oak pollen coats everything, and a house that has been shut holds the moisture behind it. Mold does not need a leak; it needs a closed house and a warm week. Humidity between 45 and 55 percent is the number that matters, and it has to be read rather than assumed.

June to November — named storms

The preparation is the easy half: furniture stowed, shutters fitted, generator run under load and fuel confirmed. The half that decides the cost is the walk afterwards. Water finds the one lifted shingle, and a week without anyone up the drive turns a repair into a claim.

December to February — hard freezes

Rare, short, and the most expensive thing that happens here. A supply line splits in an empty house and runs until someone opens the door. Somebody has to be on the island the night before, not the morning after.

All year — the quiet failures

A dehumidifier that stopped in March. A condenser losing charge. A weeping valve behind a cabinet. None announces itself, and all of them are cheap while they are still repairs.

What a visit should cover

At a minimum, every time, whatever the season: humidity read and logged; every room walked, ceiling corners and exterior walls first; under every sink, behind every appliance, and the pans under the water heater and air handler; HVAC and dehumidification confirmed running; the perimeter, the roof from the ground, and the crawlspace; irrigation and the grounds; and a written note with photographs the same day. Our full scope is published — thirty items, in public, before you call anyone.

How often

Weekly for a house standing empty for months at a time. Twice a month for a house used in season. The honest way to choose is not a package but a question: how long can water run in this house before somebody finds it?

What it costs

Ours is published: care begins at $525 a month, and most Kiawah houses fall between $650 and $825 depending on the size of the house, its systems, and how often we are in it. Work we bring in is billed at what the trade charged us — no markup and no referral cut. The fees in full, including a month with a $2,400 roof repair in it.

Five questions worth asking any company here

1. Do you carry out repairs yourselves, or take anything from the companies you call?
2. Who is actually in my house, are they your employee, and will it be the same person?
3. What do I receive after a visit — and can I see a real one before I sign?
4. How fast do you respond to water, and what happens if you cannot reach me?
5. How are keys and codes held, and is every entry logged?

Ours are answered in public: what we are and are not, a real visit note, and what happens when something goes wrong.

Kiawah, specifically

We are on the island full time and we hold a small number of houses, so after a named storm we walk every one of them the same day and you are told where yours is in the order before the storm arrives. Access, gate procedure and the trades who will actually come out here are the difference between a service that works on this island and one that works on paper.

Who to call on this island

Every company below works on Kiawah, holds 4.0 or better across its public reviews, and pays nothing to be listed. It is the list we keep for our own houses.

• HVAC 11
• Plumbing 4
• Roofing 10
• Electricians 3
• Pest Control 4
• Pool Services 3
• Landscaping & Irrigation 8
• Window/Pressure Washing 2
• All 35 trades