Concierge services offered for homeowners

For those wealthy enough to own multiple homes, protecting their Las Vegas dwelling while cooling off in other parts of the world is a breeze with the help of several local firms that specialize in watching over properties of absentee homeowners.

Vestta Estate Services, a local company named after Vesta, the Roman goddess of the hearth, was founded by Ted Rexing, a local architect, in 2009 “when banks stopped loaning, and the unemployment rate for architects was very high. I had clients over the years saying to me, ‘Thanks for the great project. Now who is going to take care of it?’ So we opened Vestta, which became a two-cylinder engine. We provide architecture and now concierge services, and they really dovetail and support each other.”

At the time Rexing, co-owner of ARTECH Architecture and Planning, said he did a study showing there were 55,000 homes in Clark County that had only part-time residents.

“I’m sure that number has changed since then. So there’s a tremendous need for the services of Vestta,” he said.

They provide five levels of services, Rexing explained, from “little to a lot. It’s based on level of need and amount of time invested.” Fees start at $240 a month. “Think of it as leasing a butler. Rather than incurring the full-time cost of staff, you can hire Vestta for as much as you need.” In this sense, it provides flexibility and money-saving options.

Clients have asked them to design wine cellars or take delivery of wines; have car collections shipped across the country; handle building inspections and utility hookups. He said they typically ask that they “cycle through the house once a week and make sure no pipes are broken; there’s no breach of security; no waste of utilities.”

As professional architects, they have a roster of licensed building professionals to call on should a repair need arise, Rexing said. “We can keep in touch with them around the world, keeping them in the loop on decisions, but they cannot do the footwork, so we are their eyes, their ears and professional advisers.”

Rexing said his clients are international business owners, money advisers and entertainers with whom he connects through philanthropic work and art circles. He has a background in painting and sculpture. He said Vestta has seen a lot of growth and long-term goals are to expand into six states.

John and Joan DeSantis bought a house in Sun City Summerlin this past year, but still have a home in Malibu, California. They asked their Realtor for help managing their Summerlin home until they ultimately move there permanently and were referred to Debbie Kaye, vice president of TimeWise Concierge &Lifestyle Management.

“It was like a godsend,” John DeSantis said. “We were very apprehensive about not being there very much. You never know … so to have somebody like Debbie go by and make sure the pool and landscaping are taken care of — she even pulls weeds herself! We couldn’t ask for anything more. She’s become a friend. For people who can’t be there or prefer to not be there in the summertime, it’s a terrific service they do.”

Kaye says a common problem is that pool or landscape service companies slack off when they know the home has an absentee homeowner, and in that case “I immediately contact the client and let them know. That happens a lot.”

TimeWise has been in business since 2002, providing a broad range of services.

“We worked with several real estate companies (that) had clients (needing) ‘wait services’ for people moving here who need someone to be there to wait for the furniture delivery or cable company, or just needed things done before they got here,” Kaye said.

She recalled a client who lives full-time in Oklahoma and has a Southern Highlands home that suffered damage to its ceiling due to moisture from a leaky air conditioner that almost caused the loss of a chandelier. After that, Kaye was hired.

Common requests are to handle mail, start the car, pre-arrival grocery shopping, and to detect and fix exterior problems before the homeowners association starts fining the owner.

For absent homeowners, services are provided weekly, biweekly or monthly, “whatever their preference is,” Kaye said. “A lot is a weekly or biweekly check of the home for leaks; that nothing has broken — the air conditioning is working, and the refrigerator is running. The kind of things you don’t think about when you’re not there. It would really spoil your vacation if you arrived for two weeks, and walk in and find your AC isn’t working. I have some residents who only come once a year. They know they can call me, and I can come over and do anything they need to have done.”

Her company doesn’t quote prices, but tailors each package to clients’ needs based on size, frequency and specific services desired.

Why not just rely on a neighbor or hire someone on a per-incident basis to save money?

According to Rexing, “first, we’re licensed professionals, and modern homes have a lot of sophisticated technology and automation that requires a professionally trained person to take care of. Some homes may not warrant the cost of a professional, but to people who have millions of dollars invested in their property, professionals are essential. Second, we are about peace of mind. If you’re traveling the world, like some of our clients, you have to have someone capable of making very good, cost-effective decisions while you’re gone. We provide that peace of mind.”

For DeSantis, it’s money well spent.

“She should be charging a lot more,” he said.