Life & Work with Chris Uchacz of Brunswick County Beaches

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Uchacz.

Hi Chris, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My wife, Karen, and I moved from Salt Lake City, UT, to Ocean Isle Beach, NC, this past July. We chose to live at the beach as this is eventually where we would like to retire. Although I am not officially retired, I am retired from a 25+ year career in NCAA Athletics. Karen has spent most of her career in sales and customer service and works in the residential mortgage industry. We both grew up on the East Coast, so this is a homecoming for us to be closer to family and friends. We love working with people and the excitement around buying, owning, and renting homes, so starting up Coastal Home Watch & Concierge, LLC was perfect for us. I will mostly oversee the Home Watch portion of the business, but it’s always been a dream of Karen’s to run a Concierge service. We aim to continue to scale the business over the next several years while serving Ocean Isle Beach, Sunset Beach, and Holden Beach.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I never realized how much work starting your own business could be. It’s a 24/7, non-stop process grounded in marketing to get the word out while talking to anyone willing to listen. Concierge is a pretty common service, so not much explanation is needed. On the other hand, Home Watch is very popular in places like Florida and Arizona, but most people need to learn what it is. I spend a large part of my time educating people in our service areas and areas like Raleigh, where people live full time but own second homes here in Brunswick County. Home Watch is not Property Management and is not House Sitting. It is defined by the National Home Watch Association (NHWA) as “a visual inspection of a home and property, looking for obvious issues.” We are the “flip flops” on the ground for people who own second/vacation homes that are unoccupied for periods. Through regularly scheduled and customised home checks, we keep an eye out on the homeowners home and property while communicating everything is ok or that some issues may need immediate attention.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At Coastal Home Watch & Concierge, LLC, we proudly serve Ocean Isle Beach, Sunset Beach, and Holden Beach, NC. Our services are necessary and many people from the Raleigh, Charlotte, and Greensboro areas own second/vacation homes in our service area. Some homeowners who live out of state or even out of the country also own homes in our service areas.  The commonality is that these homes are often unoccupied for periods and susceptible to a variety of issues and potential damage. We also provide the same Home Watch and Concierge services for homeowners who live in our service area full-time but may leave their homes unoccupied, while going on vacation or visiting family.

An unoccupied home is unprotected and more susceptible to hurricane and storm damage, squatters, theft, vandalism, HVAC failure, water leaks leading to mold, pest, and rodent infestation, and much more. As the eyes and ears for homeowners, we provide customized and regularly scheduled home checks to proactively identify issues before they become costly and time-consuming to repair. If issues require attention, we can also manage contractors/vendors completing the repairs on behalf of the homeowner who may live several hours away, out of state, or even out of the country.

We also offer VRBO/Airbnb rental assistance, contractor/vendor liaison, arrival/departure services, pre/post storm services, package/mail/delivery services, emergency services, and a wide array of Concierge services. Some of our most popular Concierge services are shopping for groceries and beverages, stocking the fridge and pantry prior to the guests’ arrival; making restaurant or golf reservations; trash services; keyholder services; receiving packages and scheduling deliveries; and running general errands to name only a few.

We live in the community we serve, we are fulling insured and bonded, Nationally accredited by the national Home Watch Association, criminally background checked, vetted by the BBB, adhere to a gold standard of service, and are required to continuously educate ourselves in order to provide the best service we can to our homeowners.

Owning a home can be highly stressful and time-consuming. We understand this and have been there and done that! We pledge to alleviate the stress of owning a home while looking out for your best interests and always having your back. We are proud members of the National Home watch Association and the Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Homeowners know they can trust us to do as we say and to provide industry-leading service! Homeowners give us the keys to their homes and access to their property and trust that we will do what we say and provide the services they expect. Providing a gold standard of service is our goal. Referrals and word of mouth are critical to our business, and we want people in our community and service areas to know they can trust us and that we will provide a high level of service while protecting their homes and property.

Pricing:

• Home Watch – Call us to set up a free consultation and to create a customized plan to protect your home and property.
• Concierge – a very reasonable hourly fee for concierge services.
• Rental Assistance – Call us to set up a free consultation!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.coastalhomewatchconcierge.com
• Instagram: @coastalhomewatchconcierge
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coastalhomewatchconcierge