Property checks
Scheduled eyes on the property, documented observations and a clear path for escalating issues.
Copake Lake · February
Property care / The 45-minute promise
45 minutes. On site. Guaranteed.
When something goes wrong at a house you are two hundred miles from, the only thing that matters is how fast somebody who can fix it is standing in it. You reach a person, not voicemail. You get a plan in writing within the hour. Miss it, and your next month is on me.
Matthew Nolan · New York Real Estate Salesperson · Houlihan Lawrence
45 minYou reach a person
Not a voicemail, not a form. Matthew — 7am to 9pm every day, and a dedicated after-hours line overnight.
1 hourYou have a plan in writing
Who is coming, when, what it will cost, and what you need to decide.
On siteAs fast as the right person can get there
Sometimes that is Matthew in twenty minutes. Sometimes it is the best plumber in the county tomorrow at seven — because he is the best, and that is the honest answer.
On site — by county
45 minThe core
Copake · Copake Lake · Hillsdale · Craryville · Ancram · Claverack · Hudson
1 hourColumbia County
Chatham · Ghent · Kinderhook · Austerlitz · Taghkanic · Stuyvesant
2 hoursThe Catskills
Windham · Hunter · Tannersville · Phoenicia
Answered in 45 minutes wherever you are. The drive is the drive — so it is published rather than glossed over. Miss it and your next month is on me. See the territory map →
What that actually means
The list goes on.
- A pipe bursts in February.
- Your renters are locked out.
- Your renters are lost on a back road with no cell service.
- They need picking up from the airport.
- The Airbnb listing needs new photography and you are on assignment abroad.
- The dock needs putting in. Then pulling out.
- You are back in Brooklyn and someone has to let the internet installer in.
- And whatever happens next.
For owners who are not always here
Your escape should not become another job.
Second homes and investment properties have a way of producing first-home responsibilities: weather, systems, vendors, deliveries, turnovers and the small details that determine whether a weekend starts smoothly.
Matthew builds a right-sized stewardship plan around the property, how it is used and what matters most to its owner—then becomes the local point of connection for the agreed work.
Maintenance
Coordinate approved local vendors, seasonal work and the follow-through that remote ownership requires.
Guest readiness
Help align arrivals, turnovers and presentation so the property feels considered before the door opens.
Marketing + reporting
Support property presentation and keep owners informed with concise, useful updates.
The bench
Vetted, local, and they pick up.
The promise survives Matthew being at a closing because it was never only Matthew.
- Plumbers & HVAC
- Electricians
- Locksmiths
- Well & septic
- Snow removal & plowing
- Tree & storm clearance
- Roofers & chimney
- Generator service
- Pool & dock
- Turnover cleaning
- Landscaping
- Pest control
- Appliance repair
- Security & alarm
- Photographers
- Construction oversight
- Vendor management
The part nobody else offers
Sometimes the problem isn't the house. It's the four people arguing about the house.
Renters who want a refund. An owner who wants them out. A contractor who wants paying. Someone has to stand in the middle and absorb it until everyone can live with the outcome. That is the job. I will be the punching bag.
The off-season play
The kids are back at school. The house is empty.
Which makes September the right month to do the work you cannot do in July. Scope it, fund it, run it — and open next season with a house worth more than the one you closed up. Old and colonial houses reward preparation more than almost any other stock, and there are lending tools that fund the work before a sale and are repaid at closing.
When the day comes
Photography and staging are included when you sell with Matthew.
The person already paid to look after a house is the person who knows it best — every repair, every season, every quirk. Selling it should not start from zero.
What's my home worth?The stewardship plan
Built around the house—and the owner.
- 01
Walk the property
Understand systems, access, existing vendors, owner priorities and known pressure points.
- 02
Define the scope
Agree on cadence, responsibilities, communication, response expectations and exclusions.
- 03
Connect the details
Coordinate the approved work and create a reliable rhythm for checks, readiness and reporting.
- 04
Adapt with the seasons
Review what the property needs as weather, occupancy and owner plans change.
Local presence
Someone who knows the place—not only the checklist.
Based on Copake Lake, Matthew pairs local familiarity with a marketer’s eye for presentation and a real estate professional’s understanding of how stewardship protects both experience and long-term value.
Start a property conversation →Clear expectations
The right scope, in writing.
Every engagement begins with a property review and a written service plan. Services that involve brokerage activity, rental transactions, client funds, licensed trades or specialized work are provided only through appropriately authorized parties and agreements.
Service availability, response times, fees and third-party costs depend on location, property needs and the final written scope. Property stewardship does not replace insurance, security monitoring, emergency services or licensed trade inspections.
Start the conversation
Tell Matthew about your property.
A few useful details help make the first conversation more productive. Your inquiry is delivered directly to Matthew’s Houlihan Lawrence email.
Owner questions
Clarity before the keys.
How fast can Matthew be on site if something goes wrong?
Property care clients reach a person — not voicemail — within 45 minutes, any day, with a dedicated after-hours line overnight. Within the hour there is a written plan: who is coming, when, what it will cost and what the owner needs to decide. On site: 45 minutes across Copake, Copake Lake, Hillsdale, Craryville, Ancram, Claverack and Hudson; about an hour elsewhere in Columbia County; ninety minutes in Dutchess County; two hours in the Catskills. If the promise is missed, the client's next month is free.
A pipe burst at my Copake house in February and I am in Brooklyn. What happens?
You call. Within 45 minutes you are speaking to Matthew. Within the hour you have a plan and a plumber from a vetted local bench is dispatched. Matthew is on site to meet them, photograph the damage for insurance, shut off what needs shutting off and coordinate the dry-out. You get photographs, not reassurance.
Can someone let a contractor or the internet installer into my second home?
Yes. Meeting trades, deliveries and installers at the door — and staying until the work is checked — is a routine part of a property care plan.
My renters are locked out, or lost on a back road with no cell service. Who do they call?
Matthew. Renters get a local number that is answered, and a person who knows the roads. Playing the go-between for owners, guests and contractors is part of the job — sometimes the problem is not the house but the four people arguing about it.
Who puts the dock in and takes it out on Copake Lake?
Seasonal dock installation and removal, and the winterising and opening-up around it, are coordinated through the same local bench and scheduled without the owner having to be here.
Can you handle Airbnb turnovers and new listing photography while I am away?
Yes, where the property and local rules permit it — turnover cleaning, guest readiness and photography are coordinated locally. Reservations and other regulated rental activity are handled only under an appropriate written arrangement.
Which trades are on the bench?
Plumbers and HVAC, electricians, locksmiths, well and septic, snow removal and plowing, tree and storm clearance, roofers and chimney, generator service, pool and dock, turnover cleaning, landscaping, pest control, appliance repair, security and alarm, photographers, construction oversight and vendor management.
What does property care include, and what does it not?
A right-sized written plan: scheduled checks after storms and freezes, maintenance and vendor coordination, guest readiness, seasonal work, and concise owner reporting. It does not replace insurance, security monitoring, emergency services or licensed trade inspections, and brokerage, rental and licensed-trade work is provided only through appropriately authorised parties.
A more effortless upstate home