Your second home, handled when you're not there.
Closing is the easy part. Then you own a house a thousand miles away and you do not know a single plumber, plow driver, or cleaner in the valley. That is the part I stay for.
- Coverage
- Vail, Breckenridge, Steamboat, Winter Park
- Cost to you
- No charge for introductions
- Referral fees
- None accepted
- Best time to start
- Before closing
The problem nobody warns you about
Buying the place is a different job, handled on the buyer representation services page.
Buyers spend months choosing the right property and about four minutes thinking about what happens after the wire clears. Then reality arrives: the furniture needs to get there, the place needs cleaning between visits, someone has to plow the driveway before you land in January, and the boiler will eventually fail on a Sunday in February while you are at work in Houston. Local owners solve this with a phone full of numbers built up over years. You do not have that, and building it from three states away through online reviews is genuinely hard — resort towns are small, the good operators are booked through word of mouth, and the ones with the best marketing are often not the ones you want. So the introductions are the service.
All of it is a carrying cost, so it belongs in your budget before you buy — the cost of ownership calculator puts management, cleaning, snow removal and maintenance into one monthly number.
Five categories, one phone call
Getting settled
- Movers and long-distance freight
- Furniture packages, delivery and installation
- Deep clean and move-in prep
- Locksmith, smart locks and keyless entry
- Internet, utilities and account setup
- Window coverings and blinds
Keeping it running
- Full-service property management
- Housekeeping and turnover cleaning
- Snow removal and plowing contracts
- Roof snow and ice dam management
- Landscaping and summer maintenance
- On-call handyman
- Boiler, radiant floor and HVAC service
- Hot tub and pool service
Protecting it while you're away
- Home watch and scheduled vacancy checks
- Freeze alarms and automatic water shutoff
- Security monitoring
- Insurance review and re-quoting
- Wildfire mitigation and defensible space
- Radon testing and mitigation
Making it earn
- Short-term rental management companies
- Rental licensing and permit filing
- Lodging tax registration and remittance
- Listing photography and copywriting
- Linen and amenity programs
- Guest supply restocking
Improving it
- General contractors and remodels
- Interior designers and furnishing
- Kitchen and bath renovation
- Decks, hot tubs and outdoor living
- Structural and mechanical engineers
- Permit and HOA architectural review support
An empty mountain house in February
A vacant home at altitude is a different risk profile than a vacant home in Phoenix. A furnace that quits during a cold snap, a power outage that outlasts the batteries, a slow supply-line leak behind a wall — any of them can turn into burst pipes and a five-figure remediation, and the difference between a bad week and a catastrophe is usually just how many days passed before somebody opened the door. This is why home watch is the first thing I bring up with out-of-state owners, ahead of the fun stuff. Scheduled interior checks on a set cadence, a freeze alarm and an automatic water shutoff, someone local with a key and the authority to act, and a plow contract signed in September rather than during the first storm. It is unglamorous, it costs a fraction of one claim, and almost nobody sets it up until after something has already gone wrong.
Three steps, no middleman markup
- 01
You tell me what came up
A text, an email, a call. The hot tub is throwing an error code. We are renting it out next season and need a manager. There is water in the crawlspace. Whatever it is, you do not have to figure out the right category first.
- 02
You get two or three specific names
Not a directory dump. Names, what each is good at, roughly what they charge, how booked they usually are, and what to ask them. If it is urgent I will say who to call first and who is likely to actually pick up.
- 03
You hire them directly
You contract with the vendor, at their rates. I am not in the middle of the money and I do not mark anything up. If it goes sideways, tell me — that is how the list stays worth having.
What this is, and what it isn't
What it is
- Warm introductions to local operators I would use myself
- Context on who fits your situation and what to ask
- A single point of contact who knows the valley
- Help sequencing what to set up before closing
- Free, and available whether or not you bought through me
What it isn't
- A property management company — I introduce you to those, I am not one
- A guarantee of any vendor's work, pricing, or availability
- A licensed trade — verify licensing and insurance yourself
- A referral-fee arrangement, I take no compensation from vendors
- A 24/7 emergency line — for emergencies call the vendor or 911 first
Vendor introductions are provided as a convenience. Alpine Tier and Craig Smith do not warrant the work, pricing, licensing, or insurance of any third-party service provider, and are not party to any agreement you enter into with them. Verify credentials independently.
Owner services questions
What does this cost me?+
Nothing. Introductions are part of working with me, not a separate service with a fee attached. You contract directly with whichever vendor you choose, at their rates, on their terms.
Do you take referral fees from these vendors?+
No. I do not accept compensation from the vendors I introduce you to. A recommendation is only worth something if it is not for sale.
Are these people vetted, or just a list?+
They are people I would use myself or have seen do good work in these towns. That said, I make introductions rather than guarantees. You are hiring them directly, and you should check licensing and insurance the way you would with any contractor.
What if I need something that isn't on the list?+
Ask anyway. The actual service is that you have one person to call who knows the town, rather than starting from a search engine three states away.
When should I start lining this up?+
Before closing, not after. Snow removal contracts get committed early in the fall, and the good property managers fill their portfolios.
Do I have to have bought through you?+
No. If you already own in these towns and are struggling to run it from out of state, get in touch.