Women-run group keeps watch on Minnesota cabins, lake homes while owners are away

Terri Bristlin-Johnston and her husband once returned to their cabin in the Annandale lakes area — home away from home — to find it wasn't how they left it.

"We looked out on the lake and said, 'Where's the fish house?'"Bristlin-Johnston said.

Stolen was the answer, and its disappearance made the Becker, Minn., resident realize that when cabin owners are away for the season — or even just a weekend — their property is vulnerable. Her subsequent search for a home watch service in the area came up empty, so she took matters into her own hands: Bristlin-Johnston started her own business.

Now, Bristlin-Johnston is part of a group of women vigilantes looking after people's homes and cabins while they're away. As members of the Minnesota Home Watch Collaborative, each woman runs her own home watch business and fans out to different parts of the state while sharing administrative resources with each other as needed.

The women said home watch services are more common in southern states such as Florida, Texas and Arizona but are starting to gain momentum locally. In addition to Minnesota's strong cabin culture, the state has an estimated 44,000 snowbirds, according to a 2015 Minnesota Board of Aging survey.

"It's just becoming an industry here," member Laura Schuh said. "It can be a real stress point if you can't enjoy your time away."

Filling a need

Beyond cabin owners and snowbirds, clients include those traveling for extended periods. Owners of corporate relocation properties and real estate agents with home listings also employ home watchers.

Collaborative member Tamara Nugteren said property owners typically seek someone to make regular stops, maintain a presence to deter crime, respond to weather events and thwart potential emergencies. Members can also act as keyholders to let in a contractor for a home improvement project or first responders in an emergency.

"Most people know a neighbor or might have adult children nearby who can do this," Nugteren said. "[But if some event] such as a tree falls on your roof, that's a big ask."

Each collaborative member has accreditation through the National Home Watch Association, a leading program that trains, insures, bonds and background checks its members.

When looking after an unoccupied home or cabin, watchers work off a checklist that includes ensuring doors and windows are locked and major mechanical systems are operating as expected. In Minnesota, that also includes "making sure that the furnace is on and running at the agreed temperature," Bristlin-Johnston said.

According to the national association, home watch services start at $65 then climb depending on the size of the property, how frequent visits are and time spent for each visit. Each home watcher might offer additional á la carte services such as shoveling snow, watering plants or stocking the refrigerator.

"Everything is custom," Schuh said.

Joining forces

Nugteren recalled how she started her home watch business in 2022 after searching for a service for family members and finding how scarce it was in the Midwest. Nugteren, who also runs a kayak rental business and was looking for a job in the offseason, liked that fall and winter happened to be the busiest times for home watchers as business from snowbirds increases.

"If people looked for a similar business three or four years ago, they really would have had a hard time finding anything," she said, recalling how she could only find two accredited home watch services in Minnesota through the national association.

According to the National Home Watch Association, there are now eight accredited Minnesota home watch businesses. Of those, five are also Minnesota Home Watch Collaborative members.

"It's a central place for someone to find a home watch company provider [in their area]," Nugteren said. "And another reason why we started the collaborative is if we want to advertise, it's very expensive for a small business. We can pool together to reach an audience whereas we wouldn't be able to afford it on our own."

The collaborative members also try to complement each other's businesses geographically.

Nugteren's area includes Edina, St. Louis Park, Minnetonka and other west metro cities while Schuh takes on south and southwest suburbs. Another member, Ana Cantell, covers the north metro and parts of St. Paul. Further out, Bristlin-Johnston has the northwest metro and central Minnesota, which includes Zimmerman, Annandale and St. Cloud. Meanwhile, another member, Michelle Lenertz, covers Alexandria and the surrounding lakes areas.

The members started reaching out to each other asking for business advice, and that's how the idea for the group came to be. It was a happy coincidence they all just happened to be women.

"We found each other organically, and this just formed to provide a great support system," Bristlin-Johnston said. "I think for a lot of us, this is a second chapter, a new chapter. It just happened that way that we started talking, and we clicked, and we understand kids and busy lives."