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Hit reset on cottage season

Cottage care for GTA owners, run from North Bay

Updated

Home Resetters Property Services Inc. is an incorporated property-services company that runs a cottage-care membership for owners who live in the GTA and keep a cottage up north, alongside its handyman business in Toronto. From January 2027 the founder is based in North Bay and does the visits in person: scheduled checks with a timestamped photo report after every one, spring openings and fall closings, and a local Responsible Person for rentals wherever the municipal rule can be met.

Reserve a spot See membership prices Call (416) 474-0156

Who it is for

You live in Toronto or somewhere in the GTA. The cottage is a long drive north, on a lake in Nipissing, Temagami, the Almaguin Highlands or around Huntsville. You cannot drive up every time the forecast turns, your insurer has views about empty buildings in winter, and you may rent the place out for a few weeks a year.

The District of Muskoka's 2023 Second Home Study is the best published picture of who owns cottages up north. The Golden Horseshoe is the most common permanent home of Muskoka's second-home owners, 48 percent of the seasonal population is 55 or older, and 11 percent of second homes are rented out, for 7.7 weeks a year on average. We found no similar study for Nipissing, Temagami or the Almaguin Highlands.

The membership is for owners who want someone to look, report and fix while they are away, with a record of every visit.

Before you decide

  1. The results are in, Muskoka’s 2023 Second Home Study is complete, District Municipality of Muskoka
  2. Second home study results are in, Doppler (Huntsville)

How it works

  1. 1

    Reserve a spot

    Send the reservation form: where the cottage is, how it is heated, and whether you rent it out. Nothing is charged on the site.

  2. 2

    We confirm

    We confirm within one business day and send a Square invoice with a deposit that is applied to your first season.

  3. 3

    We agree the plan

    The tier, the check cadence, the opening and closing windows, keys and access, and who to call if something is wrong.

  4. 4

    Visits on schedule

    Each visit ends with a timestamped photo and note report sent to you, so you can see the cottage from the city.

  5. 5

    Problems handled

    We call you first. Small repairs are done on the visit for Seasons and Host members; anything bigger is quoted in writing, with licensed trades named.

Three tiers

Working names and inclusions; prices are being set and will be published on the pricing page.

Prices and what each tier includes

  • Watch

    Price: TBD

    For: Owners who rarely visit in winter. The 72-hour cadence matches the strictest insurer wording we found.

    Scheduled checks with a timestamped photo and note report after every visit, plus storm and freeze checks.

    Reserve Watch

  • Seasons

    Most owners

    Price: TBD

    For: Most cottage owners.

    Watch plus spring opening and fall closing, small repairs on the visit and trade coordination with written quotes.

    Reserve Seasons

  • Host

    Price: TBD

    For: Owners who rent their cottage out.

    Seasons plus a named local Responsible Person where the municipal rule can be met, guest issues and turnover coordination.

    Reserve Host

The cottage year

What happens when, for a member on the Seasons tier in the primary ring.

  1. Spring March to May

    A look after the thaw, then the opening: water on, pump and water heater started in order, alarms tested, docks and decks walked.

  2. Summer June to August

    Checks while you are away, small repairs on the visit, and guest issues and cleaner turnovers for Host members.

  3. Fall September to November

    The closing: water off and drained, or the heat set where your policy asks; traps protected; everything photographed.

  4. Winter December to February

    Checks every 72 hours to monthly, extra visits after storms, outages and deep cold, and snow-load checks as an add-on.

Where we work

Everything is measured from North Bay, where the founder is based from January 2027. Distance decides what we can promise, so we describe our area as two rings.

The primary ring: under about 75 minutes

Routine checks at any cadence, every 72 hours included, plus openings and closings, in:

Powassan, Nipissing Township and Restoule, south of the city, are in the same ring, and Magnetawan is at its edge.

The second ring: 85 to 125 minutes

Openings, closings, monthly checks where they can be batched, and visits after storms, in:

Out of range from North Bay

Muskoka Lakes, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Haliburton County are two to three hours away, so we do not serve them. They come into range only if our base ends up in the Barrie area instead.

  • Lake Nipissing and North Bay

    Primary ring: routine checks

    Our home ground: routine checks, openings and closings on Trout Lake, Callander Bay, Lake Nosbonsing, West Nipissing's north shore and Lake Talon.

  • Temagami

    Primary ring: routine checks

    Checks, openings and closings in Temagami village and on the Highway 11 lakes, about 73 minutes north of North Bay; Lake Temagami islands through a boat partner.

  • Almaguin Highlands north

    Primary ring: routine checks

    Routine checks, openings and closings from South River to Burk's Falls and Magnetawan, 42 to 70 minutes south of North Bay along Highway 11.

  • Kearney, Perry and McMurrich/Monteith

    Second ring: openings, closings and storm visits

    Openings, closings and monthly checks on Sand, Perry, Doe and Bear lakes, 85 to 100 minutes from North Bay at the south end of the Almaguin Highlands.

  • Huntsville and Lake of Bays

    Second ring: openings, closings and storm visits

    Openings, closings and storm visits from North Bay, 95 to 125 minutes away, plus the Responsible Person role for Lake of Bays rentals.

A photo report after every visit

The report is the product: proof the visit happened, what we saw, and what needs doing. Brokers advise owners to keep photos of shut-off valves and thermostat settings; a season of reports is that record, visit by visit.

  • Date and time on every photo
  • Each room, and the outside of the building
  • The thermostat and the temperature the cottage is holding
  • The main water shut-off as we left it
  • Anything wrong, photographed first, with a short note on what we did and what it needs next

Why owners trust us with the keys

Read before the season

All guides

Hit reset on cottage season

Reserve a spot for next season

Tell us where the cottage is and how you use it. We confirm within one business day and send a Square invoice with a deposit that is applied to your first season.

Reserve a spot See membership prices Call (416) 474-0156

Or email help@homeresetters.ca. We answer every day, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.