Know the house is safe when you cannot be there

We set up the safety package as a tier of the Livable Plan, because a sensor nobody looks after eventually stops telling anyone anything. The crew that comes out on scheduled visits checks the devices while it's tightening rails and changing bulbs.

It's built for the son or daughter in another state who can't drop by, in a house where the danger fixes are already done. Monitoring runs through an outside technology provider, and you get its monthly cost in writing before you sign up.

The devices cover the time between visits, when nobody is there to notice the stove is still on or a pipe has started to drip. They also help the person living alone who wants a way to call for help without getting to a phone.

Fall detection and an emergency call button, for when your parent is on the floor. Motion and activity sensors that show the normal rhythm of the day, so a morning with no movement stands out. Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors that alert a phone as well as the house. Leak sensors under the sinks and beside the water heater. An automatic shutoff for the burner left on. A smart lock and a video doorbell, so family can see who's at the door and let help in without a key under the mat.

We set the system up so the right people get the alerts. A family member can check on the house from a phone, and an alert goes out when something needs a call. We walk the person living there through every device in plain words, so nothing in the house is watching them without their say.

You see the monthly monitoring cost in writing before you choose it, and nothing gets added without your approval. Sensors need batteries and an occasional test, so when the house is on a home maintenance plan the crew looks after them on every visit.

A sensor can tell you someone fell on the loose rug. It can't stop the fall. That's why the devices come after the assessment and the danger fixes, and the report says which devices are worth adding to your house and which it can do without.

We choose the devices together with the person who lives in the house. Sensors can show activity without any camera, and cameras stay out of private rooms unless the person wants one there. Everyone on the alert list is someone they agreed to. A device your mother resents tends to end up unplugged.

If the house already has smoke detectors, a doorbell camera or a smart speaker, we check what can be kept and connected, so you don't pay twice for the same thing.