- Our story

The people who keep an eye on your home.

A small family business, built from something that happened to us — and the simple realization that most empty homes have no one to catch the small problem before it becomes a large one.

A house sitting empty is fine - right up until it isn't.

Not long ago, a family home close to me stood empty for a few months while I was away handling things. A small water leak started while no one was there. Nothing dramatic — but no one was catching it, either. A neighbor happened to notice and let me know, and I drove down to deal with it, spending a day I'd set aside for something else fixing a problem that had been quietly getting worse.
I got lucky. I had a neighbor who noticed.
It got me thinking about all the homes around McCall that sit quiet for most of the year. The people who own them are here to enjoy the lake and the mountains a few times a season — not to spend their visits building the kind of neighbor relationships that would give them a set of local eyes on the place. So when a pipe lets go in January, or a critter gets in, or a storm does something to the roof, there's often no one to catch it until the damage is done and the bill is large.
That's the gap we fill. We're the local eyes on your home when you can't be here — so a small problem stays small, and you find out from a photo in your inbox instead of a disaster in the spring.

What we believe

Honesty, even when it’s the hard answer
We'll never sell you a problem you don't have, or soften one you do. If your roof has two years left, we'll tell you it has two years left — not talk you into a new one. We don't mark up the contractors we bring in, so we have no reason to inflate anything. The truth is the whole point of hiring someone you trust.
Everything documented
You get a dated report with photos after every visit — what we checked, what we found, and proof we were there. No "trust me, it's fine." You see your home for yourself, every time.
Your home, treated like our own
That's not a slogan for us. This business exists because it happened to us — and we know the difference between someone who's just checking a box and someone who actually cares whether your home is all right.

Who we are

Keepers of the Hearth is a family business — the three of us — and between us we've spent our careers being trusted with things that matter. That's not a marketing line; it's genuinely the common thread. Decades of building and fixing homes, work that demanded precision and discretion, and a plain habit of doing the honest thing. It's the same care we bring to your home.

Charles

Founder & lead

I'm a longtime Idahoan who chose Valley County as home. I grew up working alongside my father on every kind of home project — roofing, repairs, whatever needed doing — for the better part of twenty years. I've since taken a home from a raw basement to fully finished myself: framing, electrical, plumbing, ductwork, tile, cabinetry, the works. I'm not a licensed electrician or plumber, and when your home needs one I'll bring in a pro — but having done the work myself, I know how a house is put together, and I know what I'm looking at when something's off.

I also spent a season as a certified pest control technician, which trained my eye to spot an infestation early, before it spreads through a house that's sitting empty.

Mostly, people hire me because I'm honest and I get things done. I've built my working life on doing the things other people would rather avoid — the hard repair, the awkward conversation, the honest answer said plainly whether it's welcome or not. I'm a military veteran, and the habits the service drilled into me — show up, do it right, tell the truth, take responsibility — are the same ones I bring to looking after your home.

Sarah

Inspections & home readiness

Sarah spent most of her career in software development, including sensitive, high-trust work where precision and discretion weren't optional. She is thorough to the point that nothing gets overlooked — the kind of person who lives by her checklists and works a task all the way through, no matter how tedious it gets.

Which is exactly what you want in the person walking through your home. When Sarah does an inspection or readies your place for your arrival, every item gets checked, every time.

Penny

Office, books & scheduling

Penny keeps the whole operation running and your information handled with care. She's spent her career as a contract office manager — bookkeeping, accounting, the behind-the-scenes work — often brought in specifically to set things right, quietly and carefully. Discretion is second nature to her.

She's the one making sure your billing is clear, your visits are scheduled, and your business stays your business.

Meet us

A short call, one walk of your property, and a plan. No obligation, no pressure.

Donnelly, Idaho 83615
hello@keepersofthehearth.com
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