Our over-riding goal is to make home ownership at Windmill as easy and simple as possible. One major concern with buying a home in a new area, particularly a seasonal home, is finding the right people to take care of the property. I have owned homes in the immediate area for over 30 years and have identified and worked with the very best service providers. All service providers listed below have worked with me for at least five years and come with my highest recommendations. Currently, they take care of all Windmill properties. These people, Cristina, Robert, Karen, Julio, Poncho, Dave and more are truly worth their weight in gold.

Housekeeping:
Cristina and her two helpers have been cleaning my homes for over ten years. They are extraordinarily thorough, yet reasonably priced. Cristina does the best cleaning job of any housekeeper I’ve seen anywhere, including our homes in New York City, New Canaan and Nantucket.

Landscaping:
Landscape Maintenance is pretty simple in the desert, but it is really hard to find a reliable, capable service. Poncho, the owner of Sol Maintenance has done a great job for us for over 5 years with the same family crew year in and year out. They automatically handle weeding, pruning, removal of dead material, pre-emergent week spraying, fertilizing, irrigation maintenance, raking of the aggregate gravel and much more. If you want landscape design and new plantings, Poncho and his team is available to help. Sol Maintenance is on the property every other Friday morning.

General Property Management:
Robert and his employees have taken care of my homes for almost thirty years. If something breaks, Robert fixes it. If he can’t fix it he knows who can and gets them out to the house very quickly. They handle plumbing and electrical issues, changing ceiling lights without being asked, water softener installation and salt delivery, HVAC maintenance – changing filters automatically, managing periodic spraying for insects, pool equipment maintenance and weekly pool/spa cleaning by Angel, painting and staining, light remodeling, power washing, lock changes, weekly house checking by Karen when the house is unoccupied. They can even professionally hang your art for you.

Auto Management:
I am not a full-time resident of Arizona, so I need someone to watch over my small car collection while I’m away. I’ve worked with Julio for five years now and he can handle anything from simple, general maintenance of a single vehicle to hands on management of auto collections. Fluid service, DMV inspections, tires, trickle charging, cleaning and detailing, not to mention full-on restoration and repairs. Award-winning Concourse Show Preparation. Julio found and enhanced my 1960 Porsche 356 T5B, restored my show winning 1965 Alfa step nose and is currently finishing restoration of my 1962 Alfa Romeo Guilietta Spider. We also have a 1971 Auto Delta GTAm in the works. Julio was born of Italian parents in Argentina, grew up in the LA car culture and retired from 3M a few years ago. He knows more about cars than anyone I’ve ever met.

Window Cleaning:
Arizona is a somewhat dusty climate. Occasionally birds, usually Gambel’s Quail, fly into the windows leaving an interesting and detailed body print. (They are tough, bounce off, get up and shake their heads and fly away). Carefree Clarity cleans our windows 3-4 times a year. Robert’s crew schedules the appointment, lets them in and out and makes the payment.

Bar-b-Que:
BBQ Doctor repairs and details our BBQs. They provide a fabulous detailed cleaning for $3-400. Robert usually arranges the cleaning and makes the payment.

Ironing:
The Ironing Lady picks up and delivers our cotton sheets, shirts, slacks, etc. We wash, Karen irons. This is a very luxurious service. $9/pound.

Internet, audio-video, home automation, security system:
We met Dave a couple of years ago after having dealt with two of the bigger local companies. Dave can do all the big guys do with a critical difference: when service is needed or you just have a question on using the equipment, Dave answers the phone seven days a week and comes over as quickly as required. He lives 6 miles to our west. He’s a joy to work with since the big companies can take a week or two to get out to address a given problem.