As owners of the barge we were faced with a dilemma in the spring of 2008. A family member who had been looking after the barge whilst we were abroad was unable to continue. With the new season just arround the corner and new bookings coming in every day we had to find some new caretakers fast.

 
Because we live and work on a yacht abroad, and are often out at sea and therefore unavailable for two weeks at a time, we knew that we would have to find some professional people that would care about the barge and the business as though it was their own. We needed someone that could handle a wide range of skills from standard housekeeping duties to typical "boat" related problems, and do it without having us on the phone every five minutes.

Following a number of meetings we thrashed out a deal with Steve and Ali that encompassed every aspect of what we required.

That way we could be sure that we could continue with our charter work abroad without worrying about what was happening back at IslandHarbour.

All this was achieved at what we regarded as sensible money.

I am very pleased to be able to say that now that the season has ended, things could not have been handled any better. Steve and Ali have been absolutely marvellous. Their care, professionalism, attention to detail, communication and overall management of what is a tricky property has been exemplary.
 
We are not sure at the moment if we are going to sell the barge or continue to run the business for another year. If we do decide to keep Rijnstroom 1V, and continue to offer her for holiday accommodation, then our first priority will be to secure the services of Steve and Ali, "The Island House Doctors".
 
If you are looking for someone to manage and take care of your property, then look no further because you have found them.
 
Rob Lowe & Elaine McNamara, owners Rijnstroom 1V

From our base in the Caribbean we spoke to many different people about the various challenges that we needed to have properly managed if the looming summer season on Rijnstroom 1V was not to be turned into a disaster. We found many good people that could all handle different parts of the process but no one that could take it all on. The problems we saw with that were lack of coordination between the various individuals and the overall cost.

During this time we had received some emails from "The House Doctor" offering their services to property owners and renters covering a number of subjects from cleaning to maintenance. We contacted them explaining who we were and what we wanted and arranged to meet at the barge when we returned to the UK in April 2008.