I own all of the houses except for Proudspire in Solitude. Both Lydia and Iona are present and accounted for but not the other two guys who are supposed to come with the Windhelm and Markarth pads. The Markarth place is bad-ass. If I would have known how cool that place was before it would have been the first house I purchased. It's easily the best house.

At any rate, no Housecarls in the aforementioned two places.

The reason may be because I took the Imperial side in the Civil War Quest before purchasing those two homes. It's the only thing that makes sense; or am I missing something? Any info is appreciated. Thanks.

P.S. I don't really care all that much that they're not there. I would like to have a choice of Housecarl species and gender anyway and I wouldn't have chosen either of the predetermined Housecarls they give you for those two homes.

P.S.S. If I would have known how blah and filthy the Windhelm pad was I would never have bought it. That ripped up, bloody corpse is still there as are all the bloodstains. I'll never visit the place again. But I guess it's consistent with the Skyrim ghetto that is Windhelm (someone tell them to get a public works division going).

Housecarls don't come with the houses, they will only be assigned to you if you are a thane. Make sure you hold the title in Eastmarch and the Reach.

You have to own the house and be thane of the area in order for them to be present in your homes. Check all the rooms as they can be anywhere.