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Successful House Sitting – 10 Top Tips
As the founder of HouseSit Match I have seen successful house sitting from all sides of the equation, as both housesitter and homeowner. More importantly as the owner of the platform for over 10 years now I have been privileged to witness many housesits learning what success looks like from many others around the world. In this article I can share some top tips based on the wonderful examples and stories from our community, of how house sitting can be terrifically successful for all parties. Read on to learn more.
What does Successful House Sitting Look Like
In general successful house sitting is the careful care and management of a home and property and pets while the owner is away, by a resident housesitter. On a housesitting platform like HouseSit Match no money changes hands between the housesitter and the homeowner, it is a simple exchange of services for mutual benefit, like good old fashioned barter facilitated online.
Photo by Jenny Kaye
In this section I am going to share a few of the successful house sitting stories that were enabled through HouseSit Match over the last 10 years. The stories are anonymised but I hope the ways people have been successful will come through each story.
What do Homeowners Look for to Ensure a Successful House Sitting
Housesitters keep an empty home safe and secure
Some years ago we had a homeowner register with us to find a long term house sitters to care for her father’s French property, her father had recently passed away in the US. The property had stood empty for a while and due to a lengthy French probate it was likely to stand empty for some months more. We found a housesitter happy to stay for up to one year in the empty property, to keep the house safe and secure while the probate process wheels turned.
The housesitter loved her stay in the French home, she learned French over the 11 months that she was resident and made some great friends locally whom she visits to this day.
Photo by jackmac34
Happy and healthy pets cared for at home by resident sitters
One of our expat homeowners who lived in Spain contacted us to find a trusted housesitter through our network to care for her two Yorkshire Terriers while she was away from home for a month. The butler was not happy to be seen walking the dogs, so she needed a housesitter to maintain the pets’ routine, which was very important for the pets and their owner.
Our housesitter arrived and was delighted to find two adorable pooches to care for, a lovely home on a golf course and a car and butler at their disposal! Clearly this was a very successful house sitting for all involved.
Pets routines maintained according to the owner’s instructions
One of our homeowners had two working Cocker Spaniels, one very old at 16 years and stuck in his ways, and one very young at 18 months old dog in training. The owner was very clear that both needed their routine to be maintained.
The housesitter was a digital nomad and was at the house most of the time, except for the two daily walks which she maintained on a daily basis as instructed. The housesit gave her time to focus on some serious work away from her usual distractions at home. This was a successful house sitting for all concerned.
House and garden plants watered and maintained
A couple of homeowners in Spain were also very keen gardeners and needed housesitters to water their garden terraces. Leaving their home for a holiday in the Summer meant they needed to find experienced gardeners who were also housesitters. to maintain their carefully nurtured gardens in the heat of a Spanish Summer.
A retired professional couple, also keen gardeners, volunteered to do some garden sitting or tomato sitting as it is sometimes known for the pleasure of discovering a new part of Southern Spain.
Exchange services offering free accommodation to save money
When a homeowner has several pets the prospect of paying for professional holiday petsitting or kennels is eye watering in price.
A home with several pets, of varying ages and maturity and degrees of separation anxiety is better served all round with a housesitter caring for them in their own home. A last minute housesitter volunteered to care for this family or pack of dogs in the Cotswolds UK, and the coop of hens with recently hatched chicks to be nurtured, fed and watered. The resident housesitter saved the owner hundreds of pounds in pet care costs, and delivered a successful house sitting.
What Home and Pet owners Look for in a Housesitting Platform
Most of our homeowners at HouseSit Match have told us over the last 10 years that these are the things they look for in a housesitting platform, to help them prepare for a successful house sitting. Here’s the summary check list:
- checked housesitters
- a good selection of sitters with pet care experience
- collaborative housesitters happy to help with caring for the home and property
- information about the housesitter background
- support when the homeowner needs help online
- convenience provided by the online system
- value for money.
For House Sitters
Enjoy affordable travel on a fixed budget
At HouseSit Match we have many house sitter members who are looking for affordable travel and most have experienced successful house sitting gigs all over the world and cut their accommodation costs out of the equation by caring for pets and homes in exchange for accommodation.
After 35 years working as IT professionals a couple of our housesitters wanted to experience long term travel and to visit more countries in Europe than they had previously had visited on holidays. They took a year’s sabbatical to travel from both with the option to return, and tested out their idea of housesitting locally at first. After two local petsits, they joined our housesitting platform and secured their first two housesits in the UK to start, then two more further afield in Europe. After one year they had visited the UK and 22 countries in Europe cutting accommodation costs dramatically by housesitting.
Discover new locations by living like a local
One of the best advantages of housesitting for a housesitter is the opportunity to live like a local, enjoying the location from a deeper position within a neighbourhood home, than if they were staying at an anonymous hostel in a busy town or city. This is often reported as a real advantage of a successful house sitting.
One of our housesitters stepped into a petsit in Northern France drawn initially by the attraction of the the local history and the Knights Templar Fort that was in mid renovation. After her first experience caring for four dogs and a coop of hens in Ile de France, our housesitter returned not once but three times to the same location, always housesitting. She found so much to discover within an hours drive of the housesit. She was not untypical of returning housesitters who discover the benefits of living like a local and finding out more about a location by living in a housesit and guided by the owner. For her it was a very successful house sitting, on every visit.
Spend time caring for pets in their home by petsitting for free
One of the great joys for some housesitters is spending time with pets they cannot have in their own home. Housesitters often choose to petsit for the types of animals they love, whether they are cats, dogs or horses. A young couple who wanted to travel and loved riding but were unable to afford to keep horses at home found a housesit for a stable of horses. They loved the experience of caring for two mares and their foals, maintaining their routines and exercising the mares every day.
Enjoy active working holidays in the comfort of a real home
For the young couple this was the perfect working holiday by housesitting and caring for the horses while the homeowners were away for a couple of months. They committed to petsitting for free and secured free accommodation in exchange. It was a win win for both parties and a very successful house sitting.
Exchange services by offering your time and care in home and petsitting for free accommodation
What house and petsitters look for in a housesitting platform
What most of our housesitters ask from us as a housesitting platform for successful house sitting, is a great list of fun housesits, some with pets and some without, some short term housesits, and some long, and above all they want to feel the site is managed and safe with all members checked for security, and all of this we endeavour to deliver. Here is a check list:
- really collaborative homeowners
- a good selection of housesits some with pets some without
- friendly homeowners happy to be good hosts and guides to the local area
- information about the home, amenities, public transport and responsibilities
- support when they need help online or someone to talk to about a situation
- convenience provided by the online system
- value for money.
Top 10 Tips to Ensure you Enjoy Successful House Sitting
Photo by Beverley Belury
- Meet and interview the other party – if you cannot meet in person organise a video call or telephone call to spend time discussing the brief and learning about the other party. This is as important for housesitters as it is for homeowners to ensure a successful house sitting
- Prepare for the first meeting – take time to prepare a list of all the questions you might like answered, to learn more about each other and the housesitting agreement between you.
- Communicate and clarify the agreement – establish an agreement on the terms between you – document the details of the arrangement for the dates, duration of the housesit, and if pets are involved.
- Detail the responsibilities for the pets – if there are pets resident in the home ensure there is a clear brief for the housesitter so that they know the routines for food and exercise and if any medication is required.
- Describe and detail any routines for the house and property – it is important to communicate the requirements of agreed routines to care for the home and property. Be clear to manage expectations on both sides, it makes for a good arrangement.
- Pet care and veterinary support – If there are pets on the property ensure the sitter knows what to do in a health emergency and who to contact. Ensure an emergency telephone number is made available, for the veterinary surgery and a local friend who will help if needed.
- Pet food provisions – pet owners should always leave food provisions for the pets or ensure there is access to the specified foods and materials should they run out during the housesit. Housesitters should not have to worry about pet supplies to ensure a successful house sitting.
- Prepare a book of the housesit – detail all the information about the maintenance of the home, the garden and all the maintenance contacts the housesitter might need. The housesitter should be familiar with this information before the homeowner leaves.
- Emergency contacts – Ensure each party has emergency contacts, just in case. If you have the numbers you are prepared just in case.
- Regular communications – agree how often the housesitter and homeowner communicate over the housesit, and maintain that communication.
What it Takes to Ensure a Successful House Sitting – In Summary
If between you both as housesitters and homeowners you try to follow these top 10 tips to each housesit you will do everything you can to ensure a successful house sitting.
At HouseSit Match we work hard to listen to our members, both homeowners and housesitters. We endeavour to support them as often and in every way we can to ensure they all have successful house sits. We provide 24/7 veterinary support helpline for our clients to call for specialist help, when they need it. We all housesit ourselves and we have housesitters in our home to experience the process and enjoy the experience. As the founder of the housesitting platform my wish is that every active member enjoys a successful house sitting every time.
One thing is clear, that to ensure you deliver a successful house sitting as a house sitter or enjoy a great housesitting experience as a homeowner you must prepare, communicate and try to accommodate the other partner for the housesit and pet sit experience. Be as clear as you can, as communicative as you can, and as hospitable as you can and who knows, perhaps you’ll make new friends as a result of your successful house sitting..
Further reading for anyone wanting to ensure a successful house sitting
At HouseSit Match we always try to share useful and informative blogs like this one on ‘Why housesit’ is a good question to start with. Read these article to learn some advice about housesitting and petsitting.
Preparing for a housesitter – 5 Top Tips
Top dogsitting tips for beginners
