While you are in the big world, you must take care of your most precious possessions: your property and your animals. All sorts of service providers have sprung up to serve this growing market, however, agency-registered pet sitting and house sitting services can cost a great deal of money. Friends and family may join the fold and agree to keep house for you, but when someone is doing you a favor, you can be notoriously unreliable.

But don’t despair: there is a ‘third way’ to hire the services of a house sitter. Is

It is possible to find responsible and well-intentioned people who are willing to take care of your

house and animals for their own reasons. They do not expect to be paid for their

services will, in fact, pay you for your share of the utilities. The secret of this modern

The miracle lies in the power of the Internet to attract the right house sitter and the right

assignment to be home together at the right time.

Why do I need a house sitter?

Leaving your property vacant for any length of time is equivalent to asking

problem. Not only is your vacant home much more likely to be vandalized and stolen

but your home and contents insurance becomes null and void after your home is

empty for 30 (or sometimes 60) consecutive days. In the words of every home

security, police authority and insurance adviser: ‘Don’t do it!’

It may seem easier to lock up your house and just walk (or drive) instead of

have to go through the process of finding a house sitter, but your home is probably

your most valuable asset and, as such, deserves the protection that a house sitter

I can offer.

How often does something minor come up in your home that requires attention?

Your house keeper is available to arrange storm repairs.

damage, keep your pipes from freezing, keep leaves out of your drains, remove

snow, pay the bills to keep your services connected. The list goes on… And if you

have a house sitter keep your house running smoothly you don’t need to go

through the gibberish of locking up your house (sealing drains and installing

random light switches etc) and then turn it back on on your return.

Your animals will appreciate it if you hire a house sitter to take care of them.

and company in your usual safe environment while you are away. without a

resident pet sitter, the cost of outside care for your pets could rival the cost of your

public holiday! And taking them with you can be too stressful for them (and you).

What can I expect from my babysitter?

Home sitters are, by their very nature, flexible and willing to consider your needs in

in exchange for the privilege of free lodging in his home. they will wait

required to occupy your property for a specified period of time and to be present at

your house every night. You can also ask your house sitter to take care of any number.

of animals, to maintain your swimming pool, lawn, indoor plants and gardens, to forward any

mail and phone messages, to pay utility bills as needed (resolve your personal

part of the invoices at the end of the assignment) and to carry out any basic maintenance

that your home requires.

How do I find a free house sitter?

There are many thousands of house sitters currently advertising their

services in online house hosting directories.

If you type some generic search terms, such as “house sitters” or

“house sitting” (use double quotes to make the phrase search more precise) in

a search engine should be able to find a reputable and relevant website in the

Top 100 search results.

You may need to examine several promising-looking (and high-ranking) websites

before you find those that offer the kind of free matching service you’re looking for

for. Avoid those websites that are simply advertisements for individual house sitters.

commercial services or traditional home care agencies.

Free home search websites generally follow two basic business models.

practice. In the first fully online model, housekeepers pay an annual fee to create

your own available babysitter announces that she is online and searchable 24 hours a day.

Homeowners register with the site and then log in to search their database of sitters

Ads available for suitable candidates, by contacting your short list of house sitters

directly. Homeowners can also post their housekeeping task on these

sites and ask house sitters to email them via a blank contact form. A very good

site should endeavor to protect your anonymity until you are prepared to disclose your

contact details yourself.

In the second model, the website only serves as an advertisement for the business that is

performed by administrators ‘behind the scenes’. House sitters pay a fee (this

can range from US$95 to four times that amount) for one year

membership with the website. In return, the business owner agrees to include the

home sitter ads in an email or on a print mailing list that is sent to

home owners

Homeowners are lucky that these house-sitting websites are actively courting

your custom As a homeowner, you should be able to register on the website to

for free, as well as search the database of ads available to caregivers for free (or receive a

list of prospective house sitters in your mailbox or inbox, again free). However,

a very well established matchmaking service has the nerve to charge home

owners to access their database. You have to decide if you think it’s worth it

the small investment ($30 to read the announcements available to caregivers and another $60

to post your own 100 word babysitting ad) to use this well established site.

You might want to try your luck with the rest of the free services first, since you’ve

nothing to lose touring the different sites. However, if a site is very

poorly done with an illogical (or non-existent) navigation structure and a search function

that doesn’t seem to work avoid it. House keepers will stay away from such

mass service too.

What should I avoid when looking for a house sitter?

House-sitting horror stories exist. The most spectacular I have ever read (this could

be it fact or fiction) is the unfortunate owner of the house who unknowingly contracted the services

from a crack-addicted co-worker to take care of his house while he was away. He came

home to find his safe detonated: the thieves had taken everything. Short of

ask your coworker to take a drug test what could he have done to not fall

in this hole?

Plenty. The conscientious and responsible house sitter will have all the

documentation ready to show you that they are trustworthy and that they want

take care of your home and your animals for all the right reasons. This documentation could

include written references and the contact details of the arbitrators by email and telephone

(These people may be satisfied homeowners, landlords, or real estate agents.) They are going to

have also commissioned a recent police check on themselves to show that they are

not wanted in three states. A conscientious house sitter must be happy to work

through and sign a house occupation agreement with you, as well as give you a security

deposit (of not more than the equivalent of one month’s rent for a similar property in

your area).

Conclusion

In my job as a website editor and administrator I meet many lonely people.

online classified ads and abandoned applications on homeowners bulletin boards that

are looking for a nanny who will work for free in exchange for

accommodation. These types of requests are the Internet equivalent of “whistling in

the wind’ as the right people never see them. Fortunately, the existence of new

Online home hosting directories have changed all that.

In the old days (before the Internet brought us all together), a homeowner who

he needed someone to take care of his house and take care of Fluffy while they were in the

road would probably do the following: Call a home care agency, accept the

first willing employee (invisible) and grit your teeth and bear the cost of the service

(with most of the substantial daily fees going to the agency). Or they could ask

Aunt Dot or a neighbor to watch the fort for them. This kind of piecemeal solution

it never quite worked as the power outage defrosted the freezer (without anyone noticing).

Aunty Dot) and her lonely dog ​​howled all day and night (annoying the neighbor

but not enough to do anything about it).

The Internet has turned all that around. Now the ball is firmly at home

landlord courts, as they have realized they have a substantial asset (free

lodging) that they can exchange for housekeeping and pet care services. The key to

success is knowing where to find the right, enthusiastic and motivated person

take care of your home for your own reasons. So the next time you need someone

don’t just give a little whistle – get online – your perfect house sitter is just a quick

click (and a detailed email) away.