A new way to see the world on a budget!
We first heard about the idea of house sitting from friends who had sold their house, and set off around Australia for 12 months. They were mostly housesitting for their very large family and were doing odd jobs to earn some money along the way. They found that after 12 months family members had passed on their name to friends, and that were beginning to establish an network of people that were wanting to book them ahead to do house and animal sits. They ended up having a well-planned schedule that took them around Australia for four years as full-time house sitters.
Our travelling has changed from wanting to move quickly to see a lot, to a slower paced travel, where we have a desire to stay longer in an area and to see a place through the eyes of a local . This prompted us to look more carefully at the idea of a house sit. It seemed to tick so many boxes. At first I have to admit, I was unsure how I would feel living in somebody else’s home and caring for somebody else’s pets. I was concerned that I would feel uncomfortable or that the homes could be of a lower standard then I would like and I would end up in some remote place, committed to looking after a feral cat and an old donkey. Good news, it isn’t like that at all!
What are the positives of house sitting for us?
Firstly, every-body wins! The owner has someone to love and care for their animals in their own home and the sitters get all of the below:
· We are able to stay for extended periods of time in a local community. I had French lessons from a neighbour in the French Alps and came to know a retired teacher who walked her dog at the same time (not to mention my friend at the village bakery).
· We are live on a very reasonable budget. No money is allowed to change hands. So we live on about $20 a day – mostly food- with the odd lunch out or day trip. A small annual fee of between $30-100 is built into our budget and if we have 10 nights or 100 night free accommodation- it is still amazing value!
· We have a great time being with animals which is something we miss when we travel. We don’t choose farm animals for our sits as that would be too much for us. We choose animals that can come out with us in the car (dogs) or animals that are OK if we are way in the day or even overnight (cats, chickens etc)
· We are flexible with times as it suited us and do as many or as few sits as we wanted. We have 3 great websites with hundreds of sitting opportunities . Either we spot when we have a gap and look for a sit to fill it or we find an amazing sit and make a gap for it. So sometimes the sits are ‘ fillers’ and sometimes they are the main experience.
· We meet like minded people. Most people who are looking for sitters are travellers themselves so you can have a good connection. Only a certain sort of person becomes a sitter or has people sit in their homes. There is a trust and openness to the goodness in others.
We have now completed 3 amazing house sits and have 2 more booked in the months ahead and plan 4 months sitting in Europe next summer.
What we have discovered is that:
· House sitting is a highly organised and professionally run network. There are also thousands of people, of all ages travelling the world full time as house-sitters and many thousands more who like us do scattered house sits throughout the year. It is a booming style of travel for the right people. I admit, it would not work for every-body, but our experiences so far have been great
· Some countries have extensive house sitting networks (UK and France) and others have less opportunities
· There are many websites to link owners to sitters- the main differences between them are ease of use of the website, cost, the volume of listings, the area where most sits are located and the additional support services
Are there any concerns?
· It doesn’t matter how far you plan ahead, until you get there the home and the animals are ‘unknown’. There are pictures of both and you do communicate before-hand and get a good Idea, but it is possible to get it wrong. If it’s only for a few weeks you could tough it out….but it would be a bummer.
· You do have to commit as people book holidays around you availability and it would be awful to pull out and leave them in the air.
· You are responsible for the home and the animal, and even though the web sites say they’re there to help, I’m not sure how that would work out
· People ask about insurance. What I understand is that some sites offer special insurance but generally the personal liability insurance held by the owner covers the sitter if they are injured, and their content insurance covers any unintentional property damage. Most sitters have travel insure that may cover it. There are companies in the UK that have “house-sitter insurance’”. So simply put, I can’t be sure. I have emailed around and am keen to get a clearer answer before my next sit. But like all insurance, I have a feeling it won’t be that simple. I’ll keep you updated.
Making it happen
Check out the House sitting Newsletter:I read this before my first house sit and found it had some good information. They have all the information you could need on different websites that you can use, how to network and tips and a downloadable free guide on house sitting (they even have an annual conference).
https://housesittingmagazine.com Some good information for you when you are getting started
Choose the right web site and register
House sitting is booming and so are the unregulated websites. There are however 5 big ones, and I would stick with one or two of those. The one you chose depends on what sort of house sitting you are wanting to do. We are looking for 6-8 house sits in a 2019-2020 in Europe so we have chosen to join MindMyHouse and TrustedHousesitters. My criteria was:
· Usability of the web site: Does it send me email alerts and updates?
· Cost: I didn’t want to pay too much in the first year in case I go no sits from the site
· Location: Most subscriptions are annual so this time around I needed a site with a strong European focus.
· Do they have a verification process for us both.
· Do they have any support services
Nomador French based and good for Europe
HouseCarers Lots for Australia
Make a Profile and start browsing
It is worth making a profile as some people don’t post, they just browse looking for you.
Make and accept and offer
When you have contact, tell them about yourself and start a ’relationship’. It will give you a feel and it isn’t too late to say no if it doesn’t feel good.
The hardest thing I found was being sure that they wouldn’t cancel on me after I had made travel plans. This is where the trust relationship comes in. My house owner told me she it was her first sit too and she was worried about the same thing! Have conversations before you get there and find out the things you need to know in advance for your planning:
· Best way to communicate in the lead up to the sit
· Exact address and directions- transport. Many house sits are most suited to having your own transport
· Do you need to bring shopping: Most sits let you use their food and in return you restock what you have used before you leave
· Is their parking? Are they leaving a car to be used?
· What time and date do they leave: Do they want you there a night before for a hand over and if so will I be staying at the house. You will need a few hours at least.
· Can you have guests stay over: My children often join us for a weekend
· Can you have overnights away?
· Can I take you to the airport? This is not expected but could be a kind gesture.
· Did they want a formal House sitting agreement? Not everyone uses these but some might like to.
· Will they have a Handbook with all the information about the pet and house?
Tips when you arrive
We often feel more comfortable with a short handover so arrive a few hours before they leave. Most owners have manual or a list with everything you need written down. Remember it is important to them that you have everything you need to keep their home and pets safe.
Make sure you ask for:
· Confirmation of their return times
· Emergency contact details: For home and pet
· Pet care instructions- medications, VET details, sleeping, walking, can they travel in the car
· Keys and house security
· House electricity and water
After that it will hopefully be smooth sailing.
Be respectful of the trust placed in you and treat the home and the animals as your own and you will have no problems.
Enjoy the experience!
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