There’s a buzz going around the internet about a new traveller’s craze called House Sitting. But what is it? How do you get involved and how do you find the perfect home? This article will not only attempt to answer questions about the concept of house sitting, but also help you to find the perfect house sitting gig!
Where Do I Start?
There are 4 main sites online these days, we’ve listed them here in order of our favourite to least favourite.
1. Trusted House Sitters: This website is brilliant. It has the largest network of home owners and house sitters on the web. In fact, there are more houses available on this website than on all other house sitting sites combined, which is why we recommend just signing up for Trusted House Sitters. The site is well laid out and easy to navigate. The fee is higher than other sites at $119 / year, but in our experience, it is worth it to have so many home owners in the network.
2. MindMyHouse: We haven’t signed up for this one yet but we’ve heard great things from people who have. The layout of this site is also very good and it has a good network of users as well. At $20 / year it’s considerably cheaper than Trusted House Sitters. The major problem with this site is that they don’t take down old listings, so you never know if the home is still up for grabs!
3. House Carers: This site also has an easy-to-use interface and there are plenty of homes posted here from around the world. The cost is $50 for the year so it’s a good in-between option. House Carers also has a handy map tool that shows where all the houses are located around the globe!
How Do I Make My Profile Attractive To Home Owners?
We created our profile and within two weeks we were near the top of the list on TrustedHouseSitters.com and we currently get at least one offer every week! We like to think that our profile is comprehensive, professional and personable. When making your profile, just follow some of these tips and you’ll land your first job in no time.
Be Personable. This is probably the best thing you can do to attract home owners to your profile. Be friendly, add a little bit of humour but still sound professional. You don’t want to come across as uptight, but you don’t want to sound like a wild partier either. Put a bit of yourself into your profile, not just words.
Make sure you have a catchy title. Home owners will probably be searching through thousands of house sitter profiles so make sure that yours has an attractive title.
It’s important to have a long and informative profile. People who are looking for someone to take care of their home (and usually their pets) are going to want to have as much information as possible. Be thorough and make sure to answer any questions you think you would ask people if they were planning to stay in your home.
Get your police check. Most websites ask for one and while you don’t necissarily have to get one, they definitely help your chances. Home owners are looking for any kind of credibility they can get, so it’s best to head down to your local police station and pay to have a police check printed out. In Canada, these can take up to 6 weeks but can be rushed if you have a good reason.
Add as many photos, videos and references as the site will allow. This will not only help you to rank better in the sites search, but it will also help potential home owners to get to know you better. A video can do wonders!
Be a pet lover. Remember, most home owners have pets. It’s important to express your love for animals and any previous experience you may have with them. Pet lovers are always first to get the best gigs!
You shouldn’t be in this network just for “free accomodation”. You are providing a service and you are becoming a professional house sitter. Your profile should explain this as well as any talents you may have. Home owners love a Mister or Miss fix-it so if you can do minor repairs around the house, make sure you mention it in your profile. Do you have pool maintenance experience? Lawn care? Plumbing? Make sure you list all of your skills.
I’ve Got An Offer… Now What?!
Make sure you consider each offer and weigh the pros and cons of every job before accepting. House sitting is a great way to save on accommodation costs, but is it worth it if you spend $1200 on flights for a two-week stay?
Make sure you communicate well with the home owner. Know EXACTLY what your tasks are and what is expected of you. Clarify that you won’t have to pay for any utilities or expenses in the home owners’ absence and make sure you know how many pets you’ll be watching.
It’s also a good idea to confirm the health of the pet. It would not be a good experience to have 24-year-old Poochy finally kick the bucket while you’re responsible for his well-being.
Remember, you’re not just taking advantage of free accommodation. You are providing a service. Make sure you’re comfortable with every aspect of the job and don’t just accept because “you’ve always wanted to go to Prague”. There are some stories of house sitters having far more responsibilities than they had expected. Communication is key.
Why Do I Keep Getting Turned Down?
To be an active house sitter, you’ll have to deal with some rejection. Most home owners have a very strict criteria and there will be times when you just won’t fit into their idea of a perfect house sitter. Some people are looking for retired couples, some for single women, some for active solo-males. You just need to keep trying and if you get rejected repeatedly, consider reworking your profile and taking a different approach to your initial contact message.
Why Have I Never Heard Of These Websites Before?
These websites are relatively new but they are growing very fast. Currently the largest network is on TrustedHouseSitters.com and there are less than 10,000 users! Within a couple of years, I predict these numbers will sky-rocket and you’ll start hearing about this amazing service everywhere. For now, it’s the perfect time to get in and with the tips in this article, you should be able to easily find the home of your dreams!
So What Are You Waiting For?
If you’re looking to live abroad, extend your travels or feel like a local in another country, why not join one of these networks? It’s not only a great way to exchange your services for accommodation, but it’s also a great way to network with like-minded people around the world. Maybe the house sitting gig in Hawaii didn’t work this year, but when John and Jane leave again next year, they may just give you a call.
House Sitting is an amazing tool that provides a service for travellers on both ends of the spectrum. Those who are looking to extend their travels and live abroad, and those who are looking to go travelling and leave their home and pets in trusted hands. It’s a win win for both parties and if you’re looking for a new, exciting place to live, then house sitting may just be the job for you!
Have any more questions about house sitting? Ask us in the comments below!
Like it? Pin it! 🙂
This is exactly the post I was looking for! I was a bit confused (to say the least) about house sitting, how one goes about house sitting etc so this is really useful. Thanks for the tips…p.s I love goats 🙂
OMG. The house your sitting is kinda ridiculous! What an amazing place!!! You already know we love MindMyHouse, but we actually secured our first gig on Trusted Housesitters, too! It works perfectly so now we can spend a whole month in two different regions of France 🙂 I love the small network of housesitters right now though- I don’t want more people to learn about it haha!
I’m really excited about house sitting. We’ve been signed up to Mind My House for just over a year now and we’ve just got our first housesit…in Stockholm this summer (there were basically no housesitting gigs going in South America so we didn’t come across any during our time there). I’m going to try giving Trusted Housesitters a go now too, though at first I was resistant to join because of the fee.
Hey Guys,
Such an informative post. We have never looked into house-sitting since we aren’t taveling long term at the moment, but when the time comes, I think we’ll be looking into this. Don’t tell me that’s the house you are sitting at the moment. *Jealous*
You two are so nice that I am sure everyone would be willing to let you sit their house 🙂
Cheers
I just nailed down my first housesit through Trusted House Sitters … will be spending 3 weeks+ in Vancouver in May!
Hey Lisa,
So glad we could help sort things out for you. It can definitely sound confusing at first!
Glad you like Goats 🙂
Hey guys!
Ok, let’s clear the air…we are NOT house sitting at this place! haha. It’s just a sweet place we found online to use as a header. Where we are pet/house sitting is also kinda awesome too though 🙂
Wow, so glad you guys got 2 gigs in France!! Well done. Can’t wait to hear about it.
Hey Sam,
That’s awesome that you got a gig in Stokholm! We were invited there as well, but had to decline 🙁 Would love to go. Great that you are house sitting there as it’s super expensive! We think that Trusted House Sitters is worth the fee for sure.
Cheers 🙂
Hey guys,
There are even house sitting jobs that only need someone for 2 days! It’s not just for long term travellers 🙂 Maybe you want to go to Italy for 2 weeks? there’s probably a job for 5 days at least, could save some money, meet some locals and have a great time!
All the best 🙂
Nice one Ian!! Enjoy Vancouver, we think it’s pretty great 😉
House sitting sounds awesome! It just seems to find hard to get enough offers to really plan a vacation around it. Btw – just followed you on Twitter as well – please keep it up. Looking forward to connect! Torsten
Hi Torsten,
For us, we just waited until the right sit came about and then planned our travels around it. It so happened we were asked to come to Grenada, so we planned to travel Central America before that…it just made sense 🙂
Good luck!
I love this post! We recently signed up to Trusted House Sitters after reading one of your posts and we’re trying to get involved in a sit at the moment. It’s such a cool thing to be able to do and I love that you’ve had such great experiences with it! 🙂
Thanks for a great post 🙂
Hello from Vancouver Island!
Thank you so much for sharing this info ! This will help to explore new place that we want to go to.
I can’t wait to start looking ! I look forward to seeing what you both are up too! Keep sharing , stay safe and keep looking
for more goats! Take care, Kim
Hi Mirna!
So glad to hear that you are working on a sit! All the best to you. Living like a local and taking care of a pet is such a great experience, joining Trusted House Sitters was the best thing we ever did 🙂
Cheers.
Thank you Kim!
House sitting is a great way to live like a local and enjoy the company of a furry friend 🙂 We’ve had great experiences so far. All the best to you . Happy New Year 🙂
So happy to hear that you are taking a shot at a sit! All the best to you. Living like a nearby and dealing with a pet is such an awesome affair, joining Trusted House Sitters was the best thing we ever di
Thanks for this very useful article Nick and Dariece. Loads of great tips and advice. My wife and I ‘discovered’ house sitting back in March and, as we run an online business, we realised we could work from anywhere that had good broadband and wifi. Since the, we have looked after a Pointer puppy, chickens, ducks and geese in a converted mill in Cornwall, a small Bichon/Shih Tzu mix in Cheltenham town centre, tow lovely cats -one for a month in Surrey and the other for 3 weeks on the edge of the Pennines, a Wheaten Terrier in Somerset, two adorable mixed breed dogs and five chickens in the Chiltern Hills and a Border Collie in Hampshire. We’re now pretty solidly booked right through to mid-July next year and are seeing more of the UK than we ever thought possible.
For what it’s worth, I think the most important thing to be successful is to write your profile carefully and direct it towards the needs of the home and pet owner, rather than focus on what you are looking for. Another tip if you are a non-smoker, is to check it is a non-smoking house you are going to. Being stuck in a house for 2 weeks that stinks of cigarette smoke when you ar ea non-smoker is not one of life’s better experiences 🙂
Yes, it’s great 🙂
Wow, you guys are house/pet sitting machines! There are so many sits in the UK, aren’t there?! Such a great way to see the country. Great tips about being a non-smoker – that would be the worst to be in a smoking home if you don’t smoke!
Cheers and happy sitting 🙂
What a shame people are now ‘spamming’ good blogs like this one. People who are genuinely interested in house sitting and pet sitting will end up stopping email notifications. Inevitable I suppose but such a shame.
It would be great if we could have all comments relevant to house sitting and pet sitting in future. I’m hoping not to need the care services for a few years yet 🙂
Hi Goats!
I just wanted to say thanks for all the great info on this page. We have been in Costa Rica for a month now and use your blog as a regular resource. We love following your journey!
Ian
Thanks guys! I hope you’re enjoying Costa Rica 🙂 Thanks so much for reading. Cheers!
I’m a bit late to this post (found via Pinterest) but just want to say thank you! I have been thinking about ways to cut travel costs and house sitting is definitely at the top of my list now. Can’t wait to try it!
Great! Good luck Jessica 🙂