House Sitters - Have you used them ?

CC Bear · Senior Member

House Sitters - Have you used them ?

the rocket · Guru

Hi cc bear, have not used them but we do housesits. There is a good site called aussie housesitters. It is free for you to put an ad. We have never been asked for a police check but some people do But as far as i know a check is only for the state you are checking in and they would need to be done regularly to stay up to date and they are Around 50 dollars From memory. I always think what about all the other states People have lived. Have not done any agreement either But suppose others do. A housesit is only worth a maximum of $140 a week for us as that is what most showgrounds charge or free camp is nothing. we do not pay for electricity. I would imagine It would be cheaper for you to have a sitter than put your pet in a kennel. We went for an interview once that wanted us to feed 5 horses, take feed to cattle on big property. turn on and off water taps for cattle, feed the chooks (the lady said the sitter last time fed the chooks too much and chicken feed is expensive), tend the market garden, look after 2 dogs and sprinkle the lawn near house in the afternoon. We did not accept that sit because really they needed to employ a manager. When people do housesits on aussie housesitters the site asks the owner to write a review of the sitters Which is viewable when u look sitters up on there profile. Also, housesitting can be advertised here. Good luck n merry christmas. Kind regards. Rocket n strop

-- Edited by the rocket on Wednesday 16th of November 2016 04:47:19 PM

jules47 · The Happy Helper

If you go to The Grey Nomads website, there is a se tion for housesitters. Some of the available ones are very experienced, what uyou are doing is having someone stay at your home for security, mainly, and to look after dimestic pets. It should not be the sitters responsibility to pay for power or water. I k ow a lot of members do house sits all the time. Good luck, look up the threads on the website, very helpful.

CC Bear · Senior Member

Thank you I have looked at the advertisements but did not know what was expexted of each party and that was what I was trying to find out. Cheers

spida · Guru

I have started house sitting for people I have met in Waroona while working with BlazeAid. I dont charge - although am told people do get paid. For me it is nice to have a house and all the mod cons for a few weeks - and the odd bottle of wine thrown in. As long as there is room to park the van and I have access to a bathroom I am happy to do it free. So far I have been given full use of the house, a bedroom, access to a freezer full of meat etc. I dont mind farm animals - but did turn down 4 horses, 2 dogs, 3 guinea pigs and 2 cats!!!! Not into house dogs!
I dont have references but no doubt could get them if required. I did have police clearance once - $50 and lasted 6 months only!!!! At this stage I have been re-booked for next year - one saves so much money this way also - except for all the socializing with new friends LOL
Probably not much help to you - my house-sitting is via is word of mouth - and trust. I would suggest you try house-sitting agencies - or put the word out on this forum?

Lesley F · Senior Member

Hi, My experience was positive. Her stay was absolutely free. She chose to eat and purchase her own food. My house and belongings were totally safe. The house was clean. I found her on Aussie house sitters. There are numerous nomads that regularly do house sits. Good luck.

Bruce and Bev · Guru

When we travelled for a couple of years, we used the Aussie house sitters site - well run and put together.

Often difficult to find a place to mind in WA and Tassie, but in the Eastern States we were bombarded constantly by people wanting us to sit for them just to look after their pets (you put up a resume and where you are, so house owners can look for people in their area)

We never paid to house sit and often got offered to be paid in a bidding war to get us to sit their place. We never took money, but didn't pay any utility bills or internet use and the like. We just looked after their place and usually their pets, mowed the lawn and weeded a few gardens sometimes.

We never got or offered references, and our jobs required us to both have police clearances (which now run nationally for 12 months). Often we offered owners to email them, but most often they didn't want them

We never signed any contract either, although the web site that Leslie and we have used have a simple pro-forma one to use. Make sure to have landlord insurance while you are having your house looked after (and also as the sitter it pays to ensure the owners do this) - it doesn't cost much for a few weeks or months and ensures the property is covered