Home renovations can be either small or epic in scale. Managing those redevelopments can be stressful and can infringe somewhat on your life. One solution is to find housesitters to be present on the property while you are elsewhere, and the building contractors are at work.  At HouseSit Match we have found sitters for homeowners who need to relocate with children leaving some pets on the property needing care.

Photo credit – Thanks to The Radio Scout

Home renovations and finding a housesitter

Whether you have pets or not starting renovations on your home can be very disruptive and often causes the homeowner to move out. Then again some homeowners choose to appoint housesitters to help them keep an eye on the property when they are absent, but is it a safe arrangement?  It can help if you have pets to be cared for and can’t take them with you at your temporary accommodation, but what are the overall considerations you need to be aware of?

Is It Safe to Have Home Renovations Done While You Have a House Sitter?

Home renovations can be exciting for homeowners. It can also be stressful because as the initiators of the project they have likely spent some time getting together the funds and plans for their intended renovation and stressful because they might lose access to certain areas of their home while renovations are being undertaken.

For instance, if you are renovating a kitchen in your Northampton home that is used quite regularly by all members of the family, this can be disruptive in day-to-day life. It might cause tempers to run short. Then, if the renovations are large, you could be living in a construction zone for a long time. You’ll be dodging around workmen and dealing with lots of dust, debris and noise.

House sitters to cover your absence

Going away during renovations, either away on holiday or simply moving out for the duration of the improvements can be beneficial to your and your children’s health. It can also make it easier for the workmen that have deadlines to accommodate.

However, if you are someone that normally secures a house sitter for while you are away from home, you might be wondering if it’s appropriate to still book a house sitter during a renovation period when your home is going to be empty some of the time. We explore the benefits of employing a house sitter while renovations are being carried out on your property.

House sitters can help to keep a watchful eye

Trust is necessary for anyone you are inviting into your home, be it a professional contractor, a housesitter.. Your home is likely your greatest asset and is usually the place where you store your belongings and precious items. And if you are hiring a professional company to work in your home, you need to confident that you can trust them. This matters whether you are present at home or away during renovations.

Spend some time getting to know your renovation company and make sure to look at previous reviews or customer testimonials to get an idea of how trustworthy they are. Housesitters can help you to keep an eye on things too.

Peace of mind with a housesitter

Having a house sitter that doesn’t spend most of their time in the home (whether out to work or college so they aren’t underfoot) can provide peace of mind that you do have someone around to keep an eye out. This matters not necessarily for poor workmanship but to keep an eye out for accidental damage or changes to the work pace. The housesitter can provide reassurance while you are away from home. Especially when the work team has left for the day, you’ve got someone to keep watch over the property overnight.

Be Aware of the Cost and Keep Communication Open

If you find a housesitter to watch over renovations, make sure they understand the scale of work going on in your home. If they are aware then living in a construction zone wont be a surprise. They can decide if your renovations will be a risk to their health. Make sure to accommodate any lost facilities, for instance, leaving additional money for take-aways or eating out if the kitchen is being renovated or pre-warning them about lack of access to a shower/bath/WC.

While you might not want to spend much time on the phone if you’re on vacation, every project is prone to issues. You will need to communication with the contractors. Regular contact will ensure accommodations are made. Make sure you leave several communication lines open to both your housesitter and your renovations company. Ensure you can always be contacted, even if you are going somewhere with a different time zone!

Remember the ‘Rules of Home Renovation’

When planning your home renovation and time away from home, there are a few general ‘rules and recommendations’ to follow. Be mindful of these rules to ensure your home improvement project isn’t more stressful than it needs to be.

Don’t underestimate costs and time

Every project starts with the best plans, but it’s hard to understand the full scope of a renovation until you start. This can have negative effects on both the cost and time, often extending the length of the project. Make sure to accommodate an additional 20% on estimated costs and time, building this into your initial plan. Then if the project runs over the original plans you won’t have any nasty surprises. When it does follow the estimate, it’s a happy surprise and delivering a bonus at the end!

Try to avoid last minute changes

Take some time going over your plans for home improvements and renovations. Make sure you are fully confident in your decisions before any work begins. Last minute changes are not always easy to accommodate. They may take additional planning and can set renovation work back days, sometimes weeks. Inevitably, they add additional costs to the total estimate. Work with your designer to make sure you are completely happy with any intended changes. Spend some time thinking, and sleep on big decisions too before starting your plans.

There is nothing more exciting than coming back to something fresh and new. Especially if you’ve been living cramped in your old home, or even in temporary accommodation while renovations were underway. The refurbishment will no doubt greatly improve your quality of life. Planning to be away from home while building work’s in progress can be easier than dancing around busy workmen. Plus moving out provides the professionals with the space they need to work efficiently.

With a housesitter in residence, you will know that your property and belongings are safe. Inviting a housesitter to be resident round the clock gives protection when you are out of the home!

To start your journey in housesitting as a homeowner looking for housesitters join a housesitting network like HouseSitMatch.com

As a housesitter you’ll benefit from a vast range of housesitting assignments in a range of countries across the world.

JOIN HOUSE SIT MATCH AS A HOUSESITTER – To exchange free home and pet care for free accommodation

JOIN HOUSE SIT MATCH AS A HOMEOWNER – To exchange free accommodation for free home and pet care.

Handy articles and blogs about housesitters

At Housesitmatch.com we like to share useful blogs and practical advice about housesitters, housesitting and pet sitting. We hope you find this small selection of our blogs on house sitters useful.

Housesitters keep pets safe at home and save money

What a housesitter does – Top 10 responsibilities

Preparing a home for a house or pet sitter