What does a house sitter do?

What is a house sitter and what does a house sitter do?

The first question we should ask is what is a housesitter? A housesitter is a person invited in as a ‘ live in home sitter ‘ to care for your property and sometimes  pets. You may know the term home sitters, or home minders or house minders.

You brief the housesitter on how to look after your home and garden and any pets. Be sure to include and note any pets you have at home. As a result once your advert is published you may be surprised by the level of pet care experience some housesitters offer. Many are highly qualified to take care of your pets and animals in your absence.

What does a house sitter do?

Housesitters are people who will agree to move into your property as part of their working holiday or sometimes a professional assignment. They do this in order to care for your home and pets in your absence. They understand that it is a responsible role and that your home and pets are their priority whilst they are living in your property.

Is there a difference from a professional housesitter?

What does a professional house sitter do? Professional housesitters will need a house sitter jobs salary. If this is a long term professional arrangement there will be a professional house sitter salary per month.

Standard housesitter tasks – what does a house sitter do?

Standard housesitter tasks can vary enormously. You may well be thinking – what does a house sitter do? And do house sitters stay overnight?
Well these standard tasks usually include –

• stay in your home overnight for the duration of your absence
• basic garden upkeep
• keeping the property clean and tidy
• feeding and exercising pets
• handling post
• receiving and managing phone calls.

Include any or all of these tasks in the housesitting assignment. The specific requirements would be outlined by the owner in their housesit listing or advert. If you use HouseSitMatch then these details can be detailed in the written housesitting agreement prepared to benefit both participants.

You may be asked to clean the pool and water plants

How does housesitting work between homeowners and housesitters?

Housesitting arrangements on Housesitmatch are free for the home owner and sitters. Apart from the cost of registration on the housesitting website no money should change hands between the host (homeowner) and the guest (housesitter).

It works through a collaborative arrangement. That means that a house sitter offers their time, home care and pet minding services for free. In exchange they live rent free in the home.

However, if the sitters incur expenses for pet care and/or essential maintenance then the home owner will recompense the sitters. Include these details in the written housesitting agreement drafted and agreed by the sitters and the home owner. And so the agreement should be drafted and agreed prior to the housesitting assignment starting.

Does a housesitter also do petsitting?

On HouseSit Match we find that most of the assignments posted on our listings are primarily for the care of pets. So if you love pets you are in for a treat. We have dog minding opportunities, cat minding assignments and even rabbit sitting requests among other pet related opportunities.

Petsitting abroad

Some of our petsitting assignments are in various countries around the world. So whether you are keen to enjoy affordable travel by petsitting and housesitting in Europe. You could also try petsitting and housesitting USA and further afield. Take a look.

 

How do I become a house sitter?

If you would like to become a member, why not register with Housesit Match today? We’ve got two levels of membership – standard and premium.

You’ll need to do an identity verification and a background check in order to become home sitters.

Before you take up a housesitting assignment it is worth reading the Housesit Match House sitter Check List for reference.

You should also read up on the responsibilities of a home sitter to make sure you are comfortable with the tasks that await you.

To find out more about House Sitting and Pet Sitting with HouseSit Match, visit our ‘About Us’ webpage.

 

 

Click here to Join as a trusted house sitter

 

Further reading about housesitting and 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 and house sitting in London useful.

How to travel on a budget

What a housesitter does – Top 10 responsibilities