A homeowner recently contacted us for a last-minute house sit near where we are currently. They were trying to find a house sitter at the last minute because, when the house sitter they had arranged to house sit turned out not to be the person they represented themselves to be.
As it turns out the person did not have experience with animals. They thought that they could dump some food into the food dish, put a little water out and go to the beach for the day. The dogs did not like the house sitter and the house sitter did not like the dogs. The result? A canceled house sit with the house sitter and the home owners losing out.
The popularity of house sitting has increased, it has become more visible and a whole lot of new people are clamoring to get a house sit. There are many people who view it has the way to get to their party spot.
It seems almost every week we see people posting to various groups and forums wanting to know how much cash they can make house sitting while they party in some fantastic place. These people have put zero research into what house sitting is. The truth is you will not make a dime house sitting. You have a job to do and in exchange for taking proper care of the property and animals, you receive a place to stay.
There are house sits that do not involve caring for animals, all over the world, although it is a small subset of all house sits. People need to have their house occupied while they are away for a multitude of reasons. If you are not an animal lover, I do not suggest that you look at those house sits requiring care of animals. I certainly condemn those who misrepresent themselves in any way to land a house sit.
You have a duty to the home owners and your charges to provide the best care you possibly can to the property and their beloved animals. Animals can be very picky and selective. If you change their routine while the owner is away, more than likely the owner is going to pick up on it when they return.
You seriously risk a negative review if you are unable to comply with the instructions of the home owner. A negative review can end your house sitting gigs for good.
If you always maintain the attitude that you need to care for the home owner’s property and animals better than they expected and, to the best of your abilities, then you will go a long way with house sitting. Home owners will be happy to give you positive reviews, ask you to do repeat sits and recommend you to their friends and family. The bonus is you will see some of the most amazing places on earth in the process.
Everything that you have been lead to believe about saving money to retire and live well is a myth. The old paradigm is dead and gone. Retirement advisors tell you to buy the biggest house you can buy, invest everything you can, set a budget to live on the least possible expenses. All this so that when you are old and burnt up from working yourself to death, you can sit in a rocking chair and relax.
House sitting is how we are going to stretch out our retire money as far as we can. Although we have just started on our retirement and house sitting adventures we are already seeing a huge reduction in expenses.