8 Tips for House Sitters

House sitting is a great way of traveling on your own time. You get to see the sites at your own pace while traveling like a local. Here are some tips to follow for new house sitters who are interested in this traveling experience. 

1. Treat your profile like your resume 

Your profile is the first thing homeowners see when they are looking for new house sitters. Be sure to use your profile to talk about all the good qualifications that make your experience shine as a house sitter. 

2  House sit for friends and family 

If you don't have experience as a house sitter, you can start off by house sitting for friends and family. The next time one of your friends goes off for a trip, ask them if they need someone to watch their home for them. Chances are they will need someone to pick up the mail for them, walk their dog and water their plants while they are away. When the house sit is over ask for their written recommendation to help you stand out as a house sitter to potential homeowners. 

3. Visit early 

Arrange a time with the homeowner to visit the home early to get a feel for how things work around the house. They can show you dog walking schedules, times when to water the plants and how to shimmy that finicky lock at the gate. You will feel more aware of how things work and more confident in your house sitting abilities. 

4. Don't be afraid to ask questions 

It's a good idea to set up an interview with the house sitter, whether in person or over video call to talk about details that go into caring for the house while they are away. If there is anything you don't understand be sure to ask them to help you better understand how things work. Maybe you want to know if you can have friends over, you can talk about policies for visitors, where you sleep in the home, and a dog walking schedules for their pets. 

5. Meet the neighbors

If you'll be staying for a while, be sure to ask the homeowner to introduce you to the neighbors. You and the homeowners will feel better knowing that the neighbors know how and why you are there and you will gain new friends in the area in case you need help about anything. 

6. Visit the local tourism office 

By visiting the local tourism office you will get to learn about the town you are staying in. Chances are you might find a good museum or an event to visit and try new experiences like a local would do. 

7. Be safe 

Especially if you're traveling alone, don't tell people your exact address and don't bring strangers back to your place. Be safe about the information you give people while you're traveling. 

8. Have fun

This is a new experience and you have never been to this town before. Try the local cuisine, go for bike ride in a park and make friends with locals. You get to travel at your own pace and make new memories that will last a lifetime. So make the best of it. 

What is WWOOFing

Imagine traveling at your own pace while working on a farm. You can certainly do that with WWOOFing. WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. And volunteers, or WWOOFers, spend time working on farms in exchange for accomodations and food by their hosts. 

It is all about learning how to farm, taking part in the organic agriculture program and learning the culture. WWOOFing is a worldwide movement,

Adults 18 yeàrs and older can WOOF and in some countries volunteers younger than 18 can visit farms when accompanied by an adult. 

Some of the things you'll discover while WWOOFing are making wine, beekeeping, creating straw houses, growing vegetables and more. There's nothing like getting your hands dirty and experiencing this lifestyle for yourself. 

Today the WWOOFing organization is available in more than 50 countries and is available as independents in over 40 more.WWOOF-USA® Host Farm Directory has more than 2,000 organic farms all over the nation. 

It's really easy to sign up. All you have to do is sign up with your host country and apply for membership. Once you have applied for membership, you gain access to that country’s list of smallholdings, gardens and organic farms. Here the WWOOFer can contact a host farm and arrange for their stay and the type of volunteer work the will do. In exchange for the farm work you do, your host will take care of your lodging and food.

Your length of stay really depends on you the travelor. You will negotiate your time on the farm with the owner and it can be fir as long as you want. It doesn't matter because you can spend 2 days, 2 weeks or 6 months. 

How to become a house sitter

House sitting is a fun way to travel the world on a budget. You don't have to worry about spending money on accomodations because you will be watching someone else's home while they are away on their trip. That gives you the opportunity to see the sites on your own time without rush. If you want to become a house sitter follow these steps. 

Start by house sitting for friends and family

What better way to get recommendations from the people who know you the longest and the best in life. You can go to them and ask them if they need someone to watch their house the next time they go on a trip. They'll likely need someone to check on the mail, water their plants or watch their pets while they're away. If you do a good job and leave the house cleaver than when you found it, you can ask them to write a review of your services on your Facebook or LinkedIn website. The more reviews you get the more other homeowners will see your dedication and qualifications to the job and hire you. 

Use your profile page as your resume 

You will likely find some services to help connect you to homeowners who need a house sitter. Some websites like trusted house sitters, house carers, nomador, and mind my house are some of the most popular websites that will connect you to homeowners for a small annual fee. When you build your profile and answer the questions, treat it as your resume to boost all of the good qualities you have as a great house sitter. It's the first thing that homeowners see when they are looking for house sitters. 

Maintain good communication with home owners 

When you find a house sit you might be interested in, reach out to homeowners and set up a time to meet with them video call to talk about all the details of the house sit. If you're in the same area maybe you can meet them in a public place like a café to see if you're a good match. 

Don't be afraid to ask them questions and talk about details that are important to the house sit before agreeing to commit to this responsibility. Some things you might talk about before the house sit are: 

• How much time you expect them to spend at your home each day
• Whether or not guests are permitted at your home
• Any areas of your home that are off-limits
• Your pet’s schedule, diet, and exercise needs
• Any other chores around the home you would like to be completed
• How you expect to communicate during the house sit (as well as how often you expect that communication to occur)
• Amenities provided (food, Wi-Fi, swimming pool access, etc)

Also, don't forget to reply promptly to homeowners' messages while they are away  And send them pictures of their home and pets so that they can see that their pets are being loved and everything is in good hands. 

And that's it. Be sure to ask home owners for good recommendations on your website or profile to build trust in the community. You will be ready for future house sits with every experience you acquire  

Prepare to house sit: what is house sitting

House sitters get to see the world on a budget. They travel at their own pace while staying at the owner's home while they are away. On occasions they pet sit the owners pets and even stay overnight taking care of the home. 

Some of the many tasks that house sitters will become responsible of while running the home while the owners are away are picking up the mail, paying for the bills, watering the plants, taking out the garbage and taking care of animals. House sitters might even stay the night and sleep in the guest bedroom. Of course, you will talk about all the details before your stay with the owner and they will show you around the house before they leave. This way you will feel caught up with the way things work and feel at home while the owners are away on their trip. 

What are house sitters

Imagine traveling at your own pace and sitting in a house near the beach while blogging and sipping on some coffee. Some people take these easy travel accomodations by doing house sitting-- getting paid to stay in someone's home while the owners are away. On occasions they will leave behind pets for you to pet sit or you can just stay in the home and water their plants, check their mail and keep the house running for them while they are away. They are many house sitting websites that connect you to house sits in North America only or even in parts of Europe, Latin America, new Zealand and Australia. Some of these websites are free but others require you to pay an annual subscription to contact owners. Some of the places you can sign up to are 

Nomador

Trusted housesitters

Mind my house

House Carers 

Of course there are many other sites and I will include that in another blog post but this is a good place to get started searching for house sits if you're interested in saving money while traveling.