The Complete Guide On How To Do House Sitting in 2024: Travel The World Rent-Free & Stay In Homes Better Than Airbnb's!
- Nathan
- May 11, 2024
- 31 min read
Updated: Aug 23
House sitting is the ultimate life hack
Does the dream of traveling overseas and staying in a beautiful Airbnb just not match your budget or your needs anymore?
Do you ever feel tired of staying in expensive hotels, where you just miss the feeling of home?
Have you ever aspired to be a world traveller and just don't have to savings or even know where to start?
What if we told you there is another way? One that almost sounds too good to be true, but we can guarantee you, it's legitimate.
You can travel the world RENT-FREE
Skip the hotels and live in unique homes anywhere in the world where you actually feel at home, and explore a new country as a local and not as a tourist.
The house sitting community has been growing massively over the last decade, with plenty of new exchange platforms and more people joining the community every day. At the time of writing this, there are thousands of house sit opportunities available on www.housesittersuk.co.uk! There is a big need for house sitters all over the UK and more people are excited about the opportunity to house sit as well.
We speak from experience
We have only been house sitting for short period of time now and we can tell you just how how amazing it can be. From Country houses in Dorset to quaint little houses by the sea, these are the kind of experiences we never even imagined would be possible to experience for free!
House sitting embodies everything we believe in: an exchange between people, a better experience for animals, and a cheaper, more authentic, and sustainable way of exploring new cultures/the world. We want more people to be able to experience this as well.
Everything you need to know about house sitting, from what it is, how to do it, and how to get your first gig is right here in this guide. We wanted to create the most in-depth guide on the internet, so you can learn everything you need from one place to get started. We’ve broken it down into a list of common questions people have, so you can read through the entire guide or use the contents below to find the answer to your most pressing question.
It’s worth pointing out that some of the questions have similar answers, but we’ve included them to be thorough and make sure we’ve answered all the questions. If you have any more questions feel free to contact us and we will be happy to add them to the guide!
Ready to discover the best life hack of all time? Let’s dive in, shall we?
What is house sitting?
House sitting is caring for another person's home and pets, while the pet/house owners are away. This is a mutual exchange where the house sitter provides pet and home care, while getting free accommodation.
House sitting comes in many shapes and sizes
While the definition above is what most people know to be house sitting, this can actually play out in many ways.
Here are a few variations of what house sitting might look like:
Your friend is going away for the weekend and you stay at their home and make sure their cat is fed.
You make a connection with someone on a house sitting website, such as House Sitters UK, and agree to look after their home and pets in return for staying in their home for free.
Someone hires you on a website like Rover, to stay at their place overnight and look after their dog. You are paid for doing so.
You find a long-term opportunity where you care for someone's home and pets in exchange for a partial reduction in rent or where you only cover utility bills.
As you can see there is no one size fits all, however, the most common use of the term and what this guide is really about is the idea of looking after someone's home and pets while they are away in exchange for the opportunity to stay for free.
This is a win-win situation because the house sitter gets to enjoy a new place (hopefully somewhere they are excited to visit) without paying rent and the homeowner can be safe in the knowledge that their pets, plants, and place are well looked after.
Is house sitting and pet sitting the same thing?
Actually, most house sits usually include pet care and house sitting has become the overall term for this. However, if you look around the internet you might find websites and people particularly dedicated to pet sitting. Much like babysitting, pet sitting is more like a job that people do - they get paid to look after pets. House sitting on the other hand, as we explained above is usually based on exchange.
What is the house sitting experience like?
We thought we would start by answering this question because it might be a make-or-break answer for whether you want to read on. It is also the question we get asked the most after “how do I do it too”.
When we tell people that we travel around staying in beautiful houses and looking after cute pets, they think we are living the ultimate dream life. Well, we really do love it, but it doesn’t always come as easy as people think.
House sitting requires a lot of planning, especially if you want to do it full-time as we do. It also requires a great amount of responsibility, because you are looking after people's actual homes and family pets.
That said, we believe it’s totally worth it, and we also enjoy the responsibilities and trust being built between people! There is an endless amount of benefits to house sitting, for example, one we really value is meeting new people which expands our global network of friends and community. The only sad thing is leaving our new animal friends at the end of the house sit.
Most of the time house sitting is a brilliant experience for all people involved.
The house sitter gets to travel to a new destination and live in a real home rather than some empty hotel room. Often these homes can be incredible, like high-end Airbnb's and of course, you don’t have to pay a thing! The pets are mostly adorable as well, which is an added bonus.
For the homeowner, there are three key benefits. They can be at ease during their trip away knowing that their house, plants, garden, and pets are well taken care of and that their home is not left empty which reduces the risk of burglary. They don’t have to worry about their animals being left confused, sad, and unhappy in a kennel, out of their routine and usual home. Instead, they know their pets will have a much better time at home. In addition, they don’t have to pay for their pets to go into a kennel which can often be a costly experience without any added benefits for their pets. Finally, the homeowner can easily keep up to date with how the house sitter and their pets are getting along for extra peace of mind.
Of course, this is just a broad overview. In truth, every house sitting experience is different. It is possible that you can even have a bad experience too. At the end of the day, though the house sitting experience is whatever you make of it, and if you follow this guide you will increase your chances of having the best experience.
10 reasons to do house sitting
If you are reading this article you probably already have an interest in house sitting and you have some reasons why you might like to do it. But the reasons to do house sitting are pretty extensive.
Here is a list of our 10 top reasons why you should do house sitting. This is not an exhaustive list, but it will be enough to get you excited to get started!
1. You get to travel the world (and your accommodation is free!)
That’s right, there are house sitting opportunities in almost every country you will want to visit. Just browsing through available house sits will give anyone the inspiration to get out in the world!
2. You get to live like a local
House sitting is very different from going to visit a place as a tourist. Rather than just passing through, from the very beginning, you are part of the local community. Usually, the owners will introduce you to some friends and neighbours or at least give you some contacts. Plus, you will get a wealth of local knowledge about where to go and what to do. We promise you, when you walk the dogs through the local trails, everyone will treat you like a local, not a tourist. In our experience, this little detail changes everything.
3. You get to learn about new cultures
House sitting puts you into the shoes of someone else's life. You live in their home, walk their pets, and drive their car. There is no better way to immerse yourself in another culture, going on holiday and staying in a hotel doesn’t even come close.
4. You get to meet new people
We have friends all over the world and our previous house sits have left us with lifelong friends. It is always interesting and valuable to connect and hear about other people's lives, especially because you get to meet people you wouldn’t necessarily get to meet otherwise.
5. You get to stay in a nice home
The alternative to house sitting might be staying in a hotel, motel, hostel or an Airbnb, but from our experience, the houses we’ve cared for would simply not be affordable for us if we were to rent them.
6. You get to help people out
This one is really important. It feels good to know that you are able to help someone else take a trip away or go and visit family abroad. There is so much gratitude and mutual support in the house sitting exchange that makes it so fulfilling. We believe in the power of connecting with fellow human beings, and our mantra giving is living!
7. You get to save money
Whether you are taking a weekend away or living full-time with house sitting you simply do not pay for accommodation. This makes a huge difference to your travel budget! And not only do you get accommodation for free but probably also a huge upgrade on what kind of place you stay in.
8. You get to be around animals all the time
We have mentioned becoming friends with the owners of each house sit, but really it's the animals that steal our hearts. You meet so many fantastic characters and learn so much about animal behaviour and animal-human connection by caring for them. Who doesn’t love pet cuddles?
9. You can work and make money while house sitting
If you work remotely you can basically work from your house sit. This is great because you can save money while working which might just get you a little bit closer to having your own dream home and letting other people come and house sit for you! Or maybe your dream is to escape the 9-5 job and start up that side hustle that you are so passionate about but have always pushed away because of lack of time. Well, now that house sitting has cut maybe your costs, you can finally follow your dream and start doing that thing.
10. You can travel with your family or pets
You’ve made it this far, so you probably want to know how this whole house sitting thing works! We’ll dive deeper into the tips and tricks further down the article, but here is a quick summary in the form of a 10-step guide:
You find a house sitting opportunity - this could be on House sitters UK, another house sitting site, or even just on Facebook.
You apply to the house sit - make sure you have a top-notch profile and write a brilliant application to wow the owners.
Video call with the owners - if they are considering your application, it’s good practice to meet on a call to get to know them and their needs.
Confirm the house sit - once you are all clear on what is required of you and you are happy with the exchange, go ahead and confirm the sit.
Check-in before arrival - just to be sure everything is going as planned and to confirm any final details of your arrival.
Arrive at the house sit - you can usually arrive a day before or early in the day to get a proper handover, get the keys and meet the pets.
Welcome to your new temporary home - Time to enjoy the house sit - feel at home, explore the area like a local, and make sure everything runs smoothly while the owners are away.
Prepare the home for owners to come back - make sure the house is the same as the owners left it and be in touch to see if they need anything for their return.
Do hand over back to the owners - update them on what has happened in their absence and give back all the keys, etc.
Review and repeat - if you are using any of the house sitting websites be sure to give a review to the owners, and get one too. Now go to step one!
Sounds simple enough right? Now we’re going to drill down into more detail about how house sitting works and answer all the questions we had when we first started!
Let’s begin with answering, what does a house sitter actually do?
What are the house sitters' responsibilities?
Knowing your responsibilities and doing them well is the key to being a good house sitter. If you do these things right you will get great references and are therefore likely to secure more house sits in the future.
It is worth noting, every house sit will require different responsibilities and there can be lots or very little. Make sure you are clear on what your responsibilities are before you start any house sit so that you know everything you need to do. Here are some of the usual house sitting responsibilities:
Take care of the pets - clean them, walk them, feed them, play with them, and make them happy!
Take care of the home - keep it clean and be careful to not break things (of course, it happens sometimes but try your best).
Maintain security of the home - keep doors locked, check windows, and be aware of who is coming in and out of the house.
Take care of the garden depending on the season - water plants, mow the lawn, do general cleaning in the garden, harvest vegetables and fruits (and usually you get to enjoy them too!)
Make the owners feel at ease - check-in with them, send pet photos, inform them if anything happens.
Take in the mail - and put out the trash.
Prepare the home for when the owners return - clean, pick them up from the airport, and make them dinner.
Beyond these more obvious responsibilities, you can really be asked to do many different things and it’s up to you to decide if you are comfortable with that.
If you don’t feel comfortable with the responsibilities, don’t do the house sit.
In our experience, the responsibilities truly vary from sit to sit. We’ve looked after dogs that didn’t need many walks, and we’re booked for a sit on a after farm with 20+ animals, Obviously, we are happy with those responsibilities, which is why we will enjoy it so much too.
How long is a house sit?
Most house sits fall in the range of 1 to 3 weeks, however, house sits can be just for a weekend or a year plus!
From our observations, the longer house sits usually require more responsibilities and can be more remote than short house sits. This is great if you want to live somewhere for any period of time and really get to know the place, but if you are new to house sitting it is probably we recommend a few shorter house sits to see how it suits you before committing to something long term.
Who can be a house sitter?
Well pretty much anyone can be a house sitter! There are so many different options out there, that you are likely to find one that suits you. A quick disclaimer though it isn’t actually for everyone (we’ll explain why further in the guide).
House sitting is a gamechanger, because you’ll never reach a stage or age where it is too late. You can shape the experiences to your needs; maybe house sitting is your weekend getaway or maybe you want to become a full-time house sitter. To list a few examples:
You’re retired and desire to keep exploring the world, but you don’t want to stay in hotels but rather in the comfort of a home. It was always your dream to live in Mexico City? House sitting is definitely for you then!
You’re a digital nomad, and the combination of working online and travelling is your thing! Well, house sitting is for you too. You’ll find many housesits both short and long-term, all over the world!
You’re a couple who have saved up for years for that roundtrip around the world. You’re running out of savings but want to keep travelling? Or maybe you got inspired to quit your jobs at home, and start that side business of yours, you’ve always dreamt of but that you don’t have the time because you need to work fulltime to pay your rent? Well, house sitting might be your way out for you!
You’re a student with a small budget but you really want to travel abroad over the summer holidays? You’re in for a win, house sitting is for you.
And so, the list goes on.
You can probably be a house sitter if you have these 6 attributes
Love animals - most house sits have pets, so it’s important that you genuinely care about animals, like to care for animals, and love to be around them.
Have a flexible schedule - it’s not absolutely necessary if you just want to house sit on the weekend and holidays, but in general working full-time, location dependent, and trying to house sit can be challenging.
Are responsible, caring, and honest - did we mention that you will have responsibilities and honesty is key?
Can communicate well - it is super important to be able to communicate effectively with the owners.
Have common sense - being practical and thoughtful goes a long way. There are quite a few house sits out there, that will favour you if you have some handy skills.
Have basic home care skills - if you don’t know how to clean, cook, or garden, house sitting might not be for you!
Who is house sitting not for?
Just as important as clarifying who can be a house sitter is talking about who can’t be (or shouldn’t be a house sitter). If you:
Are looking for a free ride - house sitting is an EXCHANGE, not free rent. If you expect to do nothing while you are at the house, this is not for you.
Are afraid of animals - you do sometimes get house sits without animals, but this is rare.
Have allergies to animal hair - if cat hair makes you cry, don’t care for cats.
Don’t like to be alone or don’t feel comfortable making new friends - this doesn’t apply to everyone, but house sitting in a new city, town, or country can sometimes get lonely, especially if the house is remote. This might be someone’s dream and someone’s worst nightmare.
Are afraid of being responsible for other people's homes - this is pretty self-explanatory.
Don’t know how to be honest - trust is the foundation of house sitting, and if you don’t value being honest and open in your communication, house owners will most likely have a bad experience, and so will you.
9 characteristics that make a good house sitter?
Being a good house sitter is less about skills and more about characteristics. If you don’t know how to mow the lawn, that's okay because you can learn with the right mindset, but having these characteristics are vital to being a good house sitter.
Trustworthiness
Reliability
Flexibility
Honesty
Cleanliness and Tidiness
Respectfulness
Friendliness
Versatility
Caring
With these characteristics in your tool kit, you will be an unstoppable house sitter! Then you can build skills on top to make yourself stand out more.
BONUS: Some skills that make you stand out could be…
Dog training
Animal psychology
Equine care
Farmhand experience
Land management
Photography (for the pet photos)
Positive reinforcement technique
Farming and gardening
Growing food
Reptile care
Knowing multiple languages
Many, many more
House sitting as a couple & families vs solo
Most of the time a couples and families will always be favoured over a solo house sitter, because having two or more responsible people is better than one and if anything happens to one person the others can still care for the home and pets.
However, this isn’t always the case. Perhaps the owners' pets are afraid of men, or the owner lives in a tiny home only big enough for one. There are still plenty of options for solo house sitters too and if you build up a reputation you’ll even out-compete couples applying for the same house sits.
Depending on who you are and what you love: House sitting solo could also be a lonely experience sometimes and so you might prefer to do it with a partner or friend.
One important thing to consider here though is to make sure your relationship with that person is solid. Having a fallout while you are caring for someone's home and pets is not wise.
In general, house sitting is incredibly rewarding whether you are a couple or solo, so don’t be put off from this fantastic experience just because you don’t have someone to do it with!
To summarize, some owners prefer couples, some solo people so regardless of how you like to do house sitting, you will always be able to find a sit that suits your needs and desires.
The do’s and don’ts of house sitting
This section deserves an article on its own because the etiquette of house sitting is very nuanced. For now, we’ve created this table of quick do’s and don’ts which will give you a solid idea, to begin with.
Before that though, the first and most important rule of house sitting: Always get clear on the expectations of the owner.
This will save you and the owner from any miscommunication or misinterpretations later on. If you aren’t sure, just ask!
DO's | DON’TS |
Tidy up after yourself | Invite friends over for a party (unless told you can) |
Ask permission before doing anything that hasn’t been discussed | Leave the pets home alone longer than instructed |
Keep in touch with the owners | Leave the house for the entire day unless you are explicitly told you can |
Leave the house better than you found it | Use metal utensils on pots and pans |
Follow the cleaning instructions | Wear shoes indoors |
Leave a welcome home gift or cook a meal | Put down hot drinks without coasters |
Lock all doors at night and when you are out | Put wood in the dishwasher |
Be authentic | Lie if you make a mistake |
Own up if you break something | Wait to update if a pet gets ill |
Remember you are still a guest | Feed pets anything but the food provided for them |
Offer to pick the owners up after their holiday | Smoke inside |
Pay attention to the pets and give them lots of love. Owners know their pets, and they can tell if they had a good time or not | Pretend to care about the animals if you don’t |
Ask for neighbour's contact details | Eat or drink things without permission |
Be clear of any medical needs of the pets | Feel afraid to relax and enjoy |
Set alarms for daily tasks to help you remember and stay on top of tasks | Be afraid to ask questions during the sit |
Is house sitting safe?
Generally, house sitting is very safe but there are some things to be aware of.
Firstly, it is important to be aware of any risks involved during a particular house sit. For example, is the dog you are caring for aggressive with other people? Or is the home located in a place where deadly spiders are common? If you turn up to a house sit unprepared this could put you and the pets in an unsafe position. Again, what is the number one rule of house sitting? Communicate, communicate, communicate!
Secondly, this is quite rare but you can get some unsavoury owners or illegitimate requests from time to time. To avoid getting in situations that might put you in danger, be sure to get to know the people beforehand, and if you feel like there are any red flags politely decline.
Some red flags could be:
Talking about pets in an abusive way or suggesting nasty methods of controlling pets such as chaining them up, caging them, or hitting them
If the owner is vague about the house sit responsibilities
If the deal seems like it’s too good to be true (e.g. they will pay you thousands of dollars, provide your food, and let you stay as long as you want)
If the owner doesn’t give you any guidelines for taking care of the pets (feeding times, etc.)
If the owner is expecting too much from you (e.g. full-time stable work) or expecting you to do dangerous tasks (e.g. use an old chainsaw to chop wood)
If they won’t meet you on a call beforehand
If they won’t provide their name or address
If their profile has no photos or reviews
Using a house sitting website like House Sitters UK, helps avoid situations like this because of the review and reference system and the well laid out profiles. On the flip side, finding house sitting opportunities on Facebook could be less safe.
We recommend signing up for housesitting websites that include references and reviews, to make sure the owners and animals are safe and previous sitters have had a great experience.
For the most part, these safety issues can all be avoided if you make sure to meet the owners, get all the details about the house sit and be aware. In the end, you have to go with your gut, if anything feels out of the ordinary, find another house sit!
Is house sitting legal?
The ins and outs of the legality of house sitting are a bit of a gray area and there is not too much information out there on the web. In general, house sitting is legal in most countries but there are a few things to consider.
Visa requirements
In countries where you need a visa it is worth checking what that visa allows you to do. House sitting isn’t classified as a job or an official volunteering position so most of the time it is legal, but still worth a quick check. For example, in the USA, Canada and the United Kingdom housesitting is legal if no money is part of the exchange on a tourist visa.
That said, just because it is legal it doesn’t mean it won’t raise suspicion with some immigration officers. For example, this house sitter was deported from the USA for house sitting. You travel at your own risk.
Tenancy agreements
Although maybe not important for short house sits, if you are doing a longer house sit and the person you are house sitting for is just renting it might be worth finding out if they have a subletting clause for their rental. If you are the only person staying at the house for an extended period of time it could be deemed a sublet which might get you and the person you are house sitting for in trouble.
There may be other things to consider when it comes to legality, but since house sitting is entirely trust-based and no payments exchange hands, laws are pretty hard to enforce.
Is house sitting free?
House sitting may not cost you anything, but it isn’t free! House sitting is an exchange where instead of paying with money you pay with care. What you get in exchange is usually free rent, free utilities, and sometimes some little extras like the use of a car, or enjoying all the food in the fridge.
The exchange is whatever you agree upon that seems fair to you, but usually, owners are expected to cover all the costs of animal care and daily bills like gas and water. This isn’t always the case and it’s up to you to decide if you are okay with that.
Personally, we believe that a house sitter should never be asked to pay for anything, as house sitting is an exchange, not a job, not a service, and not a rental. We have come across housesits where the owners asked the sitters to pay for utilities like Wi-Fi, gas, heat, etc., for longer sits. As we hope you have discovered above from this guide, house sitting comes with great responsibilities and offers great advantages for owners. Therefore we believe the essence of house sitting is a mutual exchange of benefits and no money should ever be involved. However, if you are happy with the agreement of paying for utilities, you can totally do that.
As a house sitter, you are still expected to pay for your own food and travel expenses, although again it is not unheard of to get food paid for (especially if you are looking after a remote island). Some owners might be happy to cover your costs of getting there or leave money in an envelope at their home for you to enjoy that new restaurant down the street as a thank you. The list could go on, but because there are no official guidelines on how housesitting works, each sit is unique but the general guidelines above goes for everyone and for every sit.
Overall, house sitting massively reduces the cost of traveling and gives you an opportunity to save if you also work online while you do house sits. Not to mention, often you raise the quality of accommodation too.
The final word - never expect a free ride!
How much freedom do you have while house sitting?
The amount of freedom you have while house sitting really depends on the house sit agreement and the types of pets you are looking after. House owners tend to have different expectations for how their pets should be cared for and that should always be respected.
Dogs generally require a house sitter to be more present and not leave them alone for too long. Most house owners would ask for the dog to not be left alone for more than 4-6 hours. It is also important to be mindful of the usual routine the dog has. Feeding and walking time should be kept about the same while the owner is away.
Caring for cats is a little less restrictive since they are more independent and don't require walks. However, they still need to be fed and played with. Most owners will be happy for you to go out for an entire day as long as the cat is fed and has water.
Going away for a night would not be acceptable for most homeowners, although if you ask beforehand they can usually arrange for help for the time you are away.
For us, the freedom of being able to travel around the world and hang out with animals is greater than any of the limitations that house sitting might have. It’s down to personal taste though and definitely something to consider before becoming a house sitter.
Is house sitting for you?
Congratulations you’ve divulged a lot of information about what house sitting is and what it entails! Now you should have a pretty good idea if house sitting is for you, but just to make sure there are some self-reflective questions to help you make up your mind.
Do you love animals?
Great, but do you also enjoy taking care of animals?
Are you responsible and trustworthy?
Are you able to follow instructions?
Do you have common sense?
Are you good at communicating?
Are you a critical thinker and good at making judgments?
Do you have green fingers?
Do you love to travel?
Are you flexible with your time?
Do you really care about animals?
Do you feel confident in your abilities to handle an emergency situation?
Do you aspire to explore the world more authentically?
Do you enjoy genuine connections, meeting new people and getting to know new people?
Does the sound of endless opportunities of free travel and living in unique homes around the world inspire you?
Are you excited by the idea of everything you just read?
If you are mostly nodding to these questions then there is no good reason to not to have a go at house sitting! And if you are nodding, it means you are ready for the next and most exciting part of the article - how do YOU become a house sitter!
Are you ready?
How to become a house sitter?
The process of becoming a house sitter is easy, as you might remember from our 10-step process further back in the guide. However, there is a big difference between being a house sitter and being an amazing house sitter. We have many tips and tricks to doing it well and making sure you get house sitting opportunities again and again.
We want to make sure you don’t just get started, but also get chosen. In this section, we’re going to dive deep into all aspects of becoming a house sitter to give you a head start!
How to find house sitting opportunities
Most commonly, house sitting platforms are your best bet for finding house sitting opportunities especially when you are starting out. The most commonly used ones are:
There are plenty of other platforms as well, but we would generally recommend starting with House Sitters UK if you plan to travel in the UK.
Other than house sitting platforms you can also find house sitting opportunities on Facebook, by exploring the many house sitting Facebook groups. Remember, to be aware that you have to do you own thorough research about the people you meet on Facebook, whereas house sitting platforms have profiles and reviews for homeowners.
Most platforms have a yearly fee, which ensures the people are going through background checks, and follow the general house sitting guidelines. It is surely worth paying for. Let us remind you, for less than £100 a year, you can live rent-free for a year.
We recommend you as a first time house sitter to sign up on an online platform. This will ensure a faster house sitting gig as well as a safer and more comfortable experience to begin with.
How to set up your house sitting profile
If you decide to use a house sitting platform to find house sitting opportunities, the next step would be to set up your house sitting profile. This is a very important first step, as this is your opportunity to show prospective house owners what a great house sitter you will be. Your profile is the homeowners first impression of you, so it is important to stand out.
The important things people want to know are a little about who you are, what your experience with pets is, any other skills you might have and that you are clean and conscientious. Your profile should be a mix of personal and professional qualities, as, at the end of the day, humans connect to other humans through relating and not necessarily the titles and status. People don’t remember you for what you do, but for who you are. This is your time to shine.
10 tips for setting up a great house sitting profile
Have a great profile picture - This really makes a difference and helps you catch peoples eye. We’ve had people reach out to us to house sit for them because they saw our profile picture!
More great photos with animals - This shows that you are used to being around animals. Don’t upload 10 photos of you with the same dog, but upload photos of you with many different animals to show you’ve taken care of more than just one pet.
Be authentic - Just be yourself and speak about who you are honestly. People like to really know who will be looking after their home and pets, in the end, the personality shines through experiences.
Talk about your past experiences with house sitting (or just having pets and doing some gardening) - Being open about the relevant skills you have is really useful for home owners when they are making a decision. Mindset is everything; you might not know how a solar panel works, but you are for sure willing to learn!
If you love being around animals, definitely say so! - And remember to explain why.
Remember the characteristics earlier in the guide? - Be sure to drop some of these in.
Non-smoking, Non-drinking are often desirable - But don’t add them if they aren’t true.
Include your occupation - This is especially good to talk about if you work from home as it can put the home owners mind at ease that you will spend time at home.
Being clean and hygienic is often important for people - Again honesty trumps this, but worth keeping in mind.
Go on House Sitters UK and look at other house sitters profiles - This is a great way to get inspiration about what to write.
How to score your first house sit?
Great, you've now got an incredible house sitting profile on one of the house sitting platforms and now it’s time to start applying.
If you are just starting out, it is worth trying to build up some reputation before going for more highly desirable houses and locations.
Try to find a house sit that is local to you and not somewhere people would usually go for a holiday. This instantly increases your chances of getting your first house sit because there will be less competition. An extra bonus if the house sit is local is that you can meet the home owners and pets in person before starting the house sit to make sure everything is set before you do it.
Use the house sitting platforms search function to near down your search to your local area and look for dates that you can definitely commit to. Next, check the profile of the homeowner so you can understand what is expected of you and what they are offering. If everything suits you, send them a message.
Much like your profile, the first message you send is really important and will be the first impression for that homeowner. This message is often a make or break to whether the homeowner is interested in getting you to know more. See this as your application for your favourite job. You make sure you get it right, because there isn’t a second chance.
You can use the tips above when writing your message as well, then there are a few other things you can do too:
Be friendly, but professional - don’t use slang, use their name at the beginning of the messages and keep it light-hearted.
Refer to the pets by their names - the pets are part of the family so treat them as so!
Be concise - don’t repeat your entire profile, but add anything important and refer them to your profile at the end.
Tell them why you would love to look after their pets and home.
Make sure to mention something they wrote on their listing - so they know you took your time to really consider and read everything they wrote.
How to become a full-time house sitter?
Once you’ve scored your first house sit and you love the experience, a whole new world of house sitting opens up to you! If you’re ready to give up your current life to become a full-time house sitter you should prepare yourself for success, a life where the world is your home and new and endless opportunities!
Firstly, look for longer term house sits. Constantly planning and moving from house sit to house sit can get really exhausting! Set up your search filters to one month plus house sits and apply for any that give you more time to spend in each place.
Secondly, build yourself a website. This isn’t essential, but it really helps you stand out and makes it easier to score new house sits. You want your success rate to be really high because you will be spending a lot of time searching and applying for new housesits.
Finally, build your skills! Do a short course in positive reinforcement training or get a dog grooming certificate. If you have experience farming you can easily transition from house sitting to international farm sitting or caretaking for big estates.
Bonus: Can you be paid for house sitting?
If you are interested in becoming a full-time house sitter you might be interested in getting paid for it as well. Unlike most of this guide, where we recommend house sitting as an exchange we did want to mention a few options for getting paid.
Websites such as caretaker.org offer long-term caretaking roles which as often paid for. You can also explore opportunities on Wwoofing.net. While these may start out voluntary, you can easily build relationships and grow into paid roles as well.
There are also options for becoming a paid house sitter in your local area by using Rover.com, but this is a whole different aspect of house and pet sitting which we will not cover here.
During a house sit
Once you’ve accepted a house sit, you probably want to come back to this section of the guide and refresh your memory on what happens next! Once the home owners head off on their trip away you are in charge. So what do you need to do during a house sit?
What to expect
At first it can be a bit overwhelming to be in a new space and already have so many responsibilities. If you are caring for any number of animals and you have to remember to switch this switch at this time or make sure to be in for this package to be received it can be a lot.
Don’t worry! You will make it! We have found the best ways through trial and error, to stay on top of everything at the same time as freeing up mind space instead of worrying if you’ve done everything.
First of, you should always ask the owners to put ALL of the guidelines and instructions down on paper. We recommend asking the owners to do this beforehand so it is ready to walk through once you get there. It is important to note, that before confirming the sit you should have discussed all tasks included.
The paper, or document, is for your use as it is impossible to remember all the smaller details like how many grams of food the dogs get in the evening. This also ensures you don’t worry about remembering everything, but you can always refer to the paper/document and ENJOY your stay.
We prepare a list of questions prior to coming and make sure everything is answered before the homeowners leave.
Once you have settled in and repeated the regular tasks a few times everything feels good and the rest is smooth sailing. Just remember to give yourself a day at the end of the house sit to clean up and pack. In general, a day or two each end without too much going on will make the whole house sit much more enjoyable!
4 things that will make your house sit easier
Write everything down - you might think you will remember everything, but trust us you won’t. Get everything down in writing so that you can refer back to it at any time. The home owner will most likely have a guide with details like emergency contacts, but be sure to double-check everything. And maybe something makes more sense to you in your own words than the owners. Make the list your list.
Alarms are your friends - if you have daily tasks, set an alarm on your phone, it takes away a lot of stress and also makes sure you don’t forget. The same goes for other irregular appointments, just add them to the calendar straight away and set notifications. We recommend doing this on your first day of the sit, to stay on top of everything. This ensures you can relax, and your phone will remind you.
Take a video of the house before you settle in - things get moved around naturally when you live in a place, but it is nice for home owners to arrive back to their home as they left it. Take a quick video at the beginning so you can double-check check everything is back in place at the end.
Make a point of asking about which specific cleaning products are used for what - and save yourself time trying to figure out which is floor soap and which is window cleaner!
Communication with the homeowner
Home owners love a photo and a little update every now and again while they are away. It gives them great peace of mind to see their pets having fun and that everything is going okay.
We always recommend asking the owners before we leave how often they want to hear from us. Some people will want a message every day and others once a week. It’s good to know this upfront so you don’t overdo it or not send enough!
If you have any problems while the owners are away, don’t hesitate to reach out if you can’t solve them yourself. However, if it is something small and not urgent you can just log it and let them know when they are back.
What to do if things go wrong
It happens! Sometimes things just go wrong, especially if you do longer house sits. And sometimes it’s just life - you smash a glass, or the washing machine doesn’t want to start. The best course of action is to let the owners know what has happened as soon as possible.
Always communicate, and never be afraid of letting the owners down - most often owners are just happy their animals are being loved, and a broken glass means nothing in the grand scheme of things. Even if you did make a mistake, it might be a hard message to write, but we can guarantee you it is the right thing to do and to let them know as soon as possible. It might seem contradictory at first, but owners will trust you more, the more honest you are.
In the case of an emergency with a pet, you should have emergency contacts written down to contact straight away. You should know the location of the vets as well.
Always be honest and transparent about what happened and don’t try to cover things up. If you’ve made a mistake the most responsible thing to do is to own up and then help fix it. We’re all human after all and mistakes happens.
Exploring the area
Before the home owners leave, ask them for their favourite spots in the area. Sometimes local knowledge is more valuable than any Google research. You can try to meet up with some of the owners friends as well, who might like to show you around or give you more tips of where to go!
Of course, always remember to make sure the home is secure before you leave and if you are looking after pets, don’t leave them home alone for longer than agreed upon!
In our experience, exploring the area with the dogs, brings the greatest joy and many new connections!
Before the homeowner comes back
This is your time to really shine! Owners love to come back to a clean home. Make sure everything is fresh and clean as much as you can. Give yourself a day to do a full deep clean and replace bedding and towels, etc.
If you have used anything up, such as spices, replace them and also pick up a few basics for the home owners to come back to.
An added bonus is to buy some flowers to set on the table. This leaves a lasting impression and a great experience for the homeowners. This will lead to a great review and potentially the chance to return to house sit again. Or even better, create your own personal touch, that will make them remember you.
So, is house sitting a good idea?
100% yes! House sitting has changed our lives and we love it so much. We truly believe we’ve discovered the best life hack of all time, and we hope you will realize this too.
If you have enjoyed this guide and feel like house sitting is for you, give it a go. We’re pretty sure you won’t regret it, especially with all this additional information we have provided you with.
We hope this guide has given you some confidence, and clear instructions on how to get started. And most importantly some fire within you to go live that dream life of yours while helping other people along the way! After all, giving is living and we can guarantee you that house sitting is truly fulfilling.
If you have any questions we haven’t answered in this guide don’t hesitate to reach out. We would love to hear from you and answer any questions you might have.
Are you ready to get started?
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