House-sitting and pet-sitting are amazing ways to travel to new places, immerse yourself in local cultures and save money! With the rise of websites like Trusted House Sitters international house and pet sitting has become more popular.
Have you ever wondered if it is possible to house sit long term or full time? The answer is absolutely yes and lots of people do! I have personal experience with this, I spent 12 months in New Zealand, predominantly house sitting.
To do full-time, long-term house sitting:
- Choose your house and pet-sitting platform
- Build a profile
- Start applying to sits
- Get reviews
- Secure long-term sits or,
- Combine multiple sits
- Decide what you will do when there are gaps between sits
In this article, I will go through each of these steps in becoming a long-term house sitter and share my own personal experience of long-term house sitting.
Choose your platform
There are a number of house-sitting websites. The most popular global site is Trusted House Sitters. Other house-sitting platforms include:
There are also location specific house sitting websites:
There are also a number of Facebook groups.
When choosing your platform Consider:
where you will be house-sitting.
- Location, where you want to house and pet sit
- How much you want to pay
- What sits are available
- Importance of verification etc. to you
Build your profile
Take some time to create a great profile. Think of it like internet dating, this is what people are going to see and you want to make an amazing first impression!
Fill in every field available on your profile.
Most people who are looking for a house sitter are actually looking for a pet sitter. So at every opportunity talk about your love for animals and experience with animals.
Include as many images as possible, including a mix of pictures with different animals or doing skills that may be relevant to house and pet sitting such as gardening.
Some websites, such as Trusted House Sitters, allow you to add a reference from a person in your life before you even do any sits. Make sure to fill this in. It gives people more reassurance about what type of person you are.
People are entrusting you with their loved ones (pets) and most valuable assets (their home!) building a solid profile with lots of information, pictures and references helps build the trust that is needed to secure your first sits.
Apply for house and pet sitting opportunities
Browse your chosen platform and start applying for house and pet sitting opportunities!
When applying for a house or pet sit:
- Personalise the message – don’t copy and paste the same message to all people!
- Read their profile and what they need
- Focus on them in the application
- Offer a video call or an in person meet up if they are close by
When you are first starting off, before you have any reviews, it can take a while to get your first sit, but don’t be discouraged!
If you are having trouble securing your first sit:
- Apply for sits close by where you can meet them in person before the sit, this will greatly increase your chances!
- Apply for house sits with less demand. Look for:
- Sits with not a lot of photos or information
- Sits in low-demand (non-touristy) areas
- Sits for a very short time, 1 – 2 nights
Build your Reviews
Once you have started house and pet sitting it is important to collect reviews. Like a snowball, the more and better your reviews the more house and pet sits you will be accepted for.
To ensure you get good reviews provide a great house-sitting service.
The keys to a great house and pet sit:
- Communication
- Respecting their home and following their rules
- Keeping the home clean, tidy and secure
- Doing all tasks and responsibilities (such as taking care oh house plants, collecting mail
- Keeping their pets happy and healthy
Although house and pet sitting is an exchange rather than a job, it is best to treat the people you are sitting for as customers. Give them your best customer service and you’ll be sure to get great reviews!
Long-Term House Sits
Most house and pet sitting platforms allow you to filter sits by length, with options such as 2+ months.
The longest house sit I have ever done was three months in the Canadian Rockies looking after two fluffy cats!
I have seen house sits advertised for 6 months and even for a year. These are usually people who are relocating temporarily. These include ‘snowbirds’ who leave a cold climate during winter, there are several such sits available in Canada I have seen come up several years in a row including small fishing resorts.
Securing one of these house and pet sits is a great way to continue your long-term house sitting journey but there is another option I will explore below.
Combine Shorter Term House Sits
Long-term house sits (2+ months) can be competitive to secure. That’s why combining shorter sits and doing them one after another is a great way to do long-term house sitting.
This is how I spent 12 months in New Zealand. I spent six months travelling all over visiting different and often off-the-beaten-path places, house and pet sitting. Then I spent 6 months in Dunedin, staying in house sits ranging from 10 days to 2 and a half months long.
The two most common issues with this approach is:
- What to do when there is a gap in your calendar? i.e. no sits!
- What to do when sits overlap
I encountered both of these issues and there are ways around them.
What to do when there is a gap between sits
There are several options when this occurs:
- Pay for accommodation (hotel, hostel, Airbnb)
- Camp, car camp or ‘Van Life’
- Work exchange for accommodation
When travelling in New Zealand I did all three methods! Sometimes, there were big distances and some time between house sits, I tent camped and car camped in areas I wanted to explore along the way.
When staying in Dunedin I wanted to stay in one area, and it was winter, so camping and exploring was not a good option for me. During a longer gap of a few weeks, I did a work exchange through Helpx in a hostel, where I worked for 2 hours in the morning for free accommodation. This worked well because I did not want to pay for accommodation for a long time. However, another time I had a gap of a week and stayed in an Airbnb.
Sometimes homeowners are happy for you to come and stay a few extra nights. Actually, many prefer it so they can show you around and you can get to know the pet while they are still there. If you are comfortable with it, it is always worth asking if you can come a few days early.
What to do when house sits overlap
When house sits over lap the best thing to do is communicate with the homeowner. If the two sits are close to each other they may be comfortable with you splitting your time between the two sits. For example, a house sit with one low-maintenance cat may be happy for you to check in and feed once or twice a day.
However, they also may not be and you won’t be able to do one of the sits.
I was house-sitting as part of a couple so when this happened one of us stayed at each of the houses during the overlap period and it presented no problems for the homeowners.
As with a lot of things in life, communication is key in long-term house sitting! If you have any issues such as overlapping sits get in touch with the homeowner and see what solutions you can come up with together.
Indeed, for longer-term house sits home owners often leave a contact or the details of a stand-in pet sitter in case you need or want to go away for a night or two, so this is something you can check when making your arrangements.
Summary
Full-time and long-term house sitting can be an idyllic way of life with little cost and the opportunity to explore the world! There can be some complications with planning and calendars and there can be competition for desirable and long-term sits. However, once you remain flexible and positive it is absolutely worth it and gave me experiences and memories that money could never buy.
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