House Sitter Jobs: How To Score the Best Ones

July 6, 2021 By Guest Contributor This article may contain affiliate links. We may earn a small commission if you buy through our links.

https://europeupclose.com/article/how-to-find-house-sitter-jobs/

Table of Contents

• Sign Up with House Sitter Sites
• Decide How Much Time You Have to Devote 
• Create a Rock Star Sitter Profile
• Set Your Animal Limits
• Obtain Great References
• Input Required Info ASAP
• Identify Your Special Skills
• Get a Little Extra Training
• Create a Checklist
• Interview the Homeowner

We’ve found another way to reduce our travel expenses dramatically. We watch people’s houses and pets while they’re away in exchange for free accommodation.

As I write this, I’m sitting on a comfortable leather sofa in front of sliding glass doors that lead to a patio overlooking a small river. Four bedrooms, 3.5 baths. Sunroom. Living room. Den. Fully stocked kitchen. The river along the back of the property. Sea across the road in front. In the south of Ireland. Also read my Top 10 Tips for House Sitting in Europe.

In my view are tall trees covered in healthy green moss with shimmering water from the nearby river. I should be out on that Adirondack chair on the patio, but the glare is just a little too bright on my computer screen. Over my shoulder, I can see the rooster and 5 hens watching me. Three dogs are in the kitchen, one out in her pen, and a horse happily peruses his pasture.

This is my home for the week. My daughter and I are living here for free. We pay no rent or utilities and hired a rental car to travel from Dublin.

We are house-sitters.

So, what did it take to get house sitter jobs?

Sign Up with House Sitter Sites

There are several good house-sitting websites out there to match you with homeowners for great house sitting jobs. All require membership fees for house sitters. For this sit, we used TrustedHousesitters.com.

Decide How Much Time You Have to Devote 

There’s a difference between housesitting for relaxation, weekend getaway, vacation or retirement and becoming a house sitter seriously. Determining how long you can devote to your first, and subsequent, house-sits will help you choose how to present yourself in your personal profile. Each house sitter sites require profiles. Some websites make it easy for you to match the type of animal you’re interested in watching (avoid cat allergies), length of stay and destination.