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Hints & Suggestions
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"We were not sure we could get someone local to care for our property and animals without a lot of arm-twisting, which is not our style, so we decided to advertise for a housesitter. "Very soon we had several responses. The house sitting required a small amount of using a tractor with a front end loader to put out hay for our steers, but several applicants seemed suitable. "We were able to visit one at his then house-sitting job and were confident he would be ideal. "He arrived on time, with all his independent equipment and after a quick tour of the farm he was left with our written guide. We were happy to be able to leave with no housesitting concerns. "Contact was maintained via e-mail and upon arrival home, we were thrilled to find the house and property well maintained and in excellent condition, "We now hope that subject to his availability that our sitter will be willing to repeat the house sit for us when next we go for a trip." - M & R, Gippsland, Vic. |
When you become a SeniorSitters Homeowner member your housesitting Opportunity is posted for all to see on the website you have chosen to use. However, only those who have bought entry rights to the website can contact you.
To maximise the impact of your listing, give a clear description of your home and of what is expected of your Housesitter. If you have a photograph of an attractive feature of the house we will place that on the website – and yours may even be highlighted as the Opportunity of the Week. For security reasons, we suggest you don’t use any pictures that are going to identify the house or its address.
Housesitters should include relevant and positive information. List your housesitting experience, affinity with animals (if applicable), home ownership and maintenance experience, and so on. In other words, whatever will make an owner confident that you are mature and responsible and will care for the property entrusted to you. If you have references available, say so. But make sure you have the prior approval of those whose names you give as referees.
When you see an Opportunity that suits you, don’t waste any time. Have a standard introduction prepared – with the sort of information outlined above. And if the owner has specific requirements, such as pet care for example, provide additional information on your experience in this area.
One of the most disheartening and frustrating experiences for Housesitters is to send off a carefully prepared response to an Opportunity and never receive any reply... More
While every situation is different, and decisions on such matters are for negotiation between owner and sitter, we feel that the following are reasonable, and fair to both parties... More
Security is one of the commonest reasons for
owners to seek sitters, instead of leaving their properties empty when absent.
But there are ways in which security can be enhanced for the benefit of owners
and sitters alike... More
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