Monday

Make and Save Money House Sitting


Would you like to travel the country, live rent free and possibly make some money doing it? Consider house sitting. What’s house sitting? It’s when you live in and maintain a person’s house during the time they are away. House sitting jobs are available all year long all over the world, can last from a weekend up to a few years, and many times involve taking care of pets as well.

There are opportunities available in this field just working a few gigs a year or you can dive in head first and become a full time professional house sitter. You save money by living rent free and can sometimes make money by charging the homeowner fees for special tasks. There are quite a few house sitting service websites that you can register with that will, usually for a fee, try to match up homeowners with house sitters. Before you sign up with one or send any money make sure to perform an online search for reviews of the house sitting website you are considering joining.

If you are thinking of a specific area that you want live in check the town community web site for house sitting jobs, as well as the Craigslist postings for the area. You could also place ads on virtual bulletin boards advertising your services. You will need some good references and also be willing to submit to (and pass) a criminal background check.

Still interested? Here are some sites to explore.

The Caretaker Gazette - This site offers “a unique newsletter containing property caretaking and house sitting jobs, advice, and information for property caretakers, housesitters, and landowners. Published since 1983, it's the only publication in the world dedicated to the property caretaking field.” Subscriptions start at $29.95 per year.

HouseCarers – They provide “the most comprehensive information available on house sitting. We guide you through the process of successfully matching homeowner with sitters. Housesitters list their preferences through a simple registration process. Homeowners communicate with sitters through our confidential message system to preserve privacy and security.” Membership is $45 for 12 months listing.

House Sitters America – “Whether you need to find someone reliable and experienced to watch your home and pets or are looking for lucrative house sitting jobs that involve exciting travel, free rent, and extra income opportunities - House Sitters America is for you.” Cost is $30 for 12 month membership.

Luxury House Sitting – They say this site was “created with one idea in mind -- to help luxury homeowners locate responsible house sitters and to give house sitters the ability to build a trustworthy profile.” Membership is $10 per year.

House Sit World – “An international service for house sitters, Caretakers & pet sitters since 1999. House sitters wanted for House sitting in U.S.A, Europe, London, England, Australia, Canada, Paris, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Germany, Portugal, New Zealand.” Payment options are by various currencies via PayPal, including $40 for 12 months.

Related Reading:

How to Make Money from Vacant Houses

16 comments:

  1. Thanks for writing about housesitting. I have tried all the housesitting websites and have found www.caretaker.org to be the best for housesitting assignments. I recently started using www.caretaker.org and have found two housesitting assignments there so far.
    John

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    1. John,

      just curious if you are still house sitting and believe that caretaker.org is still a good site?

      Would love to get your input.

      Thanks,
      Jennifer

      Delete
  2. I'm certified in property management want a stipend/house-sit/ whats the best way to advertise? What are the reference recommendations and additional items that stand out best? Looking for something ASAP,SO people ever bring their pet when doing pet sitting? Thanks for your great blog, very fun and informative.Jeaneane

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  3. Can anyone tell me if Luxury house Sitting is on the up and up as they do not have an address or email contact. Which is the best place to deal with? I am concerned for my saftey as well as the homeowner is for theirs and their possessions.

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    1. I registered with Luxury House Sitting a year ago...I have received 2 scam inquiries which I reported to them.They replied to the first one - last year.
      Last week I offered my services to a couple in Hawaii who had some very specific requirements. I wrote to LHS that just pressing the green button to "express serious interest" was not enough in such cases. I tried to be smart and looked on their world map.There were two properties showed in the same location in Hawaii and it was impossible to know which one was the one listed with the picture. There must be away of cross-referencing. I asked LHS how was one to know if any of those properties on the map were in fact available. They never replied.
      In my opinion a site that needs to polish up its act somewhat! If indeed they are still there “with that one idea in mind".
      Thanks Buck for the very useful info.

      Delete
    2. Hi Silvana,
      Thanks for your very useful information. I was debating with myself whether I should sign up for Luxury House Sitting - I certainly won't do that now! MindMyHouse is my favorite and replies are almost instant should you have any inquiries.
      Thanks again : )

      Delete
    3. Hi Silvana,

      I registered on Luxury House Sitting over a month ago and received one call from a gentleman proposing an inappropriate living arrangement in a less than luxurious home. I created this Google account for the sole purpose of commenting on this issue as lately I have noticed a series of red-flags on my luxurious profile. Since my encounter with this gentleman, my profile views are alarmingly increasing while the others below and above me stay the same. Note: I very politely declined the gentleman's offer due to a conflict (I said). Since then, I have emailed Luxury House Sitting who, in response, admitted they do not screen home owners. I also noticed that though Luxury House Sitting was incorporated in 2008, not one of the house sitters' profiles (that I have viewed) have more than two stars (the number of stars one receives for opening an account and posting a photo). Additional stars are solely acquired by actual homeowner's reviews.

      I opened my account with one intention, to provide paid caretaker services. I am not interested in free living arrangements - I have a beautiful apartment. I chose to do this one day while caring for friend's farm (I have done so on and off for 3 years). My intentions were legitimate but I am finding that many advertised house sitters’ intentions are not and that home owners are getting wise to the scams. I feel sorry for the home owners. I would never hire a stranger to house sit for me - entirely too much risk. I also feel sorry for legitimate house sitters as they too are at risk of being victimized.

      The risk of being victimized will be the deciding factor in my canceling my advertisement on Luxury House Sitting. On a stronger note, I do not want to be associated with any service where people are taking advantage of one another. Advertising myself on Luxury House Sitters was more or less a whim. My house sitting and character are exceptional and I thought I could be of service to the legitimate needs of a home owner while I write. From this point forward, any house sitting jobs that I procure in the future will be entirely by word of mouth, which is the way I believe it should be.

      Thank you for hearing me out.

      Delete
  4. You could send them a question and if they reply that will give you the email address.

    Perform a search on the site along with the word "reviews."

    Check with the Better Business Bureau for any complaints.

    You could also perform a search of their domain name to find out who owns the site and then research the owners.

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  5. You might also try MindmyHouse.com and sabbaticalhomes.com although my favorite is the Caretaker Gazette.

    I am married and have no pets or children, and in these sorts of arrangements, these facts seem to be a bonus. I find, Caligirl, if they're open to the idea of your pets/kids etc they will usually mention it in the ad, but certainly can't hurt to ask.

    If you're willing to do a bit of work on the property in exchange for free or reduced rent and possibly a wage as well, then you might look at domestic/service type jobs (cleaning, handyman, gardener) that are 'live in'.

    I currently work as a cleaner for 20 hours per week for a family who live next door (in a Big, Big House) and get a wage plus reduced rent on a 3 bedroom converted barn cottage in beautiful Somerset, England, that I would have struggled to rent outright. And I can spend my afternoons in other pursuits- writing, walks, napping...

    I signed up with various staffing agencies and also checked The Lady Magazine (online and paper version), and Gumtree here in the UK (similar to Craigslist). I primarily searched for 'live in couple' or 'live in housekeeper' jobs.

    To gain experience and references, we did a few local house-sits for friends and friends of friends going on holiday.

    Hope that information is helpful.

    Thanks for the inspiring website, Buck.

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  6. This is truly a great read for me!! I love the quality information and news your blog provides I have you bookmarked to show this to my brother!
    Thanks,

    Life's Too Good

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  7. Hello! I thought I would share my positive experience with Luxury House Sitting, since you seem to doubt that it is real. I registered as a house sitter in March of this year, applied for a house sitting assignment, met with the owner, and recently completed a week-long house sitting assignment in New Jersey.

    Since that assignment, I have been in touch with homeowners in Hawaii and Maryland, but they ended up hiring other sitters. Overall, Luxury House Sitting has been a great resource, and I look forward to future assignments.

    If you doubt the legitimacy of the service, I am here to tell you the site is the "real deal". Best of luck to all!

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  8. I signed up with Luxury House Siting a few weeks ago and ended up requesting a refund because the ratio of people willing to do work to people needing work was 1:25 or more. The website owners told me that many people just post their credentials and supposedly get lots of contacting from homeowners, personally, I doubt it.

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  9. Just to show the other side, I needed a housesitter and turned to two sites. Luxury House Sitting and House Sitters America.

    Most everyone I emailed on HSA replied promply. They were all busy or other wise unavailable. It was hard to find someone near to me because the list of sitters is sort by those who have most resently been on the site.(according to the FAQ) The comunications go directly to your email. The ad I placed had 340 hits in 3 days. No one contacted me from the ad. But at least the traffic is there. I also had reason to contact the site, twice, and received prompt replies.

    Only 3 out of 10 "sitters" replied within a day to my messages on LHS. Two available and one not. I had one "sitter" contact me from the ad I placed. To look for sitters, you get a map showing where they are located which was easy.

    The job is for Thanksgiving week so I think that has something to do with the lack of available sitters on both sites. I will book mark this blog and let ya'll know how it goes.

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  10. Hi guys, thanks for the great info. Just to add another site to the list that I have used successfully - mindahome.com they have a special on and it is free to join for 2 years - nothing to lose so I gave them a go. Had a few sits now.

    Cheers, Ron

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  11. I would definitely recommend MindmyHouse.com to look for Home/Pet Sits. I am a sitter & found a home last year in Georgetown, Washington DC that I stayed in for 1 month. Lovely home & sweet dog.

    Please add MindmyHouse.com to your list above of sites to explore. Only $20 per year & there are homes all over the world.

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  12. Very useful info. Might think about House sitting myself.

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