Housesitter tips?

[moimeme]

Has anybody had experiences with having housesitters? I'm going to poke around on the 'net to see what's there, but if there are any anecdotes which might serve as cautionary tales, please tell them. I'm considering using one and would be interested to hear about people's experiences.

[Arabess]

I wish I could get a job housesitting.....wouldn't that just be cool???? I have kids though. So, I guess, the first cirteria is chosing someone who doesn't have children. How would you know they wouldn't steal your stuff? So, you would want them to be 'bonded'. If they broke something? You would want them 'insured'. Then there would be the needed references. I wonder if using an 'agency' designed for providing such assistance wouldn't be the better way to go than seeking out an individual.

 

I don't know Moimeme....there is a lot to consider.

[Arabess]

Hmmmm ....I just saw where you provided that 'map' to Estonia. Are you planning to crash that bachelor party and need a house sitter?????

 

hahahaha!

[quankanne]

we usually have had my boss or one of his daughters (during their teenage days to now, when they're home on college break for the holidays) keep an eye on the cats whenever we've had to leave. But we know them pretty well, they're like family, so we trust them.

 

my suggestion is to find a young adult you know AND trust pretty well who would be open to making a little bit of spending money or who wouldn't mind swapping help with you when they need it. That's seemed to work best for us.

 

another suggestion is to purchase a prepaid calling card (we get the 600-minute ATT cards that Sam's Club carries) and explain that if they need to make a long-distance call on your phone, to please use the card, which is much, much cheaper than billing it through the phone company. That way, you're not stuck with an ungodly bill and you have the option of letting them have the card for keeping an eye on your place.

 

and now for MY question: does anyone have any good suggestions for finding people to help move us out of our apartment when the time comes? the last time, my teenage nephew brought along some of his friends (all big boys) and it just cost a tank of gas, a case of beer and a homecooked dinner for payment. Alas, those boys are grown up with families of their own; all our friends in town are much older and really don't need to be lifting or moving our shxt! What kinds of experiences have y'all had with moving services?

[wiseOLDman]

moimeme, three things come to mind:

 

1. References- make sure you check references for anyone that you might hire.

2. Damage deposit- If you're talking about an extended period of time, you might want to require one.

3. Insurance- check with your insurance company to assure that you're properly covered in both property and liabililty in the event that there's a problem.

 

Other things to consider:

smoker/non-smoker

children

pets

visitors

etc.

 

 

I don't have any experience with housesitters, other than friends, but there was an article in the local paper in the past few days about "vacation house swaps" where I use your house and you use mine for vacation. While most of the ones setup thru reputable companies work out just fine, some can be a nightmare if not thoroughly checked out.

 

Good luck-

wise

[befuddled11]

I've used housesitters many times, mostly to watch my cats when I've had to go away for a few days or more. I wouldn't do this now, as one of my cats is diabetic and frankly, I wouldn't trust anyone with giving him his insulin, checking his blood sugar level, ensuring he ate enough prior to his shots, etc....but that's a whole 'nother post.

 

Back when I lived in Beautiful BC (LOL), I hired a colleague's daughter (my age) to house/pet-sit. She had cats herself and I trusted her to properly care for mine..but lemme tell ya, she blew it big time and I was livid.

 

I'd hired her a few times but the *last* time (now keep in mind, I work with her mother, so you think she'd know enough not to be a twit), here are the things I busted her on:

 

-she ate all the "good food" I had in my freezer (you know, ice cream, frozen appetizers, steak, etc)..and didn't replace any of it

-she drank all my booze (okay, so it was only a couple 6 packs of coolers, but still

-she went into my basement, took my boxes of pop cans that I would take to the recyclers, and she had the gall to take all the cans to the bottle depot, for the money. And she kept the money. Did I ask her to do this? No. It was about $50 worth

-I had SPECIFICALLY instructed her NOT to use my computer (at the time, I lived in a small town that had only one crummy internet provider, and they charged a mere fortune for internet time.....like $100 for 50/ per month..so I didn't want her using up my time or racking up charges for overusage). I even went so far as to locking my keyboard and putting the key HIDDEN in my undies drawer. A few days after I got home, I got onto my computer....long story short, she'd gone into my Word program and had written a letter to someone....she STUPIDLY forgot the delete "her letterhead", so she was busted. Obviously snooped through my undie drawer and found the key. So what other things did she snoop through?

-I always leave my house SPOTLESS when I'm going away somewhere. Part of her responsibility was to vacuum every couple of days and leave things just as I'd left them. The house was a pig stye. Dirty dishes in the sink, spills on the kitchen floor, etc.

-I found it very odd, that afternoon I got home....she said to me, "I was bored so I decided to wash all of your bedding in your room and your guest room!" I thought that was bizarre. Hell, she didn't even have the courtesy to MAKE up my bed again......she just left all the sheets and comforter and such, folded on my bed, for me to make myself. Long story short, the wench obviously had people over in my house...sleeping in my bed. I was DISGUSTED because, come on, who the hell was sleeping in my bed?

-needless to say, by the time I realized all this, she'd cashed the very substantial cheque I'd given her for her services. I did, however, tell her off in a huge way...for all the good that did.

 

If I was hiring someone again, things I'd consider:

 

-be clear that they are NOT to have other people in your home....because who knows who they'll bring over? Someone who'll snoop? steal from ya? do drugs in your home? Have a party? sleep in your bed? A person should be there to house-sit, not have company.

 

-have a backup plan. If you have neighbors you trust, also give them a key, and give your housesitter their #...so that if for any reason she can't make it one day, at least someone can stop by. Also, have the neighbors keep an eye on the activities of the housesitter. Make sure your neighbors have a # to reach you (and cell phone) in case of emergency.

 

-REFERENCES!!!

 

-you have cats, don't you? If so, make sure housesitter has the # to your Vet...and you instruct her on what to do in the case of an emergency....and she or he has a pet carrier accessible if they have to get one of your pets to the Vet. A frightened pet that needs to go to the Vet with some stranger will likely bolt...needs to be in a proper carrier.

 

-have the housesitter come over and spend some time with your pets PRIOR to you going away...so that your animals aren't freaked out by this 'stranger' on their turf....depending on how long you're going to be gone for, a stressed cat/dog can often stop eating......not so bad with dogs, but a cat that goes for more than 24 hrs without eating, can develop liver problems.

 

-ensure housesitter is careful to ensure your pets don't accidentally get outside. I would ALWAYS have mine (the good ones i hired) do a "head count"......and I would have them call me NIGHTLY to let me know how things were.

 

-another reason for letting neighbor know you're going away is.......I did have one house/catsitter once who I found out from the neighbor, was NOT going there twice daily as she was being paid for.....some days she didn't go at all, all because I guess she thought I wouldn't know any better. Another good reason to have the housesitter make contact with you daily.....have them call you from YOUR phone....so that you know they're there.

 

-make sure they know where something as simple as your main water shut-off valve is in your house.......nothing worse in winter than pipes freezing and a huge flood.

 

-set firm rules re: smoking, them having people over with them, whether they can sleep in your bed, whether they're to just stop by daily or whether they need to stay overnight, what areas in your home are off limits, etc.

[moimeme]

Thanks much for tips so far. This is an older woman (thank heavens) who has 'vacation swap' people stay in her condo while she travels. In fact, her own place will be occupied while she does this house-sit job. She also house-sits fairly often. I will ask about references, though she was referred through friends, they hadn't used her themselves.

[yes]

i used to work as a cat/house-sitter when i was a teen; i wish you lived in my city, moimeme, i'd do it for you!

 

anyway, the reasons people chose me were: (and you may want to look for the same things)

1 - the cats liked me - came up to me, purred, etc.

2 - i came w/ pen&paper and wrote down what to do, how often, vet's #, the way to reach them while they're away, etc.

3 - i also asked to be taught how to use the TV, CD player & appliances, - showing my intention to hang around there a lot

 

References are good, but whoever it is - hide away expensive stuff like necklaces & what-not - i mean, why tempt them. Leave them a note, some snacks, and water if you wanna be nice The lady I worked for always left me notes and brought back small chocolates for me

 

good luck,

-yes

[moimeme]

i wish you lived in my city, moimeme, i'd do it for you!

 

THAT would be cool Guess you aren't up to flying 2500 miles, huh?

 

Thanks for the ideas.

[tattoomytoe]

i house sit, babysit for some good middle-aged friends of mine. they have a great home. i also housesit for a coworker who lives in a historic row house in Georgetown-very awesome!

 

But here is a great story for you. my first house sitting experience. i was watching the dog too, while they were gone to oklahoma. i get up on the first morning, open the door to let the dog out, OOPS, forgaot the alarm! so the company calls and as like is everything ok, i say yes, then they ask for the codeword- which they didn't give me. so about 5 mins later there is a cop at the door, me in pj's trying to make breakfast, with this yappy little dog. WEll i had to call the owners in oklahoma, the cop spoke with them then he left. All is well i continue making sausage. i go out the garage door to smoke a cig, and i lock myself out of the house, this was in dec. with 3 in. of snow on the ground. So i have a potential fire on the stove, cause its greasy sausage, the dog is inside, alll my things are inside, and the cops were JUST here 5 minutes ago!!!! So i got a hammer and bashed the sh*t out of the door knob, it com,es off and i am able to get in! Whew! so i replaced the door knob, installed it backwards to boot!!! But they were very cool about it, i am usually clumsyu like that , they laughed. That was stressfull!

[quankanne]

I came w/ pen&paper and wrote down what to do, how often, vet's #, the way to reach them while they're away, etc.

 

damned good tip, yes -- I'd hire you in a heartbeat because I'd know you were serious about your responsibilities when you started taking notes on how to do things!

[Dora]

oh, gosh! I house sit for a couple for the past 2 weeks. My main job was to water all of their flowers. and one of their potted plants is 33 years old, it was a gift from a friend of theirs when they started their own business. the plant grows as their business grows...it made me so nervous when they told me the story...what if the plant died in my hand???? All of my own potted plants died as I either watered them too much or forgot to water them...

 

I am happy they have come back home on last Sunday and all their plants are green...

 

my mission completed!

 

If something has special meaning or it's valuable to you, tell the house sitter, so she/he would pay special attention to it.