I often wonder if some homeowners ask themselves why they struggle to find house sitters.
And if you are a homeowner who can’t find a house sitter to stay in your house while you’re on vacation, keep reading. You will gain insight and find out what you can do to attract housesitters.
There are several websites that match homeowners and house sitters. Well, not actually match them. It’s up to the house sitter or the homeowner to go through ads and profiles and reach out to one another. Most of these websites verify the identities of both the homeowners and the house sitters, which is a nice security feature. Generally, these sites charge the house sitter an annual fee to be a member and homeowners can place an ad for free.
There’s only one website I know of that also charges the homeowner a fee to join – Trusted House Sitters. I am not a member of this site. I’m not ruling them out in the future. It’s just that I’m busy enough without them. Trusted House Sitters is the most expensive housesitting website out there.
There are many Facebook groups that help match up homeowners with house sitters. All for free. But it’s Facebook. Take it with caution. There is no way to verify people are who they say they are.
Homeowners often miss out on great house sitters. Let’s dive into some common issues homeowners face followed by a few tips on how to solve them.
Location, location
For the homeowners who place ads and don’t get any responses from house sitters, often the reason is their location.
If the house is in a non-touristy location, it will be difficult to tempt a house sitter to come.
Let’s compare this with a house sit I applied for in London, England in 2023 that had over 70 applicants. And I know this, because I got the sit and the homeowners told me! It was such a great house sit that I came back in 2024 and featured their dogs in a video I made about a day in the life of a housesitter.
Major cities with popular tourist destinations are going to get a lot of interest from house sitters.
A house out in the boonies, not so much.
The farm in North Quebec
On one of my Facebook groups, specifically for housesitting in Canada, there was a post from a homeowner who lived on a farm somewhere in northern Quebec.
This homeowner planned to go away for a month, I believe in January and into February.
Oh, yes. I can see why a homeowner who lives in a place with harsh winters wants to get away to somewhere warm!
But this was not just a house with dogs and cats. It’s a farm and there are mini horses and goats. Homeowner didn’t clarify numbers of either, but in one of the photos I counted five little horses.
Homeowner claimed it takes about 15 minutes daily to feed and water the livestock. To which, one of the group members pointed out she was brought up on a farm and it takes longer than 15 minutes a day.
I agree.
About a month later the homeowner reposted the ad. And here’s the thing with Facebook. Anyone can leave a comment even if they’re not interested in the position. And comment they did.
Again doubts about the length of time to feed the livestock. Then questioning the water situation and likelihood of freezing. If the water pipes are frozen, that means hauling buckets of water from the house.
The homeowner also wanted the house sitter to bring their own car, and it would have to be a 4 wheel drive to handle the snowy country roads.
Eventually the moderator posted that all the comments and suggestions were unnecessary. I’m sure that homeowner is still looking for a sitter.
Out in the English boonies
I had a homeowner in England contact me in 2023 and I ended up accepting the sit. It was in a populated area but no nearby cafes or shopping. It was on a bus route, except buses didn’t run on Sundays so I had to plan ahead for grocery shopping.
Very pretty villages nearby that I could access by bus and do my exploring and shopping.
Meanwhile, back at the house, not so much to do. Fortunately they had Netflix and the Disney channel and I did the couch potato thing.
But that homeowner and I became very good friends and we’re in touch weekly, if not more often!
This past summer I had a homeowner out in the English boonies contact me but there was nothing within walking distance of her house so I declined. She was so desperate and offered me the use of her car. But that was around the time frame that I was heading off on my Big Eurail Adventure.
Too many animals
Some homeowners have a lot of pets. The most I’ve looked after was a house with three small dogs and two cats. The cats mostly stayed hidden upstairs. It was just making sure their food and water bowls were topped off. The dogs were fed twice a day and none of them needed to be walked. They could come and go into the backyard. There was one dog that was capable of walking and I took him out at least once a day.
They weren’t too difficult to deal with. But that would pretty much be my max with pets.
I’ve seen ads with a lot more dogs. That would be more responsibility than I want to deal with.
Some homeowners have snakes. I don’t have a problem with snakes, but I do have a problem with what they eat. I do not like mice or rats. Did you know that pet stores sell them frozen? Yick. Like I said, I do not like mice or rats – dead or alive!
In my post, Arranging Housesitting Positions, I mentioned an ad I saw where the house sitter would be responsible for 25 horses! If they were out in the pasture 24/7 with sustainable grazing and it just meant making sure the water tub was full and walking around checking for injuries, that might be OK. But oh no. These horses all came in and out of a barn which required stall cleaning as well. Ha ha! No experienced horse person would touch that one.
Nearby amenities
I’ve already touched on being out in the boonies with no shops or cafes within walking distance.
If a house sitter does not have a car – and they won’t have a car if they’re coming from another country – they won’t be applying for that house sit.
I always look for house sits that are walking distance to public transportation, grocery stores, and cafes.
Many grocery stores offer delivery, and there are other delivery services like Uber Eats and Door Dash. I really enjoy grocery shopping and poking around grocery stores in other countries.
Homeowners that live in places without nearby shopping and eating establishments will have a tougher time finding house sitters.
House sitters want things to do
If a house sit is near the water that is very appealing to me because I love walking along beaches and promenades. And if it’s warm enough, going for a swim.
But not everyone is a water person.
Some people like visiting museums, art galleries, and historical sites of significance. Others might enjoy going to the movies or eating at local pubs.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a house or a farm. If there’s nothing to do in the area, most house sitters aren’t going to be interested.
House sitters to pay some of the bills
I rarely see homeowners asking house sitters to pay some of the utility bills, but it is something I have seen. That would be a hard no.
Homeowners need to calculate how much it costs to put their pets into a kennel while they’re away. I bet the monthly utility bill is less!
I’m not paying for the “privilege” of taking care of someone’s animals and house.
Pay your own bills!
Rural farm sit in Canada
I’ve already touched on a farm sit, but I see ads posted by these homeowners all the time. Almost always they have livestock and dogs and cats that need to be taken care of.
I saw an ad for a housesit in a rural area in British Columbia, about an hour from Kamloops. This is in the interior of the province. Kamloops is a good sized city, about a 4 hour drive from Vancouver. Just about every box store is there plus multiple fast food restaurants and nicer places to eat. And there’s an airport.
Kamloops is not a tourist hot spot, though about 45 minutes away, Sun Peaks Resort offers winter and summer sports.
The farm sit is in a smaller community with limited amenities. There are two dogs and two mini horses. It’s a long-term sit for several months during the summer, so no extreme cold. I would have applied except for one thing.
The ad said yard work is expected.
Are you kidding me? Your house sitter is NOT your gardener. And the homeowner even had the audacity to say if you don’t like mowing the lawn and weeding then this isn’t the sit for you. Like house sitters would be beating down the door applying for this one!
Um, when you’re already in a geographically undesirable location for house sitters, you gotta do a better job of enticing applicants, not driving them away.
The other thing I knew without a doubt when I first saw this ad was that eventually this homeowner would reach out to me. And they did. After their ad had been up for over a month. I was very kind. Thanked them for reaching out and said sorry I’m not available.
I did not provide any feedback on why no one is applying. My opinion was not requested.
Yard work
Let’s just touch on what I already mentioned above.
If it’s a long sit and the homeowner wants their lawn to be mowed and garden to be weeded, then it’s their responsibility to hire a gardener who can provide these services.
It’s reasonable to ask a house sitter to water indoor house plants. And I think it’s reasonable for a house sitter to turn on a sprinkler system to water the yard if there’s been no rain and or run the hose into a few potted plants. It’s also reasonable for a house sitter to communicate with the homeowner if the gardener has been there, or not, before transferring payment to that person for gardening services.
A house sitter is there to take care of animals and the house. It’s unreasonable to expect the house sitter to do anything labor intensive outside. This includes shovelling snow in the winter. Hire someone on standby to clear your driveway and sidewalks after snowfalls.
HVAC, electrical, and Internet
If the homeowner is in an off the grid location, they will find it difficult to find a house sitter. Not everyone is interested in an off grid lifestyle.
Whether you’re off grid or in the city, let’s start with the major roadblock that will drive away potential house sitters.
Internet.
Many house sitters work remotely and need a reliable Internet connection. Even retired house sitters want Internet to keep in touch with others and watch YouTube videos! Ha ha!
A homeowner might have used their phone with a data plan to place an ad, but if the house doesn’t have WiFi no house sitter will apply.
How about when a wood fireplace is the only heating source. I suck at starting fires. And keeping the fire going. I’m not alone in this defect. If the heat can’t be easily turned on, this will be tough to get applicants.
On the flip side, if you live in an area with hot temperatures and don’t have an air conditioner, it will be difficult to find a house sitter.
How is the electricity in your area? Does the power go out for long periods of time? Is there a generator for these times? A generator that’s easy to use and doesn’t require yanking a cord like trying to start a lawnmower?
Top reasons homeowners struggle to get house sitters
Let’s do a fast round up of why homeowners aren’t getting house sitters to respond to their ad:
- Location/non-touristy area
- Too difficult or expensive to travel to area
- Too many animals
- Shopping and cafes too far away
- Nothing to do in the area
- Yard work or other labor
- Heating/air conditioning
- Housesitter expected to pay utility bills
We have now discovered common barriers why many homeowners can’t secure house sitters.
Obviously some of these barriers can’t be overcome. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for the homeowner to find a suitable sitter. And we’ll get to that in just a moment.
Fair exchange
Most of the housesitting websites that match homeowners with house sitters specify that no money changes hands. It’s a free exchange to benefit both sides.
The home owner gets a person to live in their house while they’re away who will take care of their animals.
The house sitter gets a free place to stay in a place they’re excited to travel to in exchange for taking care of a house and animals.
The fair exchange is the homeowner is getting a responsible, experienced house sitter. The alternative is spending money to put their animals into a boarding kennel or hiring a local pet sitter.
Let me talk briefly about a recent long-term house sit in Toronto, Ontario. This is the largest city in Canada and there are lots of things to do here.
I had three cats to take care of. And of course the house to take care of that involved cleaning litter boxes, vacuuming, bringing in the mail, taking out the garbage and recycling.
The homeowners picked me up at the airport. I had a bike and a car to use while I was there. It was a 10 minute walk to the nearest subway station that would take me downtown. Within a 30 minute walk of the house there were dozens of cafes and several grocery stores.
The clean, tidy house had fast Internet, a lot of cable channels, Netflix, and some other specialty networks.
These are very good hosts!
Finding great house sitters
We’ve already discovered the top reasons homeowners struggle in finding reliable house sitters. Now let’s look at solutions to ensure your home and pets are well cared for.
Your goal is to find an experienced, reliable house sitter who will take good care of your animals and won’t trash your house. You don’t want to end up with a less than desirable house sitter who just needs a place to crash and you were desperate enough to take that person due to lack of applicants.
A homeowner can’t do anything about location and lack of grocery stores, cafes, and attractions where they live.
The homeowner can do something if they expect a house sitter to provide gardening services or any other type of labor. Take that out of your ad and hire someone to do this while you’re away.
Your ad needs to list the benefits to a house sitter. Here are a few to consider:
- Airport pick up and drop off (or train or bus station)
- Car for house sitter to use
- Bike
- Netflix, Disney channel, etc.
- Gym membership
- Stock up on foods the house sitter likes
Even if you don’t normally subscribe to specialty channels, add them for the house sitter’s benefit. Especially if there’s not much else to do in the area.
If you don’t own a bike, consider borrowing one from a friend or buying a used bike. I had a homeowner who didn’t have a bike, but borrowed one from a friend for me to use.
A homeowner might also want to consider paying transportation costs, or part of the travel expenses, to get a good house sitter to their location. And how does a homeowner know this person is a great house sitter? If they’ve been house sitting for awhile through a website, they will have good reviews from previous homeowners and can provide references.
If you’re not in a touristy area, your ad really has to stand out with benefits the house sitter will enjoy. It’s all about enticing suitable applicants, not driving them away with all the extra work you want done.
No house sitters apply 😒
If you’ve gone through the usual websites to find a house sitter and joined Facebook groups and no one applies, what do you do?
Some of the housesitting groups on Facebook have members who are willing to critique your ad. Post a link and ask for assistance about what more you can do to attract applicants.
The unfortunate reality for homeowners in non-touristy areas is that they usually have to make alternate arrangements. This might mean putting your pets into a kennel or your livestock into a boarding farm and leave the house empty.
Part of the reason a homeowner needs a house sitter is for security. The house will look lived in with someone coming and going and lights coming on and off at night to deter thieves. The house sitter is on site in case something goes wrong like a burst pipe or wind storm damage.
Homeowners who can not attract house sitters through popular websites will have to look at paid house sitters. Many use Rover. Others place ads on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. Or search for local house sitters who do this as a business.
Rates? They vary, depending on your location and the pets involved. $50 a day is a good starting point for a homeowner who has two dogs or two cats. Farm sitters charge more money. I charge $100/day for a farm sit and I wouldn’t take on too many animals. Three horses max and that’s only if they are outside all the time. A dozen chickens and no more than five livestock, goats or sheep. Two dogs and a couple of cats.
I don’t want to be spending hours a day on animal care. I want to get out and explore the area and live like a local.
Just because you place an ad on a housesitting website, there is no guarantee that housesitters will apply.
It costs a lot of money for homeowners who plan to be away for a month or longer to hire a sitter. It’s all part of the vacation budget. Manage your vacation money to include hiring a house or farm sitter.
Can’t find a housesitter
Are you a homeowner asking yourself: “Why can’t I find a house sitter?”
Did you see yourself in any of the above scenarios? You can always reach out to me to critique your ad. Maybe ever see if I’m available! I do paid sits and I do exchange sits.
Posted by Cheryl @ The Lifestyle Digs on December 23, 2024.
