7 Tips To Finding A Good House-Sitter
House sitting is becoming more and more popular. This can be one of the best ways to protecting your home while you are away on holiday. There are a number of ways to find someone who is right for you. Make sure your home insurance is up to date and take advantage of the following advice.
Online. With the development of online businesses, now there are many websites that specialise in finding the right house-sitter for you. Most of these sites do not charge the home owners and so it can be at little or no cost for the home owner. The advantage of using these sites is that many of the people have paid to be involved and you know that they have done it before.
References. This should go without saying, and if someone you find does not have previous house-sitting experience getting any other references will help you to establish a network if there are any problems in the future.
Identification. Checking identification is a must, and it is highly unlikely in a country like Australia that anyone is using forged or fake identification. Driver’s licenses and passports in Australia are very important documents and respected highly around the world. Either or both of these will do.
Give a good deal. Your goal is to have your house looked after, why not get the best in the business to look after your home by offering incentives such as covering a certain amount of the bills and free internet that you would normally use yourself. Too many home owners expect too much from their house-sitter in terms of the running costs of their home. Remember a house-sitter is there to do a job and not just there to live free. Most of them are single and have professional jobs and it is only because they are single that they can do it, and so give some consideration to them. Trying to use house-sitting as a way to pay some of your bills why you are away is forgetting the whole idea of it.
Insurance. Keeping your home and contents insurance is up to date, and making sure that you are covered for the case of a home-sitter is very important. You and the home-sitter may wish to discuss this, and consider opening another policy for the period of the house-sitting. Remember the person sitting the house needs to have their own items protected if something goes wrong. It is best to check with your insurance company beforehand. This is a good way to know if your house-sitter has experience as they might know a good solution and have their own policy.
Contract. Have a simple contract, and make sure you also discuss and make clear your requirements. Contracts do not have to be complicated but can be a great way to write down what you need. With just verbal communication we can forget exactly what we wanted over time, and memories will be different. Keeping track of your goals and what you will give for that is extremely important.
Relax. If you have taken the above steps, and you are committing to a house-sitter, then you need to relax. They are there to do a job for you and it is in their interest to have a good report at the end of it. For those who have great reputations, it can be a great way for them to earn income and live a luxury lifestyle at minimal cost.
