House Sitting

Sydneyswans on 29/08/2015 - 15:24

So I heard a story on the radio about house sitting and how there are people who do not rent or own a home but simply stay in houses rent free and look after place when the owner goes away on holidays etc. They would be expected to keep the gardens and the house clean, feed the pets among other things. I'm considering this option and the feasibility of this idea. It looks to be a lot cheaper in the long run and I can probably save up for a deposit for a house in the future. I only have a few meager possessions anyway, laptop, work clothings my car etc and can live without anything else (or store it at mums place haha). My only worry is if I end up at a period of time when I would be homeless

Anyone out there a house sitter? how has it been for you? what are your thoughts?

Home & Garden

Comments

  • nocure on 29/08/2015 - 15:43

    Legal nightmare.

  • HoneyComb on 29/08/2015 - 16:12

    I've never tried house sitting but I spoke to a few people who did it.

    They don't have an issue about being homeless because they only do ones that are long term. They don't accept offers that are under 2 weeks.

  • red-hot on 29/08/2015 - 17:25

    aussiehousesitters and housesitters look like the place to start.

  • oscargamer on 29/08/2015 - 17:54

    mindahome

  • [Deactivated] on 29/08/2015 - 18:11
    +5

    I have a mate who tried it for a little over a year. We were his backup plan. He housesitted an acquaintance's place for close to 6 months then stayed at ours for 5 weeks until he found something else. Stayed at the new place for 3 months, had a fallout with the owners' daughter and got kicked out without any notice. So he moved in our place again…for what felt like forever. He eventually moved into a sharehouse.

    • [Deactivated] on 29/08/2015 - 18:47
      -3

      I got negged because…?

      • hashtagbargain on 29/08/2015 - 22:11
        -3

        …because cool story bro.

      • DeafMutePretender on 30/08/2015 - 00:01
        -3

        The first post you got negged was probably because "cool story bro"

        The second post you got negged was undoubtedly because you asked about getting negged

        The third rule is "You do NOT talk about Negative Club"

      • SlickMick on 30/08/2015 - 12:30

        maybe the neggers felt bad for your story. Sounds like a sucky situation to find yourself in.
        I thought the comment deserved a + though - looks like that's been corrected but unfortunately the neggers hate being questioned so no hope for this one :)

    • pandabun on 30/08/2015 - 08:08
      +2

      Plus you. OP asked for some feedback and you gave him/her one.

  • Sage on 29/08/2015 - 21:15
    +1

    Is here really enough of a demand of house sitting to allow someone to do it continuously?

    • Sydneyswans on 01/09/2015 - 11:05

      I checked online and there will be enough demand to last me until January according to the places I have looked at however I'm no fan of pets but it is one of the conditions of house sitting I guess.

  • Sage on 29/08/2015 - 21:20

    This all sounds like couch surfing. There are websites and groups for couch surfers who are basically homeless and stay with other people temporarily.
    At least with house sitting you have a purpose for it and are getting paid, but in terms of doing it to save money it's basically the same.

  • slknv on 29/08/2015 - 23:11
    +3

    We built a house 5 years ago, did Housesitting while the house was being built. Saved a year of rental payments and got to look after people's houses and their cats, dogs, fishes. Stayed in all kind of places, from cute small flats to million dollar houses with pools and theatre rooms (melbourne). Worked for us, but you have to have good references - we had police checks and working with children checks as part of jobs anyway, so that helps.

  • lenlynn on 30/08/2015 - 10:44

    Not a house sitter but had one look after our place and pets while we were away on holiday. We found one on aussiehousesitters and spoke to a few before making our choice.

    The ones with good reviews, who look decent/clean enough and had police clearance seem to have no problem looking for a house/apt as we got rejected by two for a bigger newer house and one was already booked for that period. So it seems viable!

  • SlickMick on 30/08/2015 - 12:36
    +3

    I know a couple that do this. They're retired, so are free to move around (even between towns/ states) according to where the accommodation is.

    You should save funds for when free house sitting isn't available so you can pay for temporary accommodation (backpackers??) until the next opportunity.
    Don't squat at friends or family when between opportunities. If it's a relationship you want to keep, don't do it. If you don't care, then it would be really selfish to take advantage of their hospitality.

  • niknah on 31/08/2015 - 21:19
    +2

    I've been letting house sitters live at my place when I go for holidays.
    No problems with any of them. The longer the sit is, the more applicants there are. And the earlier you advertise, the more applicants, some people have existing rental arrangements that they need to cancel.

    Some people who apply have already got their own place to stay and they were just shopping around for something that's free. Or they were looking for some place to stay for free and then they'll put their own place on airbnb. That's what they tell me.

    I was visiting France once and let a French guy stay at my place. In return I visited his mom in France and she spent a weekend with me showing me around everywhere and feeding me. It was great!

    Funny this thread started now, I just finished interviewing people for the next sit last weekend.

    Been using aussiehousesitters.

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