House sitting, it’s all in the timing

Whether you are looking for a house sitter or you are a sitter seeking sits timing plays a part in the process, some of which you have no control over.

If you are looking for a house sitter to mind your home at some time in the future make no mistake, good house sitters are in demand. If you know when you need a sitter, what you need them for and what it is you want in a sitter start advertising. Discuss it with friends and colleagues, ask for referrals, check house sitting websites (many of which are free for home owners) and see if there are any social media groups for your area that act as a house sitting job board.

This is the first step in the process of sourcing a house sitter. Once you have narrowed down a sitter or sitters you would like to consider they will need to be contacted, then the sitter will usually come to the property and meet yourself and any pets or arrange for a phone or video call to take place. All of this takes time, so my advice to home and pet owners looking for a sitter is that you can never start looking too early.

There is also no harm in going with the first sitter you find that you like. This is not uncommon and if the house sitter ticks all of the boxes and is available for the time you need secure the booking, get commitment, swap numbers and start planning your holiday.

If you are a house sitter looking to fill your calendar you too can never start planning too soon. However, you are at the mercy of the demand for sits in your area.

If you are an uber planner like me it is important to realise that a lot of the time securing sits months in advance is not likely. It can happen, and if you like to plan ahead, lock sits in if they do come through. In my experience, my calendar starts to fill up around three months prior to sits commencing and maybe a little earlier for busy holiday periods. Of course, if you have happy homeowners you have sat for before they often have an appreciation for a great sitter and will get you booked in sometimes a year ahead!

Good luck to home owners and house sitters, follow this blog for more house sitting articles and get in touch with me if I can help you with any house sitting needs.