What started out as a lark turned in to a new way to travel! A friend of mine & her husband were getting ready to plan their annual vacation – each year they make certain to eek out time-away from their hectic work schedules. My friend lamented that it was challenging to find a hotel or resort that is not so, well, commercialized.
Offering my help, I spent hours Googling and researching places to stay. Quite by accident, I stumbled upon a site about house sitting. Intrigued and digging a little deeper, I soon found housesitting has been popular for a long time.
House sitting is extremely popular especially for 55+ travelers and vacationers. It’s a mutually satisfying arrangement for both the sitter and homeowner.
House Sitting through the Homeowners point of view is having your home lived in, pets cared for, mail collected and gardens taken care of while you're away by house sitters. This unique service is completely FREE! In exchange, House Sitters get free accommodation. It is just a win-win situation, everyone benefits!
Benefits for the House Sitter
There are numerous advantages for undertaking a house-sitting job. These days, many people, especially seniors are interested in house sitting.
Some of the advantages include:
- Save Money
It's one of the top advantages of house sitting. You don’t need to pay for expensive hotels or accommodations. You can also save money by eating some of your meals at “home” vs. eating out for each meal.
- A home away from home
Travel gets exhausting and even though we have no urge to settle down, it will help to have a relaxation from continuous movement every once in a while. You are able to enjoy home conveniences like a couch, privacy, a/c, kitchen, our own washer/dryer, fast internet, comfortable office chair and desk, swimming pool and sometimes use of a car. You are not locked in to being at the house 24/7; you have freedom to explore nearby attractions at your leisure. Often homeowners will offer information on best places to visit and dine.
- Living as a local
You will certainly stay in a local neighborhood, go shopping at the local store, eat at neighborhood restaurants see a place via a lens you in any other case never ever would have staying in a hotel. A great way to avoid those touristy places!
- Making new friends
Before getting a housesitting job, you and the homeowners will communicate and get to know each other. After all, they are giving you the keys to their home! This undoubtedly means you will need to get to know each other quite well, and this could lead to a lasting friendship!
- Get work done
For those of us that have to sometimes work while we vacation housesitting is perfect. Most homes have Internet access and that could mean you & your laptop by the pool, ocean or maybe a mountain stream…working of course! It’s a lot easier to work when there is privacy and comfortable accommodations.
- Puppy love
A large number of homeowners who invite house sitters in to their homes have pets they love very much. Taking care of dogs, cats, goldfish or horses is often part of the contract. Cuddling up with such pets is quite heartwarming.
- Opportunity to travel
Finally, being a house sitter provides you the possibility to travel to various areas of your neighborhood, country and overseas. This is perhaps the best and actually one of the fascinating great things about house sitting because it enables you to visit new places and be adventurous.
Useful tips regarding how to get House Sitting Opportunity
House sitting can be a profitable business. You can develop yourself as a house sitter in your local country or abroad, and professional house sitters can receive free vacation accommodations regarding watching a house or pet. Finding your very first couple of house sitting jobs usually requires a while, so it is a good idea to set up yourself, request reviews as well as referrals and slowly build your house sitting practice. Here you can learn how to get a house sitting opportunity.
- Choose precisely what services you are going to offer.
- Start house sitting for your friends and family.
- Come up with business cards as well as other advertising materials to demonstrate you have a professional house sitting service.
- Publish your services on local and online community classified boards.
- Be connected with real estate professionals, travel agent and also property management organizations in your area.
- Consider becoming a member of a house sitting organization.
- Build a long list of reviews as well as references prior to starting to complete house sitting overseas.
- Check out available opportunities daily
- Always try to be flexible especially when you first establish yourself
- Negotiate your fee.
- Set up your own house sitting contract.
- Always keep your eyes open for opportunity
It doesn’t hurt to explore house sitting as an adventurous way to travel. If so, then learn more about house sitting and also decide on your own if it’s right for you.
Here’s a couple of sites to get you started:
http://www.suitcasestories.com
Just Google “house sitting blogs” and enjoy the articles written by folks that have sold their brick n mortar houses to travel the world. Careful, you may get just a bit envious!
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