Whether you’re planning an extended break over the summer holidays, or if you’re frequently away from your home on business, hiring a house sitter is becoming an increasingly popular option to ensure home security and peace of mind while you’re away.
There are a number of websites available which help to connect house sitters with home owners. These specialist websites are often free for home owners to join, however house sitters are asked to pay an annual fee. Hire fees for house sitters vary depending on the length of time the sitter would be required to stay at your home, and also the distance they’d have to travel from their house to yours.
Hired house sitters are a great solution to home security worries if you leave your home unoccupied for extended periods. Having someone in your property with significantly reduce your chances for a break-in or squatters, compared to leaving your house unoccupied.
A house sitter service is also particularly useful if you have pets as most sitters will happily undertake walking or feeding of animals, although this service will usually incur extra fees. For keen gardeners, hiring a house sitter is ideal as you can go away safe in the knowledge that there’ll be someone to water your plants daily.
There are a number of sites dedicated to connecting home owners with sitters such as trustedhousesitters.com and mindmyhouse.com. It’s also recommended that home owners run their own checks on a sitter before hiring them, i.e. requesting a reference and also checking their ID to ensure they are who they say. House sitter hire sites often offer free legal contracts which need to be signed by both sides to help safeguard the interest of both parties.
