The GOOD the BAD and the UGLY

House sitting is a great opportunity not only to save money on a trip, but it is also about meeting people and bond with their pets. It is an experience, an adventure and sometimes a challenge. It is a great way to travel and a kind of lifestyle, which many people describe as the ultimate way of traveling on a budget. We definitely agree with that, but like all things also house sitting has its downsides.

These are the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY about HOUSE SITTING.

The GOOD

The best first: house sitting combines our passion for traveling, the opportunity to meet with locals and our love for pets in an affordable and exciting way to see the world. For us, it’s the best way to travel, but it does not fit everyone.

The obvious: it can save you a ton of money. We had about 150 days of house sitting so far, if you calculate on an average rate of 80$ per night for a similar kind of accommodation, it would come to 12,000$. And our hosts probably saved the same amount of money, if they had paid for a paid pet-carer or a kennel, home-security, and the cleaning staff. That’s the way how house sitting works and it’s a Win-Win for owners and sitter.

Comfort: after many days on the road, it feels great to sleep in a comfortable bed, having a roof over our head and a real kitchen to cook. House sitting is a great chance to lean back from otherwise restless traveling, maybe get some business done, fix the car or simply relax. We felt this comfort, especially at long sits, which became a kind of "home" for us.

Get localized: Living in the house of a local family means diving in the local living. You meet the

neighbors, go to the same shops and maybe even take part in their activities. We "volunteered" in the rural fire brigade and became "famous" as guests on a local horse racing event. Something you probably won't experience in a hostel surrounded by other travelers and tourists.

The BAD

House sitting is not for everyone: house sitting comes with certain preconditions, most important of course: you need to be comfortable to deal with (other peoples) pets. A fear of dogs or a cat hair allergy isn't the best condition for house sitting. If you are young (sorry guys), expecting party with your buddies all day long, don't apply for a house sit. If you have a tight schedule, like to be on the road most of the time or need to be back on your job at a certain date, your travel plans might just not fit for a house sitting job. If you want to know, whether you can do house sitting, read more here.

Cost: Even the accommodation in a house sitting gig should be free, there are some costs involved you should be aware:

The subscription fees for the house sitting platforms are not that high (between 20 and 120 US$ for a year), but if you sign up for several ones, it can end up a sum. And there is no guarantee to get a one, which means the money is wasted (how to improve your chances to get a house sitting job read here).

Utilities and rent: normally the house sitting arrangement does not involve payments between the host and the house sitter. However, on a long term offer, it is not uncommon, that the owner asks you to pay for the utilities, Wifi or Netflix etc. The cost involved in a house sit should be clearly discussed and agreed in advance.

Car: House sitting jobs, which are in rural areas, often require a car. In most cases, the house owner won't let you use their own vehicle because of insurance regulations. But own and maintain a car can become the biggest burden for your travel budget.

In some cases, you might have to advance your own money e.g. for a repair, food for the pets, damage that happens, before you get the refund from the owner or the insurance company. You should have some funds available for cases like that.

Responsibility and commitment: As said previously, house sitting comes with the burden of responsibility for the pets well being and health and the safety of the owner's house. One part of this is the commitment you made: when you started your gig and something goes to pot, there is (almost) no way to retreat. That alone can be quite a challenge. If you are not a person able to bear that, you shouldn't consider house sitting at all.

House sitting is not a hotel: even in our house sits we were treated as a guest, you cannot expect, that all owners prepare a nice room for you with the amenities of an Airbnb or a hotel. In some cases, you might be asked to bring your own bedding, towels or cooking gear. Clarify the living situation before you arrive in order to avoid disappointments.

Short stays: we only took a few short house sits (means sits of less than a week). But on vacation times and especially in the big cities short stays are quite common. That means multiple moves from one place to another, where you hardly have time to take your stuff out of your luggage. It also means that you have less time to get along with the pet. That can become quite stressful, for both. Finally, if you are really tight with your travel budget, short gigs cause a high travel cost between the places relative to the number of days you are actually on a house sit.

Be flexible and plan ahead: your house sitting schedule is determined by the owner's demand. You have to be at the place during the time when they are away. They are seldom flexible in their travel arrangements. We learned that we have to plan quite some time ahead and sometimes even adjust our own travel plans to meet our house owners. During off-seasons house sitting jobs might be limited, so you have to calculate to pick a paid accommodation instead.

Visa: Another important issue in terms of planning a house sit is the validity of your visa. If you are on a tourist visa of just 30 days it might just cross your sit when you actually need to leave the country. Visa violations are extremely serious, so be always clear about your visa permit in a foreign country.

Chose wisely: our very first house sit was a huge farm with a little zoo of pets. It was the most amazing sit we had, but a challenge in the beginning, as we are not really farm kids. Make sure you know your limitations, physically and skill wise. This also means to know the location, the community, environment, and the climate. If you are used to a comfortable life in a modern flat in Sydney, you might not consider a house sit in the boiling drought of the Western Australia Outback.

Golden cage: House sitting especially with pets, requires your presence in the house, which can be quite extensive. Most owners request you to be at home at night. You might not able to leave town for a weekend trip or you are not allowed to have guests. That's actually reasonable, but it can feel quite a restriction of your freedom to go around, especially when you have acknowledged a long term house sit for several weeks or even month. If you then find yourself in a rural place, with no TV or a bad internet connection, the isolation can become quite daunting.

The UGLY (the worst)

Shit happens: on a house sit things can go wrong … and they will. We were lucky, nothing really serious happened, except a dead chicken (not our fault), a destroyed (chewed) wooden statue (partly our fault) and a lost house key, we luckily found later. Even you are extremely careful, one day you are in a situation when you have to tell your host some unhappy news. The only tip here: be honest and take responsibly. It can be a pricy damage, so it's strongly suggested, to get yourself a liability-insurance. If something serious happens to the pets, you might also face a very emotional struggle with the owners, when they suddenly lost their beloved pet: be aware of that and act considerate. In an event of an emergency, you should be able to act calmly, remember the emergency procedure and focus on the solution. An emergency plan and contact numbers should be in place (save the SOS and the neighbor's numbers in your phone so you don’t need to search for them in case).

Untrained pets: that’s something that happens quite often. As cats and small mammals are mostly easy to maintain, an untrained, neurotic or even aggressive dog can ruin a house sit and turn it into a nightmare. The best we can suggest is, to discuss with the owners about any issues with their pets. But be aware that they might have a "different view" on their pet's behavior: A biting dog can "he just plays" and a separation anxiety can be "he barks a bit, when you go out"; in the first case you might not be able to enter the house, in the second case you might find yourself to a 24/7 in-house sit. Be aware, that you are not their owner so they might not consider you like the person, they respect or follow. In cases like this, it is an advantage to have experience with behavior disorders, otherwise, it might be a reason to reject the offer. How to deal with "Bad Boys" read here

Sudden cancellations: when both sides agree and confirm the house sit, it should be binding so they can get to their plans securely. We understand clearly, that we cannot withdraw a confirmed house sit shortly before our hosts are going away because in most cases, they don't have a plan B (except to cancel their flights). As this is a no-go for the house sitter, unfortunately, some hosts might not have the same (respectful) view towards their sitter. Plans can change, no question, but it should be communicated openly and ideally in advance. Be clear about the sit-confirmation (a clear "Yes", date and time) to avoid misunderstandings.

Ugly house owners, who take advantage of house sitters. We never had that problem, but stories about are around the house sitter community. Owners leaving their messy house behind, order unreasonable jobs or put extensive work on their sitter, by using the advantage not need to pay them. When you talk with your potential host, figure out the tasks need to be done and get a clear agreement about it. Set yourself limitations; don’t be desperate to take every offer.

House owners, who do not post a decent advert on the website, a lack of photos or a slow and very brief response to your application, are either just lazy or there might be something wrong about their offer. Again, it never happened to us and we don't say it is common, just as a precaution.

In this category, we also count home owners, who require you to live in your own trailer and enter the house only for your "house sitting job". That’s not an arrangement we would accept, because it completely defeats the idea of the house sitting community. We reject these kinds of arrangements.

Tip

You can lower the risk to stumble into a bad house sit by arranging a meeting some days in advance in your hosts home together with their pets to get to know each other and ask about all and everything of the sit arrangement. We highly recommend that, but that might not always be an option. A house sitting job can remain a surprise when you arrive.

Final conclusion

House sitting is the most amazing experience we have (so far). We met great people and wonderful pets and can only speak positively about our hosts. But it needs understanding, responsibly, flexibility and the ability to expect the unexpected. If you are considering our tips, house sitting will become a great experience rather then an unfortunate challenge.