House Sitting

Ron Mansfield

Wanted: Couple to vacation in our peaceful, sprawling home with an IMAX view of the Pacific Ocean, Catalina Island, and the city lights. In exchange, you must water our plants, feed Buster the snake, and wrangle the trashcans. Sound far-fetched? Well, we recently spent two weeks looking after just such a place.

House sitting is not only a great way to cut vacation costs, it is also a wonderful opportunity to "try on" different lifestyles, and connected with locals. With a little effort, it’s even possible to live for years in exotic homes around the world, cost free.

As peoples’ lives and homes become more complicated, many find it difficult to just lock their doors and disappear for weeks, or months at a time. There are gardeners to supervise, pets to care for, and a home office fax machines to tend. Perhaps most of all, an occupied house is a less attractive target to thieves. From Alaska to Hawaii, to France and beyond, people are opening their homes to friends and strangers alike, in exchange for a little tender loving care.

Some assignments are just for a week or two, others can last a year or more. Some owners will pay you a small fee for house sitting, others will expect a reasonable daily rental fee from you in addition to your care giving.

Word of mouth is an obvious way to find house sitting situations. Ask your friends and relatives. Real estate brokers can often find you homes to tend. It is not unusual for a furnished listing to remain on the market after the owners have moved. Some realtors encourage the seller to use caretakers to keep an eye on things, and create a cozy "lived in" look until the place is sold. Running your own situation wanted ads in the classifieds can also help you find places to stay.

There are several good caretaker networking organizations and publications. Probably the best-known is the Caretaker Gazette, published by Gary Dunn. Here’s part of a typical listing:

An annual, six-issue subscription to the Caretaker Gazette will set you back $27.00. There are discounts for two and three year terms.

The Internet is another source of adventure. Sites like Probe Consultant’s Frugel File, or Educators Bed and Breakfast House-Sitting & Home-Exchange Registry, and HouseSit Directory Oz all take listing from homeowners, and wannabe house sitters. Start your Internet search by typing "house sitting" or "care taking" into any decent search engine. I’ve listed a few sites in an accompanying sidebar, or you can visit my website (www.ronmansfield.com) for some ready-made links.

Once you have connected with the homeowners, and settled on the dates, get as much information as you can before they depart. Do this face-to-face, if possible, even if it means renting a nearby motel room the night before. Take notes. When is trash day? When does the gardener come? Does the gardener care for the vegetable garden, or just the lawn and ornamental plants?

If you will be caring for exotic indoor plants, and, especially if you don’t know an Achimenes Admirabilis from a Crassula Cooperii, consider videotaping the owners as they explain the various care and feeding rituals to you. Consider picking up a houseplant book or two.

Will there be pool cleaning and snow plowing service, or are you on your own? Find out where the electrical, water, and gas shut-off valves are located. Is there a wrench nearby? Is there anything special you should do if a cold spell hits? Get the names and phone numbers of a trusted neighbor or two.

How do you reach the police in both emergency, and non-emergency situations? If the homeowner doesn’t provide a fire extinguisher and a flashlight, bring these items yourself.

How should the phones be handled—do the owners mind if you use them? Should you answer, or let the machine pick up? Where’s the phonebook? (We like to bring along a cell phone to minimize the use of owners’ phones, but cell phones don’t always work, particularly in remote locations.)

How can the owners be reached if you have questions? These days, many sophisticated travelers check their e-mail from the road. Will that be a good way for you to keep in touch with your hosts? Will it be okay for you to plug your laptop into a phone line where you are staying? Which line? (While it might be tempting to ask to use your hosts’ computer, that can be risky. In addition to the privacy issues, there is just too much that can go wrong. Hands off the computer!)

Where is the dog food? The birdseed? Favorite toys? How often does that snake need a new mouse? Where do you buy them? Do the pets need any special care or medicine? When, and where should they be walked? Where’s the leash? What are the rules about pets and the furniture? What’s the vet’s name and number? Where is the closest 24-hour emergency pet clinic? The Red Cross sells an excellent pet first aid video you might want to own.

Do you fully understand how to work the sprinkler timers, the programmable thermostat, and the alarm system? What’s the security code, and the answer to the question the security company will ask you if the alarm goes off? Is it okay for you use their video gear, and the stereo? Where are the instruction manuals for all this stuff?

If you will be staying a long time, are there things that need weekly or monthly attention? Do the cars need to be started? Gutters cleaned? Will the water softener need maintenance?

When living in someone else’s place, try to remember where you find things, and put them back there. This is particularly important if you use the kitchen. Everybody has a favorite place for the strainer, and frying pan, and sugar bowl. Keep an eye on the refrigerator. Has the milk spoiled? Are the leftovers composting? Is it time for a new box of baking soda?

The best advice for would-be caretakers is to leave the place better than you found it. Dust. Replace the dead battery in that clock. Scrub the sink. Empty the trash, and the dishwasher. Keep track of, and reimburse the owners for any extraordinary expenses you might have incurred—long distance phone charges, pay-per-view movies, etc. If you have enjoyed yourself, consider leaving a little gift of some kind. Once we left a picnic basket complete with plates, silverware, wine glasses, and linens. The place was on a lake, and just begging for a romance kit. On our last stay we took some great photos like the ones accompanying this article, and put them on a CD-ROM for the owners.

Care taking is a great way to have a low cost adventure, and meet some wonderful people. Try it once, and you’ll be hooked. Be sure to send me a postcard or an e-mail from your new digs!

Ron Mansfield is a best selling computer book author, videographer, enthusiastic traveler, and consultant. He can be reached via his website www.ronmansfield.com

Sidebar:

The Caretaker Gazette

Gary C. Dunn, Publisher
P. O. Box 540
River Falls, WI 54022-0540
Phone: (715) 426-5500

caretaker@caretaker.org  

www.caretaker.org 

 House Sit Directory Oz

An Australian owned and operated web site
for the benefit of anyone wishing an extended absence
from their home and those seeking rent free accommodation

http://www.housesit.directoryoz.com.au/

List-it-Here.com

Classified listings and discussion group.

http://www.list-it-here.com/classifieds/housesit.html

Educators Bed & Breakfast Network
A network of owners, sitters, and folks wishing to exchange homes

P.O. Box 5279
Eugene, OR 97405
(800)956-4822
Fax (541) 686-5818
United Kingdom 0800 895 891

All Others (541) 465-4822

host@educatorsbandb.com