Housesitting

Learn a quick know how for housesitting. This is the scoop on how to get started and what to do. You will love it too!

I first started pet sitting in September of 2019. When I began I had 120 days of booking and had only 11 days that I did not book a sit. I was amazed at how many choices there were. I enjoyed being in a new location watching a gorgeous home and the pets were great! My first housesit I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was at Ocean Isle Beach, NC. It was early fall and I was excited, yet anxious.

“I always wanted to do what I was doing, just didn’t expect I’d be forced to do so.”

I had signed up with many online websites for housesitting. I wasn't sure what to expect really. I paid for each one and just hoped for the best. After using the websites, for in the USA, the better choice and the one I used the most was #trustedhousesitters. I liked how thorough of a background check they did and if I were a homeowner, that would be my choice if I needed a pet sitter. You basically housesit for free in exchange for a beautiful place to stay. I believe my law enforcement background helped me tremendously. I usually had a pick of the best homes out there. Most sits would want me to come back.

Arriving at my First Housesit

I wasn’t sure how to get started, so I just researched a lot online and through Facebook. I joined too many sites really. Trusted House Sitters was the main site I used to book. They had a lot of choices in the US and around the world, but I was only focussed on the US at the moment. I would recommend making the best profile possible and adding great photos. Show picture of you with pets and also show your interests a little bit. Try to show who you are and explain your history with watching animals or taking care of properties. If you prefer farm animals, they have people who own farms too. I would apply to as many housesits you can as the more you do, the more choices you may have. If you want to take a vacation, you can try to pick from that area and not have to pay while staying in a beautiful home.

As I pulled into the driveway, everything from the exterior was the same as what I viewed online. The owner of the home greeted me at the door. With her was Griffin, he was a large springer spaniel and ever so sweet. She gave an excellent presentation to her home and also about her and Griffin. This big guy was up and age and he had anxiety when you would leave him alone, but I was a homebody so I didn’t leave him much, so he was great. I actually drove his owner to the airport in her vehicle and picked her up. I also detailed her car, which I love to do. She was very appreciative and left me a couple gift cards for groceries and one for my son and I to go and eat with.

My son and I managed to go fishing and the great thing about housesitting is that most of the homeowners will allow you to have your family or friends and most encourage it. They want you to feel as at home as possible. My oldest son is in the Air Force and had training at the outer banks, so I was lucky enough to have him stay for a few days. We went out to eat and enjoyed surf fishing. It was much more fun with someone there to keep me company as sometimes when you travel alone all of the time, it can get a little lonely.

Everything went exactly as planned and like with many other sitters, I was requested for multiple sits at the same location which made me feel great. I have been around animals my whole life, so adapting to them and vice versa is fairly easy. I loved doing it and I hope to housesit while I’m in other countries as it is hard to live without fur babies in my life. These are a few other photos of my children joining me on my housesits. We all had a great time and the homeowners allowed us to have Thanksgiving and Christmas in their homes. It was such a wonderful experience for all of us.

I have now been housesitting for three years. Currently I’m located in Panama. I’ve been in this beautiful place for 4 months. I actually have two more housesits in the coming months in the same country. I have to leave the country to renew my visa and I’m not sure which country I’ll go to, probably Costa Rica. Please view my Instagram and Tiktok accounts, (Bluenomador).