House Sitting Best Practices - Before the Sit

[@veganvintagegeek935]

Its good to see an older couple talking about house sitting, and their experiences. I'm very new to becoming a house sitter. I never in a million years thought I'd need to become a house/cat sitter, at 44 years old. They are selling the building, I've lived here for over 17 years. I had no idea I'd need a real credit card in order to rent a future apartment. Thankfully I learned about house sitting. So, I can save money and build up my credit score.

[@GoWithLess]

I'm sorry you are forced to figure out a new plan but happy house sitting is an option for you! Will you be doing it through Rover or another local site? Wishing you the best of luck!

[@veganvintagegeek935]

@@GoWithLess Thank you, I'm a little scared a the moment. I'm feeling a bit like I'm some what homeless. I got the keys to my storage unit today. I signed up for two sites House Sitters America and Mind My House. And I am going to be a local house/cat sitter. I'll check out Rover too, thank you. Knowing there are helpful house sitting videos out there is slowly lifting the fear. I just hope and pray I can house sit in September since I need to be out by the first. I was given three months to leave but with work and leasing agents demanding I see the property on short notice, delayed my apartment hunting. Until I found a great studio and the leasing agent willing to work with my schedule. I signed all the paper work, gave a money order for move in fee and first months rent. Only to learn 3 days later the owner would not rent to me unless I could come up with a cosigner due to my low credit score. This scared me, and I thought these people are trying to steal my identity. And why in the world would anyone need a cosigner for a studio apartment. I can understand needing a cosigner for a car loan or home loan, but for a studio apartment, nooo, waaay! I did a lot of research after I learned this information, and that, its true these days everyone has to have credit and if not a cosigner needs to be added. I thought that is so strange and why did'nt the leasing agent tell me this before I signed the papers and handed her the money order. And why was it not listed in the ad online. I was so upset, do to the fact that I make enough money to absolutely pay twice the rent cost. I got out of this so fast, and was happy that I did the smart thing by paying with a money order and that got me all of my money back minus the small fee for returning the money order. Then this got me thinking there has to be a way around this. What about collage students who've never rented before, and have bad credit from student loans and can't provide a cosigner. How are these people going to be able to rent an apartment? Its stated in the ad that even if I am not approved I will not get the application fee back or the move in fee back, just the first months rent will be returned. It made me so happy to see that money returned to me. Then a friend suggest I try and house sit.

[@veganvintagegeek935]

I checked Rover, its not a good fit for me. And my sitting will be local, this way I can still keep my current job.

[@GoWithLess]

@@veganvintagegeek935 I hope you find a good fit with house sitting.

[@veganvintagegeek935]

@@GoWithLess Thank you! I'm doing lots of research and so far I am liking what I've read and the videos are super duper helpful, especially for a new house sitter like myself. Plus trying to get my profile up and researching has been a bit stressful since I am trying to hurry up and secure my first house sit before I am forced out of my apartment. What I found interesting is when I told a few people about my becoming a house sitter, there was a lot of eyebrow raising. My sister thinks house sitting is nice but not a stable living arrangement , and she thinks living this way will have a bad effect on my health. 🤔 While I am glad my sister wants me to live some place long term, and stay healthy, LOL. She does not realize its not that easy these days renting an apartment with absolutely no credit history, its just impossible. And my sister has never rented an apartment of her own. She is a temporary live in maid for a family, and who knows how long this family will continue to keep her on, and she does not realize this. But that is her story. I know at least I can pave the way for her in case she is let go of her job. And plus one my co-workers also grilled me today. And I know they are just asking these questions and are concerned about me only because they care. And I know once I get my profiles completed and get my first couple of house sits, every thing will be peachy keen. I recently applied for a secured credit card and am waiting for it to arrive. Once I start using my new credit card and my credit score is high enough that is when I'll be able to move into an apartment long term. Who's to say, maybe after I've been house sitting for a while I might not want to move into another apartment, I'll just have to wait and see what the future brings. ☺

[@theseniorthrifter9994]

I am sitting locally through Rover to build up my references (and $$). I have great references. When I join THS this summer, should I cut and paste those in or direct people to that site so they can see them. Thank you. Great video as always.

[@GoWithLess]

+The Senior Thrifter Hi! We always appreciate you watching! Another excellent question. Yes, I would recommend cutting/pasting those reviews into your THS profile as you get started. Consider that they are unverified (you could have written them), but we all start with no official reviews. I’d also suggest doing a few Santa Fe (free) house sits while you’re home. Where are you hoping to travel with house sitting? When you’re ready to add THS, we include a discount link in our video description. You get a better deal and our membership is extended a few months. A win-win! Any questions as you transition to THS, please ask away.

[@theseniorthrifter9994]

@@GoWithLess Hi again! I am getting so much work from Rover that I actually have many verified references & will have many more when I join THS in the summer. I don’t do free locally - no need. I have tons of work. Brilliant idea of yours from another video to put on volunteer work. Volunteering at the local animal shelter brings me lots of work & also, as you suggested, that I put down that I am a former home & rental property owner. Excellent suggestions on your part. Thanks for reminding me of the discount to join THS. I will definitely go through you when I join. Thx for the great videos & keep ‘me coming!

[@GoWithLess]

+The Senior Thrifter To get a verified reference on THS, you have to get reviewed by a homeowner that connected with you on THS. If you have lots of cut-and-paste reviews from Rover, it might look good on your profile but you will look different from other sitters who have official reviews. One of the THS rules is no paying for house sitting so free local sits is a way to work on creating a good profile so you look good when it’s a competitive situation. I think we did 9 sits in Colorado to get started. That’s a lot, but I apply for some sits with 50+ applicants and we’ve been selected several times so that strategy worked. Hope that helps!

[@nesadcruz7840]

Although House Sitting is something I am quite sure we will never do, it does interest me to hear about it so I will be watching your series. Am curious, have you ever turned down a house sit after a Skype call and what was the reason?

[@GoWithLess]

I love that you're watching anyway! Thank you! :) In our experience, I ask questions in email between the first reply and the Skype call. We've walked away from plenty of sits in that stage. On the Skype call, we've only said "no" to one and that was because they had incorrect dates in their listing and we were unavailable.

[@dockpigmon2195]

Do you have any tips for a younger couple? We are 26 and 29 which isn't super young but it appears to be a barrier we are struggling with and not exactly sure how to ease the concern of our age

[@GoWithLess]

Hello, friends!! Thank you for watching! Do you have any house sitting best practice to add to the list? Any questions? Please post below!

[@theseniorthrifter9994]

I am house sitting locally in Santa Fe to build up my references (and $$). I have great references. When I join THS this summer, should I cut & paste those in or direct homeowners to that site? Great Video as always. Thank you

[@GoWithLess]

I am just seeing this. Apologies as you are already on your way. For others, I'd ask previous homeowners you still keep in touch with to leave you a reference on THS. That's the area where ANYONE can leave comments about you (as long as you email them via the form...random people don't leave references for you). These are different from reviews, which are testimonials provided by home owners for sits you booked on THS.

[@jackmehoff6753]

What is your take on having to pay trustedhousesitters.com $120 before seeing if it’s something that even works for everyone? An upfront fee is really a turn off. Are you guys affiliated with them?

[@GoWithLess]

Hi Jack - Your comment/question is a good one for potential house sitters. Because it had a URL in it, YourTube flagged it so it didn't go live right away. I answered it on another post where you asked the question and want to post the question and my response here so others can see it. Hope it helps! Trusted Housesitters has changed our lives. Quite a deal for $120! We're off to a house sit in the French Alps for almost 6 weeks this summer we booked through the site. I'm not sure if they still allow you to see sits on the site if you're not a paying member. That would be a good way to get an idea what's out there if you can check it out (only members could apply to sits, though). When we started 4 years ago, paid members saw house sits posted immediately. Those who weren't members had a 24-hour delay. When it's competitive, 24 hours can make a world of difference. Plus, some home owners take their listing down quickly if they get lots of applicants. Keep in mind that it takes a little time to create a good profile so better to have it ready to go if a sit you want pops up. The early bird often gets the worm in our experience. We've said that we don't recommend house sitting to everyone. For people who take 1 or 2 weeks of vacation a year...we would likely not suggest it. There can be lots of home, pet and garden chores which wouldn't be very "vacation-y". Your priority is the home and pets...I like to say we're "trying on" someone else's life. Quite different from a normal pleasure trip. When we're house sitting, we're just living in another place. When we want to be busy sightseeing, we go with Airbnb or use hotel points from travel hacking. We'd also suggest doing local sits so new sitters have references. It's a lifestyle choice for us. The good news is we have a 25% off the fee if you use our referral link - www.trustedhousesitters.com/refer/RAF5872/. We have lots of videos about house sitting how-tos on our channel if you go down that path. If you have questions about it, please feel free to ask! For us, the fee is a no-brainer...and we're careful about everything we spend.

[@beeeb7747]

Excellent video! I'm wondering how much of a "vacation" or cultural experience" is it when have when you daily responsibility for animals. Seems like you're pretty much tied to the house.

[@GoWithLess]

Yes, you are completely correct! House sitting can be relaxing but we wouldn't call it a traditional vacation. Some of the platforms bill house sitting as a vacation but we believe that to be a huge disservice as it sets expectations incorrectly up front. When we want a vacation, we don't house sit...we stay in a hotel or at an Airbnb. When we're house sitting, we may be gone for several hours at a time but each sit is unique. Also, if there's a health issue with a pet or repair issue with a home, it's possible that what's "normal" might go out the window and you're in caregiver mode.

[@beeeb7747]

@@GoWithLess Thank you for the information!

[@GoWithLess]

@@beeeb7747 Our pleasure! This video might be helpful - kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmndeqx8f5Z3fK8

[@beeeb7747]

@@GoWithLess Thank you! Very helpful!

[@balancechigong]

how much you pay for the service

[@GoWithLess]

There are different plans. Each one is good for a full year. Here’s our referral link that provides a nice discount - links.gowithless.com/THS

[@erinaustin9968]

how do you claim this on your taxes?

[@GoWithLess]

Since we don’t earn a penny from it, there’s no income to claim.

[@erinaustin9968]

@@GoWithLess You don't have to receive actual cash for it to be earned income. I suspect most people don't claim the income but wasn't sure how the community addresses this issue. You may also have foreign income for bartered services in other countries that require taxes to be paid to that jurisdiction. But I'm a lawyer and risk manager so I may be the only one that thinks this way.

[@GoWithLess]

Hmmm, food for thought. Thank you!