7 Benefits of House Pet Sitting for Home and Pet Owners

Having a house and pet sitter in your home whilst you're away is a good alternative to leaving your pets in boarding kennels or catteries.
 
It saves you a lot of money, and your pets remain in the comfort of their own home and get lots of attention. House and pet sitters also serve the purpose of maintaining your property and providing that lived in security that a vacant property just does not have.

There are a lot of reasons for using house and pet sitters, and as the area matures, more are being discovered. However the question remains of why would I want virtual strangers living in my house and looking after my fur babies?

Well after 4+ years of sitting for home and pet owners across the world, here is the list of some benefits they have expressed.

Insurance and House Sitting
Yep check with your home and contents insurance provider and you will find one of those small print paragraphs that your policy becomes void if the property is left vacant for more that 30 days (varies with country and type of policy). 

So you will find getting in house and pet sitters is one way of keeping your home secure and ‘lived in’ and you insurance company happy.

Saving Money with House Sitters
Most sitters don’t charge, yeah crazy hey! We feel there is a fair exchange of services between living in a place at no cost and looking after a property and/or pets.  

Let’s face it! If you have a couple of animals to take care of over a few weeks while you're away, it can get very expensive. e.g. caring for 3 animals over three weeks is approximately $1,500+ at boarding kennels etc, and that does not take into account the stress and anxiety your furry friends go through. 

Best Pet Care with House Sitters
House and pet sitters stay at your property for the duration. 

We find we generally spend more time with your pets than you do, walking, playing, feeding etc.  Additionally as your pets are not leaving their environment they do not have the same separation stress etc, normally associated with owners going away. 

Yes they will still miss you but just not as much as you think :-)

House Sitters Maintain Things for You 
Unless you arrange and pay for a company, ask a family member or neighbor (and return the favor at some stage), to look after your property, you will return from a wonderful holiday and spend the next week or so undertaking the property and garden maintenance that was not done while you were away.
 
With house and pet sitters you come home to a clean house, lawns mowed, gardens tidy, pool clean etc. Additionally in our house sitting experience we have cleaned up after storms, dealt with pipes bursting and other maintenance tasks as they have come up.

House Sitters give you Peace of Mind
It has been our experience that homeowners enjoy their holidays and time away if they know their property and pets are well looked after.

We have received the common response from homeowners that they felt relaxed and reassured that their pets and property would be well cared for in their absence, and found that to be true when they returned to find happy pets and a clean and tidy home. 

Communication with House Sitters
Through your choice of text messages or emails you can be kept informed with what's happening with your home and pets while you are away, so you are not left wondering or worrying.
 
We have found that our homeowner’s communication requirements are all different. Some want to know all and others only wanted to be contacted if required. One said only in the case of Cyclone, Fire or other natural disaster. 

Yep it’s all up to you! 

Other Benefits to Consider with House Sitters
As House and Pet Sitters we have collected and sorted mail. On some long term house sits we have opened, sorted, scanned and forwarded important mail, saving the owners in redirection and other assorted fees.

Additionally we have had homeowner’s family and friends thank us for doing the tasks they would inevitably be doing if we were not there. Oppppss oh yeah they also said not to tell ...

Anyway these are just some of the reasons owners have given us for continually getting house and pet sitters to look after their property and pets. 

But what about the house sits gone wrong I hear you ask. Yes the stories you have read on social media, watched in movies and been told by friends of friends.
 
Yep these stories exist and some might be true. 

However in our next post we will go through the simple things you can do to ensure you attract desirable house sitters and ensure you have an outstanding House Sitting Experience.

Till then 

Travel Well

jillgavhousesitters.com

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