A house sitter ensures the safety and upkeep of your property while you're away. Tasks can include basic cleaning, collecting mail, watering plants and if applicable caring for pets.
Sitters typically use the homeowner's supplies for tasks like cleaning or pet care, but they bring personal items for their stay.
We recommend booking as soon as your dates are confirmed, especially during peak travel times, to ensure availability.
Absolutely! You can request updates to stay informed about your home and pets.
We're flexible! Contact us as soon as possible and we'll coordinate with the sitter to extend their stay if needed.
Yes, we encourage virtual or in-person introductions to ensure you're comfortable with the selected sitter.
A sitter deters break-ins or vandalism, giving the home a "lived-in" appearance during your absence. Also sitters actively maintain your home, ensuring security and upkeep, often including care for pets or plants.
The payment of bills is usually negotiable between the homeowner and the sitter. Homeowners typically cover fixed annual costs like water charges and licence fee, while sitters might pay for ongoing utilities such as electricity and gas. To avoid disputes, we suggest taking utility meter readings at the start and end of the sit. Homeowners normally cover pet care and property maintenance expenses, though long-term sits might shift all utility costs to the sitter. Discuss and agree on approximate heating or cooling costs for extreme weather before starting.
Leaving your property empty for any length of time is tantamount to asking for trouble. Not only is your vacant house far more likely to be vandalised and burgled but your home and contents insurance may become null and void after your home is empty for a period of time. 'Don't do it!'. It may seem easier to lock your house up and simply walk (or drive) away rather than go throught the process of finding a house sitter but your house is your most valuable financial asset and as such deserves the protection that a house sitter can offer. Central Statistics Office (CSO) burglary findings revealed a very concerning rise in the number of burglaries in Ireland. Over the past 12 months (Q2 2023 - Q1 2024) home burglaries statistics have worryingly increased by 6 per cent compared to the previous year (Q2 2022 - Q1 2023)
The advantages of having someone you don't know as well, house sit for you rather than asking a friend or family member to help you out are numerous. Many an informal agreement between friends or family members has led to the damage or destruction of previously good relationships. If you do require a house sitter it makes much more sense to engage the services of a person to do this rather than jeopardise a close relationship. Crucial to the distinction between engaging a house sitter online and a friend or family member is one of personal motivation. If your friend or family member is, in essence, doing you a favour rather than agreeing to house sit for their own reasons there's every chance they will let you down. That's human nature unfortunately.
By sharing resources and staying in existing homes, you're reducing your carbon footprint. House swapping aligns with eco-conscious living.
