House sitters: advice for non-retirees over 35 years old

For most house sitters, the budget is a real motivation. We can't say it often enough, accommodation costs are a major drain on the holiday budget. House sitting therefore makes real savings and allows you to travel at a lower cost.
People in employment often have the same holiday periods (July, August and school holidays). Due to the high number of people at these times of the year, the price of rentals explodes, but they don't really have a choice as to when they go on holiday.
The house sitting allows them to leave during their holidays without having to worry about the price of a rental and to enjoy their stay without restriction.

For example:

• If they are unable to go to a country with their car, they will have more money to rent a car on the spot for the duration of their stay.
• Good meals in restaurants, drinks in bars and café terraces can be enjoyed more often without causing financial difficulties.
• Guided tours, exhibitions, museums, shows, theater ... all these cultural activities are quite expensive but will be accessible through the house sitting.
• They often have dependent children who want to do a lot of activities, this generates additional expenses that they could not afford without the house sitting.

Unlike traditional holidaymakers, people who do house sitting will be able to enjoy all the pleasures and leisure activities of a holiday for the same budget.

When you work long hours, spend time on transport, have to do homework, manage the children's extra-curricular activities, only on holiday is it possible to experience something different. You can see « in real life » what you see in books or on TV.
Travelling brings back memories that you share with your family and friends by taking lots of pictures. Travelling allows you to discover new landscapes, to meet new people, to taste local dishes.
You might want to get away from the stressful everyday life.
House sitting is an excellent solution to satisfy your desire to travel to countries with different cultures, to the city, the countryside, the sea or the mountains. You will always find an owner who will entrust you with his house and his animals, in a place that tempts you.

A moment of decompression and escape, holidays are made to put aside all the daily worries. It's also a time when you want to change, meet new people and forge new bonds.
By keeping a house or an apartment, the house sitter will become an integral part of the local population. This can facilitate human contact.
In addition, friendships are often formed between owners and house sitters. This is very enriching because they can come from different backgrounds and cultures. This is an opportunity to share, to get to know and appreciate each other.

It is imperative that:

• Fill in all the fields of the questionnaire as many people often fail to do so due to negligence or lack of motivation. These people penalize themselves because owners will not want to contact someone who does not reveal much about their personality. This can also be interpreted as a lack of seriousness and not inspiring confidence.
• Provide all the documents requested in order to obtain the 10/10 score. This confidence index is essential to reassure the owners.
• Choose advantageous photos where you can be seen clearly, banish blurred photos. You can even be in the company of an animal, this will give a good impression to the owners.
• Write the presentation message correctly, which is an essential criterion for being selected.
  Explain clearly why you are motivated to do house sitting.
  Describe all your skills, whether they are for DIY, gardening, interior and exterior maintenance of the house, or animal care.
  You can specify the degree of your knowledge, for example, if you have a good command of gardening or if you only have a few notions.
  But be careful, don't make the mistake of bragging too much.
  If you have already had house sitting or similar experiences, say so to add weight to your application.
  This way the owner will see that you are not a beginner in this concept and this can be a determining factor in his choice.

If the owner contacts you and asks you to trade with you, it is because he is interested in your profile. To reinforce this idea:

• Ask him all the questions related to his proposal of stay. For example, the care that you will have to bring to his animals, the maintenance of the exteriors (garden, watering of the flowers, swimming pool), the daily tasks to be carried out.
• If you agree with all her expectations, tell her that you commit yourself to respect them scrupulously.
• Express all the love you have for animals and take a special interest in theirs. This will reassure the owner because for him the well-being of his companions is paramount.
• Tell him that you are really interested in the stay he proposes, both by its geographical location, by the habitat and by the animals to be pampered.

In order for them to leave with peace of mind, it is essential to discuss all these points with the owners because entrusting one's property and animals to strangers is not easy.