What type of people Homesit?
Someone like you or your friends! House sitters join Homesit for a range of reasons. They are responsible people who love animals and enjoy discovering different parts of New Zealand. House sitters tend to be people who find it suits their circumstances at a certain time in their lives, such as moving cities or countries, changing jobs, retiring or saving, often for a mortgage..
Is house sitting with Homesit the lifestyle for you? Hopefully these questions and answers will help you decide.
1. Do I have to pay rent?
No, Homesitting is a reciprocal arrangement. You receive free accommodation, in return for which the homeowner receives your services of housekeeping, minor garden maintenance and loving care for their pets. You pay for your own living expenses, toll calls and food. The homeowner usually pays utilities, ongoing costs and of course food for their animals.
2. How long will it take to obtain a housesit?
The registration process itself normally only takes a few days. You need to supply three written references. We also need to obtain a Police clearance, a free process that only takes 2-3 weeks.This document is a request by an Individual under the Privacy Act 1993 for a copy of any criminal convictions held by the Ministry of Justice's computer systems. We will send you a form to sign that allows the Police to supply Homesit with the necessary clearance from the Ministry of Justice. You need to get that signed form back to us as quickly as possible - scanned and emailed is fine. We will send you a copy of that clearance once it comes to hand.
We have to check your references and meet with youto fully explain the process along with some do's and don'ts. Then, although we make the recommendation, it is the client who selects the sitter. Once an Owner makes a booking, we refer to them one or two sitters who closely match the profile that has been provided, and then it is up to the prospective sitter(s) and the client to arrange to meet and decide whether or not they feel comfortable with each other.
3. Can you guarantee continuity of sits?
NO. You cannot rely on Homesit to provide a permanent roof over your head. Assignments can be as short as a week or as long as several months. Before you register, you should make arrangements to stay somewhere between sits. We can also often refer you to short-term accommodation which is suitable for our housesitters. Read more on http://www.homesit.co.nz/house-sitters/in-between-sits-accomodation/.
4. Why do you require so many references?
Because what we offer our clients is the security of knowing that we thoroughly research housesiitter applicants to ensure they are trustworthy and reliable, as they will be looking after their homes and pets. Your references need to be written and we require current contact numbers for the referees, as we will check these. We prefer references to come from previous Homesitting assignments, or similar person such as a landlord or letting agent or an employer.
5. How long is the average housesit?
Sits can range from long weekends to several months, with autumn/winter sits being longer than Spring/Summer ones.
6. I only want long-term sits; anything over two months would be okay. What are my chances?
Not great. In the winter the average sit is between four and eight weeks duration, and in the summer between two and four weeks. If you're not prepared to accept short housesits you will need to have interim accomodation that helps you cope with gaps between housesits.
7. I work long hours, leaving early and arriving back late, is this a problem?
It can be. Homesitting is attractive to owners because it provides security for their property and loving care for their pets. If you are not going to be there for much of the time, owners do not see much advantage to them and know their pets will be lonely much of the day. Many housesitters work from home or are retired couples.
8. I'm allergic to cats and I don't care for dogs, will this affect the sits I'm offered?
Yes, 98% of our assignments involve pets, if you don't like animals it is unlikely we will be able to offer you many sits. Many of our owners have both cats and dogs, as well as chickens, rabbits and possibly other animals on lifestyle blocks.
9. I don't want to spend my weekends mowing lawns and weeding gardens, do I have to?
It depends, every housesit is individual and you will be able to meet and agree on the homeowner's expectations and needs in advance before proceeding:
some owners have contractors who come in regularly.
some owners may not require garden maintenance
for those that do, you should consider whether this is ok for you or whether you might pay for a contractor so that you do not have to do it. Otherwise, you should not take the sit.
you will always need to clean up and leav the home as you found it.
10. I smoke, although I'm prepared to go outside if necessary. What do clients usually think?
Almost without exception, clients specify that the sitter must be a non-smoker. You must be honest about this because a non-smoker is usually very perceptive about who is or is not a smoker and whether anyone has been smoking in their home. Some owners will indicate that they don't mind outside smokers.
11. Can I still Homesit if I have children and/or pets?
Sometimes we have clients who would be happy for a family to move in but the reality is that they are rare. Similarly, as the majority of our housesits involve caring for the owner's pets, it isn't possible to take your pets with you.
Home sitters are not allowed to deal directly with clients. Should clients deal directly with sitters it will result in both parties being removed from our database.
In order to register with Homesit we will need you:
to supply us with three written references
to have a current Police Check.
to meet or speak with us by phone/Skype for a personal interview.
If you feel that this is the lifestyle for you, please complete our online application form on http://www.homesit.co.nz/house-sitters/signup/.