Showing posts with label House sitting tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label House sitting tips. Show all posts

Ron And Anglea achieve a 90% success rate and Share their tips AND find Housesitting a perfect way to see Australia in comfort and with many pets to care for... which they simply love.

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We have been, I believe, remarkably fortunate in getting the house-sits that we apply for (about a 90% success rate) 
Ron and Angela
so that we are able to only take the ones we want, in the areas we believe will be interesting. Over the last 4 years we have built up excellent contacts, and friendships, in Qld, NSW, SA and Vic. We have enough return requests, and people requesting us out of the blue, to pretty well give us continuous "work"... if we wanted it.

It's a perfect way to see Australia in comfort and with many pets to care for... which we simply love.

As for 'tips' ... consider your house sit as a responsible job, do it well and return the house and pets to the owners is a happy and clean state. Then get brilliant references to post on your housecarers site. The work will then start coming to you... with the bonus of making great friends all over the country.

We are based in Busselton, WA when not on the road.

At present... we have just left a 2 month sit in Wiseman's Ferry NSW and, today begin a 6 week sit in stunning Warrnambool Vic... with two rescue greyhounds and two loving cats, Fantastic.!!!

Good luck and thanks, Ian

Ron and Angela Sims

House Sitter Profile for Ron And Angela 

Book Review - The House Sitting Book, Travel the World and Your Lodging is Free

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Our long time housesitter members Josie and Conrad Schneider Housecarers profile for:Josie and Contrad - (Cultureconnectors) have released an e-book jammed packed with great tips on how to land housesits and line-up house sit after housesit. It is always great to hear stories like theirs - and learn proven tips for successful housesit applications.

The House Sitting Book Travel the World and Your Lodging is Free I wrote THE HOUSE SITTING BOOK to help you succeed at winning the best assignments. Tips like how to word your profile – and its heading – so that homeowners will trust you with the care of their home. I give you real examples of good and bad profiles along with the explanation of exactly why the wording works or doesn’t. (One mistake is posting a profile with your wants and needs instead of illustrating your experience and readiness to care for someone else’s beloved home.) I also show you how to reveal truisms about yourself that make your profile pop.

And it’s essential to sign up for the daily email alerts. One tip tells you how to respond to desired house sitting posts so that yours is among the first to arrive in the homeowner’s inbox. And I show you exactly how to word your letter so that it stands out. The prime assignments can prompt a hundred or more replies, so yours needs to be stellar – and very personal. Included in THE HOUSE SITTING BOOK are two actual letters of mine that won us prime assignments in Copenhagen and near Washington D.C. in the United States. I give examples of why my letters grabbed the homeowner’s attention, (out of the nearly two hundred letters they each received), like how I commented on items in one homeowner’s photos that were near and dear to her heart.

My husband Conrad and I live the house sitting lifestyle, going from one assignment to the next, with time in between to travel and discover new countries and cultures. We are not wealthy people. Conrad is retired and I am a freelance writer and blogger. And because we have learned how to travel on a tight budget, I also present tips, including my 3-Step-Method to finding low-cost off-the-beaten-path lodging that is family-owned. These are the sweet places that we remember long after leaving because the generous owners share local lore, food and historical information as well as friendship – like the 350-year-old Gasthof Locher in the Italian Dolomites where we helped bring the cows down the hillside from the upper pasture, or the Catalan Cal Jepa apartment owned by a restaurateur who gave us a personal tour of his vineyard and fruit orchards.

THE HOUSE SITTING BOOK is a 100-page downloadable ebook packed with my inspiration, Conrad’s analytical tables and graphs, as well as fun-facts sprinkled about, (like: Norwegians drink more coffee than any other people on the planet), and 2 questionnaires which delve into your needs and motives for house sitting and traveling. There are charts for cost-of-living and transportation costs. There are tips for using public transportation and rental cars. I talk about the differences in house sitting assignments in terms of urban vs. remote, and more importantly, what that means for you. For instance, Conrad and I accepted an extremely remote house sit in Spain for an off-the-grid mountainside home. I show you photos and explain the good and the bad, so you can judge if remote house sitting is right for you.

I devote one section of the book to contracts, a very important aspect of your house sitting happiness! Among the many other subjects covered in THE HOUSE SITTING BOOK are language, visas, travel hacking and technology.

Here’s what others are saying:
“If you've considered house sitting as a vacation option or even a lifestyle, The House Sitting Book is a very comprehensive resource to get you started. Regardless of your web expertise, Josie makes the house sitting and travel lifestyle accessible with tips and tricks for finding and landing (and getting the most out of) house sitting gigs, as well as providing lots of tips for stress-free travel and experiencing new cultures. You can tell Josie is an expert, as most of the material is written from personal experience, with contextual anecdotes peppered throughout.” -Nora Dunn, The Professional Hobo


"This book is a gem! Whether you are in "the lifestyle" or merely considering it, you will find tips and facts that make this a must-read book. Not only is The House Sitting Book full of all kinds of information, it is well written and researched. It will cut your time in locating a house to sit and help you get assignments faster." -- Joan Sheridan, U.S.A.


I invite you into my world so that you too can reap the rewards – and fun – of house sitting. I wish you epic and safe travels! Click HERE to read more about THE HOUSE SITTING BOOK.

Housecarers interviews a successful housesitter - who lines up housesits across New Zealand

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"I'd like to thank HouseCarers.com for the most amazing year. You have enabled me to travel around New Zealand, doing what I love, looking after
people's pets whilst they take a carefree holiday.

A match made in Heaven. Thank you... Sue (icare88)
View profile for sitter icare88

Housecarers
"Hi Sue Great news about the housesits. It is always good to hear stories like yours.
Where have the housesits been = locations?"

Sue (icare88)
Hi Ian
Housesits since last October

"Kaukapakapa, Auckland
St Johns, Auckland
Kumeu, Auckland
Havelock North, Hawkes Bay
Stillwater, Auckland
Christchurch
Makarau, Auckland
Lake Tekapo - Till August
Blenheim - In August" Regards Sue

Housecarers
"Hi Sue,

Wow - that is very impressive.
Do you have any tips for successfully applying for
a housesit? regards Ian"

Sue (icare88)
"Hi Ian

Well, I have actually only been 'unsuccessful' with about 5 applications.
The first I never heard back from (which was rather rude), the second accepted me but gave the position to someone else without telling me - so I was very grateful not to be going there! The others were not happy about me taking my dog Dante with me - so that was OK.

When I am applying for a job, I try to read between the lines for what the owner is looking for. Mostly, I believe my success is due my love of animals. Dog lovers want someone who will take care of their dogs like they are their own, they are like their children and they really worry about them. So I make the animals my priority. I have also built a reputation for looking after the properties and leaving them in immaculate condition. And I have built up my references with contact numbers so that owners can call and check them out. I know that helps. However, I do have an attitude of trusting that I will be in the right place at the right time and I have been pretty flexible about travelling. I get a gut feeling for the places I want to apply for and only apply for the ones that feel right.

I hope that helps.

Regards
Sue"

View profile for House sitter icare88

More tips for house sitters

Yet More tips from a successful house sitter