Affordable Travel: Housesitting

Need a break? If you are looking for an affordable holiday without the high expense of hotel accommodation or holidays units, have you ever thought about housesitting?

So what is housesitting you ask? It is the method of watching other people’s houses while they’re away in exchange for free accommodation. That simple!

You pay no rent, no utilities, and in some cases have a vehicle at your disposal. In a lot of cases there maybe a pet or two to care for and maybe a swimming pool or garden to maintain. But nothing too labour-intensive.

This way of travel isn’t just for long-term nomads; opportunities are available for all types of travellers. Housesits can range from just a weekend to weeks, months or years in length.

During our travels around Australia we met two couples that do this type of ‘work’ fulltime. One couple seek out housesits in areas in Australia that they would like to see, i.e: in a beautiful location in another state of territory. The housesitters live in their caravans or motorhomes in between housesitting assignments and once they snag a ‘job’ they are off to live in a house completely rent free!

We are currently planning a two week holiday and have decided to use the services of housesitters. Normally our son would move into our home and take care of things and our beautiful dog, but this time around he is not available. We started asking a few friends and neighbours if they knew of anyone that could housesit and then eventually I resorted to posting a message on Facebook. The response was immediate!

The sister of a friend of mine and her husband are selling up their house in Sydney, retiring from their jobs and trying out housesitting for a while to get some idea of where they would like to live permanently. At this stage they are trying to decide between the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast in Queensland. Perfect!

They will have the convenience of staying in a lovely house that has a swimming pool, close proximity to the beach, shops and cafes and also within walking distance to her family. They will also take care of our dog, water our garden and keep the house secure while we are away on our holiday. It is a win-win arrangement!

There are many websites within Australia that you can register with to become a housesitter or look for one. Aussie House Sitters is one such site. They assist in facilitating hundreds of housesits within Australia and it is free to list your house on their site. To register as a housesitter it costs $65 per year.

There are just three simple steps involved:

1. Register on the website as a housesitter providing your profile and references.
2. Search through the houses available online and contact the owners. Often, house owners will actually contact you directly, having found your profile on the site. When a house owner gets back to you, decide if you want to proceed and start organising the sit.
3. Sign a sitting agreement with the house owner and sort out the finer details like emergency phone numbers and pet routines etc. The rest is living rent free!!!

The whole process is pretty easy because people are highly motivated – House owners really want a responsible sitter to care for their pets and/or garden/house, and sitters really want the chance to live rent-free in lovely houses around the country. It definitely gives you something to think about for future holidays.