Last updated on September 18th, 2018 at 12:04 pm
Do you want to know how to get started house sitting? Caring for people's homes and pets while they vacation can save you tons of money on your travel costs.
Over the last four and a half years, we've completed 20 house sitting assignments equaling almost three years of free travel accommodation!
Our first house sit was 6 months in Panama and the one we are finishing right now in Mexico was 5.5 months. Between those 2 alone it was almost 1 full year. House sitting has helped us see parts of the world we thought we’d never be able to afford to visit, we have done house sits in the UK, France, Belgium, Turkey, Spain, Canada and more.
The process to get started house sitting wasn’t easy, though.
In fact, when we started we had applied for over one hundred house sits and were rejected for all of them. Feeling so discouraged, we almost gave up trying to win assignments. We had read so much online to learn how to become successful house sitters. The amount of information to sift through was a bit overwhelming.
We tried to distill down the tips we thought would help us have the most success. But, when we acted on the things we learned we still came up short.
Thankfully, after months of consistently sending out unsuccessful applications, we finally read a guide that helped us land our first house sit.
"How to Become a House Sitter and See the World" by Pete and Dalene Heck is a straightforward comprehensive guide that outlines everything needed to land assignments and do a great job as a house sitter. We wish we had bought the guide sooner. Doing so would have saved us a lot of time and money!
We know quality advice all in one place is hard to come by.
There is a lot of free house sitting information available online. We thought we'd be able to figure out how to land house sitting jobs just by reading free resources and articles on the web. The thing was, the information didn't provide a single step by step method needed to successfully land assignments.
Buying this guide will save you more time and money than any free resource will!
Here's why "How to Become a House Sitter and See the World" is the only resource you'll need to get started house sitting!
You'll Learn How to Create a Great House Sitting Profile that Attracts Homeowners
This part of the book was the game changer for us! We'd read many articles on what to include in a house sitting profile but we never put all the info together well enough to attract homeowners. The difference with Pete and Dalene's book is they share personal unique tips we've never seen anywhere else.
One of those personal tips was what made the difference for our profile! Another great thing is they share their own profile and some of their successful application letters. If you're a person that has no idea what to put in your profile or application letter these examples will help so much!
You'll learn effective strategies to create a killer profile and a proven technique for application letters that win great house sitting assignments.
You'll Get Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions About House Sitting
As an aspiring house sitter, there's no doubt you have questions about house sitting. In "How to Become a House Sitter and See the World" there are answers, to the most burning questions! The answers are honest and offer effective solutions for obstacles certain types of house sitters can experience.
The answers aren't just from Pete and Dalene's experience, they included tips and insights from other avid house sitters as well.
You'll get answers to questions like
- We are traveling as a family. Are there house-sits available for people with kids?
- I’m in my early 20s. Will I have a hard time finding home-owners to trust me?
- Is it harder for single people to get house-sits?
- I have been trying to line up house-sit after house-sit but sometimes there is a space in between. Any ideas on what we should do with this time?
Also, the chapter on important things to consider about house sitting poses more questions. Thought provoking ones, that can help you decide what type of house sits are best for you to take and whether or not you're suited to be a house sitter.
You'll Find Out What it Takes to be a Great House Sitter
This information is covered in depth in two parts of the book. What we found the most helpful as new house sitters was the book shared important things to do as soon as our application was accepted. Key tips to position ourselves for a successful house sit.
Also, there are tips for every part of a house sit- including pre arrival, during the assignment, trouble shooting issues that may arise, and prepping for the homeowners return.
Again opinions on how to be a great house sitter isn't limited to just Pete and Dalene's experience. They included tips from other successful house sitters and even home owners as well!
Reading these tips will help you approach your first house sit with absolute confidence.
The Bottom Line on "How to Become a House Sitter and See the World" as a Resource
Pete and Darlene's book cuts right to the chase. In fact, 24 hours after reading the guide and changing one thing in our application (based on their advice) we got our first assignment! Years of applying with no success and then one vital tip and one day later and we were house sitters.
Our first house sit was 6 months long and posed a lot of challenges for us. We were prepared for dealing with a lot of the obstacles we faced because of Pete and Dalene's book. We learned so much during that house sit and helped the pets we cared for overcome physical and behavioral issues which was so rewarding! The homeowners were delighted with the job we did and we earned our first steller review.
If we could turn back time, we would have bought "How to Become a House Sitter and See the World" first. We could have been saving on travel costs sooner. Just one night of free travel accommodation would more than cover the cost of this guide.
To review, here is some of the great stuff included in "How to Become a House Sitter and See the World" :
- Discount codes for 2 top house sitting websites (another way to cover the cost of the guide). A combined value of more than $60!
- A thorough analysis of the largest house-sitting websites to help you decide which one is best for you to join
- Seriously effective tips to help you write a compelling profile and application letter, including successful examples!
- Advice on how to do a good job as a house-sitter
- Quotes from experienced house-sitters and homeowners from around the world
- Plenty of resources for planning your house-sitting gig
The Hecks have been traveling since 2009, house sitting along the way. They share all of the secrets behind their house sitting success in this guide.
"How to Become a House Sitter and See the World" holds the answer to how to get started house sitting
If you want to know how to get started house sitting we know this is the only resource you'll need to do it.
The cost is so affordable, only $14.99! "How to Become a House Sitter and See the World" comes in three different versions; Kindle, e-reader, or PDF.
We love house sitting, it has totally changed the way we experience the places we travel. We get to know destinations more deeply and getting to know homeowners had helped us forge friendships all over the world.
The book has been updated since we bought it and now offers even more helpful information. If you've been struggling to get your first house sitting assignment, you need to get this guide! We know first hand what a game changer it can be and are confident you'll feel the same way if you buy it today:)
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We bought this, covered our costs of Nomador for 3 months and landed 3 weeks in Helsinki, Finland.
I feel your pain, we went through so many rejections (if you can even call them that when the host doesn’t bother replying) through Workaway. Looking back, I wish we had checked out housesitting before volunteering, something I would definitely consider for future along with this resource. Thanks for sharing.
You’re right, there is a lot out there! I read a few and even applied for a few house sits but always got rejected. I guess this book is what I’ve been missing!
You are absolutely correct, it’s better to spend your money and get the right resources instead of wasting time. At 19 bucks I don’t see how you can go wrong. I have never thought about house sitting before, but it seems like an ideal way to travel and save lots of money on accommodation.
I am so glad to read this positive review! My friend recently bought their book and is excited to use it. I’ll pass this on to her! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I agree, house sitting is an excellent way to travel more affordably. And it is a helpful service. I always have someone in my house when I travel and wouldn’t have it any other way. Happy travels!
I don’t have any house sitting plans at the moment, but if that changes this book is where I would start! Its amazing that you managed to get accepted after just changing one thing.
Looks like a great book – I am going to bookmark this for when I plan to start house sitting. I am just wondering, is it a lot of work though and do you ever have any “issues” with the owners? What kind of houses have you stayed in – living in some fancy places around the globe can surely be fun, eh?
It is more work than a hotel stay for sure Jo. But the accommodation is always nice and more spacious. We have stayed in some incredible places; a manor house with a 10-acre professionally landscaped garden in Oxfordshire, a villa near the beach in Spain, and a beautiful home in the mountains in Panama just to name a few. Never really had issues with homeowners per se, but a few surprises that could have been avoided, yes. Here are a couple of posts that answer questions pertaining to your comment: https://expatexperiment.com/house-sitting-questions-answered/, https://expatexperiment.com/when-to-say-no-to-a-housesitting-job/.
Thanks for the heads up on Pete and Darlene’s book – you’re right, there are so many resources out there that it gets to a point where the overload of information is overwhelming. Finding something that cuts to the chase is so invaluable!
Housesitting is coming of age, yet it is still a hit-and-miss kind of thing, isn’t it? Your post is bound to be very useful, there will be many takers.
House sitting is definitely becoming more popular Punita! I don’t think it’s “hit or miss” really. We have been successful choosing the best assignments that fit our preferences. Here’s a link to an article that explains how we do that https://expatexperiment.com/how-to-pick-the-best-house-sit/.
Couldn’t agree more, housesitting is a great way to afford to see more of the world. I use a housesitter each time I travel and have never had regrets.