House-sitter Hell

An article in this weeks Sunday Times was a good reminder to check the credentials of any house sitter you hire. A woman recently went on holiday leaving a hired housesitter to look after her home and beloved pets. She returned to find her house a total mess, her cat and two dogs traumatised and under weight, and more than $3000 worth of items missing.

The woman admitted she had failed to check the police clearance and references of the house sitter who was an elderly lady who seemed nice and trustworthy.

If you are hiring a house sitter to look after your home while you drive around Australia make sure you:

• Do a thorough background search which includes contacting at least 2 referees and sighting a police clearance form
• Sign a house-sitting agreement such as the one available from housecarers.com
• Make it clear to the sitter they are responsible for any loss or damage to the property while in the house
• Hire a sitter through a reputable agency such as;

http://www.housecarers.com/
http://www.houseminders.com.au/
http://www.housesitters.com.au/
http://www.aussiehousesitters.com.au/