Welcome to House Sitting Services

INFORMATION FOR HOME OWNERS REQUIRING HOUSE SITTERS

Your request for this Information tells me that you may either have planned a long holiday or you are thinking about it. How many times have we all thought about taking a holiday, only to change our minds, because of the concerns for the security of your home, the garden and the indoor plants, and especially the Masters and Mistresses of the house, generally considered the real “bosses” - the family pets. If you are like me, then the answer is probably “ too many times to count”.

We believe that when you do go away, the best place for your pets is in their own home. Sure, they may possibly fret for you to start with, but we would like to think that after a short period of adjustment they will realise that the “stranger” in their home who is feeding them and looking after them, may not be as good as “mum” or “dad” but they’re not a bad second.

That “stranger” is a HOUSE SITTER. As an alternative to either staying home , or going away and worrying about whether your animals are O.K. away from the comforts of their own home, worrying about the garden and burglars, a House Sitter is the ideal answer.

Now, you can advertise for one yourself or pick a name out of a House Sitters Directory, but you may realise when you are away that you have no way of finding out whether or not everything is running as smoothly as you would hope. If you have had no experience checking out a persons credentials and take someone’s name from a Housesitting Directory, or choose a person or couple who have put their own ad in the paper, and have to screen them yourself, be very careful, as you may end up with someone less honest than you bargained for. Also, we have rejected over seven thousand would-be housesitters in the past 2½ years so far, with at least five hundred of those same people having told us they have their name in a directory who sounded like very nice people. However, we know from experience there is more to a Housesitter than just being “nice”.

We believe that your best option is to use our House Sitting Service. As our background is in Real Estate we have the experience behind us to manage your property for you similarly to a normal Property Management service where tenants are placed for landlords. Housesitting Services will arrange for a House Sitter (s) to stay in your home for the entire period of your holiday, and they will be responsible for the upkeep of your home and gardens, and will look after your pets in the manner to which they are accustomed. Just the very presence of someone staying in your home will alert the would-be burglers to move on to a house that looks empty, thus leaving yours alone.

DON’T LET THE BURGLARS SPOIL YOUR HOLIDAY.

WHO IS “HOUSESITTING SERVICES PTY. LTD” ?

Housesitting Services Pty Ltd was started in October 2002 after its founder, Dawn McKenna, a Real Estate agent at the time, saw a real need for a genuine and responsible personal Housesitting Service catering for homeowners needing both security for their homes when they went on holidays and someone to look after their pets and gardens. Amazed at the enormous demand, the service is now operating in Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne, and in the process of being established in all other capital cities of Australia.

WHAT SORT OF PEOPLE DO HOUSE SITTTING ?

We have accepted a varied group of House Sitters, from retired couples, couples who are having new homes built who need somewhere to live while the building is in progress; several housesitters have chosen to housesit so that they can have a holiday in an area away from home and not have to worry about the normally huge accommodation costs. Others have come out of a marriage and not sure what their next move is, so they fill the gap in with housesitting, We have police officers, teachers, nurses, small business owners, in fact good people who have lots of varied and good reasons for choosing to House Sit. When applications are presented to us we go through them carefully as we need to know that each applicant has lots to offer. It has to be a win/win situation where both the home owner and the House Sitter are happy. Mostly those chosen are people who we feel will have or make time to spend with the pets. If you have a dog (s)and it is used to a daily walk, then the House-sitter will take them for one. We also prefer people who either own their own home or have done so in the past. We believe that home owners will have a better eye for any maintenance required than someone who has never owned a home. Your House Sitter may be an individual person or a couple. They are all non-smokers, have no pets of their own with them and no dependent children with them. They must also all be animal lovers.

WHAT SERVICE CAN YOU EXPECT FROM YOUR HOUSE SITTER /S

Once your House Sitter (s) have accepted their appointment to look after your home for a set period of time, they sign a Commitment form. They agree to abide by the rules set out for them by Housesitting Services during the entire period of their stay in your home. They are to maintain your home as though its their own. Their duties include looking after any pets, gardens, swimming pools, spas, saunas, back yard area as well as look after the inside. Cleanliness and tidiness are priorities, as well as looking after your valuable furniture and belongings. Your House Sitter is expected to answer your phone and to explain your absence in the manner you have requested prior to departure. Any mail needs to be forwarded as per your prior instructions also. So that the House Sitter (s) is fully aware of all duties you require of them it is advised that you write a list of daily duties for each day of the week and leave it for them. This will prevent them not remembering to do a small but important chore because they tried to absorb too much detail in a short period of time.

For the benefit of your pets your House Sitter (s) need to know as much as possible about them. The more they know, the more they will be able to please your pets. We need you to write out a list of all your pets likes, dislikes, their habits, their characteristics, what commands they know and respond to, how often they go for walks, where they go, time schedules for eating, walking, and any other activities, sleeping arrangements; the more you help us to get to know your pets, the more they will enjoy their time with the House Sitter.

WHAT SERVICE CAN YOU EXPECT FROM US IN YOUR ABSENCE ?

During your absence, if any problems arise, your Housesitter will phone us, and we will do what is necessary to remedy it. We are in constant contact with our Housesitters. Every 8 weeks we will do an Inspection of the property in the same manner that we would to any other rental property in our care. Our preference is to inspect when the House sitter is there, so that we can check for the interaction between the pets and the house Sitter. At this time we are happy to take digital photos of the house, the garden, the pets and send them to you via E- mail for your peace of mind.

We also have a back up system in place just in case anything ever did go wrong.

Prior to your departure, you will supply us with written information about anything we need to know in preparation for any problem which may occur, which may or may not have happened in your presence as well. Vets, Plumbers , Electricians, any names that will help us in a mini emergency. i.e. the frig breaks down.

If you wish for us to be responsible for the payment of your household accounts in your absence, i.e. Water & Council Rates, Monthly or Annual Dog Grooming or Vet Visits that become due, Pet Grooming products or Medications, Lawn Mowing (if you have a regular service) we will be happy to do so by prior arrangement with you.

HOW WILL YOU KNOW WHO WILL BE SUITED TO LOOK AFTER OUR HOME ?

Prior to making any commitment we check out and match up a House Sitter who will as near as possible meet all your needs and requirements for the period of your time away from home.

Questions asked are; Are they available during time requested ? Are they happy to stay in this location ? Are they experienced with the breed of dogs and other pets you have ?Are they capable of performing other duties requested ?

If the answers are all yes, then we make contact with the House Sitter and confirm their availability and desire to accept the appointment. We then arrange (at a convenient time for all parties), for a meeting between yourselves, a Representative from Housesitting Services Pty Ltd., the prospective House sitter/s and your pets. We especially need to know if your pets are going to bond with the House sitters chosen, and only face to face will really tell. If any party has an uncomfortable feeling about the pets reaction, the arrangement will be aborted and we will commence the process again with different House sitters until we are satisfied that your pets will not fret too much while you are gone. If you are uncomfortable about our choice of house Sitter for any reason at all, you only need to tell us and we will start the process again. No reason is necessary. We respect your judgment and want you to go away and be completely happy and comfortable in the knowledge that your home is in good hands.

WHAT IF MY FURNITURE OR PERSONAL EFFECTS ARE DAMAGED.

House Sitters are committed to look after your property as though it’s their own. We would be foolish however to believe that everything will always go according to plan.

The very best of plans can go astray. Accidents can happen. We suggest that any real valuables (sentimental or monetary) are to be locked away in a cupboard while you are away , to be brought out again upon your return.

You may even choose to put certain of your precious belongings into a particular room and advise that it is off-limits for the duration of the House Sitters stay.

It is entirely up to you whether or not you request a bond from your House Sitter. If you do so it will be placed with the Residential Tribunal and returned after your OK is given upon your return. There will however be a cost attached to this as it involves many hours work.

HOW MUCH WILL ALL THIS SERVICE COST YOU ?

“To you the Homeowner the full cost for us to arrange a Housesitter for your full holiday or business trip is only $255 for the entire time, no matter how you are away. How can we do this? Very easy” The House Sitter makes a commitment to look after your home, pets and gardens as though they are their own. The benefits of them living in your home rent-free for a period of time is the main reason they are happy to offer their services. They in fact pay most of our costs to be able to maintain this service. It costs them $250.00 registration fee (a one off fee) as well as $40 per week while in residence . While no rent is payable as such this cost in comparison is small and our House sitters are happy to pay this. They are also expected to pay you, the homeowner, for their own usage of phone, electricity, and gas. Water usage is up to you the owner and as we need to encourage rather than discourage the House sitter to water the lawns, gardens and pot plants, it is our opinion that if we ask the House Sitter to be responsible for water usage while you are gone, they may be reluctant to look after your property as efficiently as they should. .

If you request a spot Inspection (as well as the 8 week Inspection) you may do so for a fee of $50 for each Inspection. Our Housesitters are happy to housesit your home for a minimum time of 2 weeks . There is no maximum time. You may go away for 12 months or more and still pay only $250.

Our House Sitters commit to staying in your home for the entire period of time requested by you. If in an emergency the House Sitter has to vacate prior to your return, we will take it on ourselves to put somebody else in. The process of introducing the person/s to your pets will be followed in exactly the same manner as previous except that we will ask a family member or close friend to stand in for .

The duties of your House Sitter commence on the day of your departure and end on the day of your arrival home. Only registered house Sitters are to occupy your home. At no time is any person/s other than those on the registration form permitted to stay unless arranged with you, the homeowner prior to your departure. Any person/s other than those with authority will be treated as trespassers and will be evicted immediately. All House Sitters sign a copy of the rules prior to commitment and are aware of this.

GENERAL MAINTENANCE

Your House Sitter will report any problems to us requiring general maintenance. We will abide by the instructions you leave with us as to how we will deal with general maintenance.

SECURITY

It is extremely important for us check our House Sitters as thoroughly as possible. We do not accept all applicants; in fact most have not made it past the first phone conversation with me. Out of the thousands of phone calls we have received over the past 5 years from interested possible House-sitters we have taken on only those who we know would be 100% suitable.. I am so very well aware that if something goes wrong, it will be our reputation that will suffer as much as the House Sitter. We cannot afford for that to happen, so for that reason as well as for the fact that we want everything to work out wonderful for you so that your longed for holiday will be everything you dreamed it would , I can assure you that we will do our utmost to make sure everything runs smoothly and no problems occur. WE NOT ONLY CHECK EACH HOUSE-SITTER THOROUGHLY BUT ALSO THOSE WHO HAVE GONE REFEREE FOR THEM ARE CHECKED OUT AS WELL. OUR SECURITY CHECK IS OF ABSOLUTE PRIORITY AND ONLY THOSE WITH IMPECCABLE RECORDS MAKE IT THROUGH. A POLICE CHECK IS ALSO REQUIRED. ONLY WHEN WE ARE COMPLETELY SATISFIED OF A PERSONS SUITABILITY DO WE ARRANGE A PERSONAL INTERVIEW WITH THEM .

WHAT ABOUT INSURANCE ?

We advise all homeowners using our service to phone their own Insurance Companies for clarification on whether or not there would be any changes to their policies by having a Housesitter in. Most policies state that there must never be a period longer then 60 or 90 days (depending on the Company) where the premises are left vacant, so they therefore prefer to see the premises lived in. If your Insurance Company requests the name of your Housesitter, we are happy to provide them with not only the name but a copy of their references, Police Clearance Certificate, and a few of their personal details. Please let us know if you need this.

WAIVER

May we also point out that all house Sitters are Independent and are neither employees or contracted to Housesitting Services Pty Ltd. Whilst we will do everything in our endeavor to check the credentials of the House sitters we take no responsibility for any criminal act that the house sitter does against you or your property. As with a tenant who is renting a house, a House sitter also will be liable for his/her own actions and if any offence occurs police will be brought in immediately.

We hope we have made our service clear to you. If you have any further questions we will be only too happy to answer them for you.

If you would like to use our services, may we suggest that as soon as you are aware of your holiday dates, send your application in. This then gives us a much better opportunity to meet your needs much sooner, which will give you peace of mind when you need it.

You may download an application and either email it, fax it or post it back to us. Whatever it easiest for you. As soon as we receive it, we will contact you either by email or phone, to let you know we have it. If you have any other questions, we are only a phone call away. We will be happy to answer your questions and put your mind at ease. If you cannot download the application and need to have one posted to you, we are happy to do so.

Our email address is;

mckenna@housesittingservices.com.au

WE PROMISE TO LOOK AFTER YOUR HOME AS THOUGH IT’S OUR OWN

“No part of this website may be reproduced without the written permission of Housesitting Services Pty Ltd .

The Directors of the Company will not hesitate to take legal action to protect our legal rights.”