In this article, I will explain how to ace your house sitting video call and secure the perfect sit. When you apply for a house sit, hosts usually request a call to get to know their favorite applicants better. It will help them decide who to offer the listing to. It’s an important step in the process, and your time to shine. Let’s get started!
Why Should You Consider House Sitting?
House sitting is a fantastic way to travel. We love it because we don’t feel like we’re just passing through, or too much like tourists. We have used Trusted Housesitters for almost 5 years. It is a huge part of our travel schedule and helps us stay on budget. We’ve enjoyed house sits across four continents so far, in countries like Costa Rica and Vietnam.
A house sit can last from a single night to multiple months. Our longest stay was almost 3-months in Durham, North Carolina, and our shortest was just 3 nights – also in North Carolina!
The length of sit and their locations are massively varied, so there is something to suit everyone. If you fancy browsing, it’s free to sign up and browse on Trusted Housesitters. To apply and complete a house sit you’ll need a full membership and prices start at $129/year. But use code BEACHES25 at checkout to save 25% – click here to get started.
Where Does The Video Call Fit Into The Application Process?
I’ve outlined below the process that our applications usually follow. The house sitting video call (sometimes it’s just audio), will come when hosts are considering their shortlisted applicants. If you are invited to have a call with the hosts, know that they are seriously considering your application and that you are in the running! Here is the general order of things:
The Search
This is the very first step to securing a house sit. You need to have a good idea of your location, your dates, and any visas or restrictions if you plan to sit in another country. Check out our other article all about mistakes to avoid when applying for a house sit for more information.
Trusted Housesitters offers a search facility, where you can set up search filters for dates, locations, and lengths of house sits you are interested in. When a host posts a listing that ticks your saved search criteria, you’ll be alerted. Trust me, with thousands of live listings, you’ll be thankful for this feature that allows you to pinpoint your searches. Search live listings for free with just an email address.
The Trusted Housesitters app means search alerts pop up on your phone. More than once, we’ve stopped what we’re doing to apply there and then, as we knew it was the perfect listing for us and had to jump on it. Great listings can be snapped up quickly.
The Application
If you’ve read any of our other posts, you’ll have seen how much importance we place on the application you send to potential hosts. It’s your time to showcase your experience, personality, and desire to look after their lovely home and cherished pets.
From speaking to some of our previous hosts, many house sitters fall into the trap of sending generic applications (lazy copy-and-paste jobs), where they misname the pets and clearly haven’t read or retained any important information the hosts have mentioned in their listing.
Once you’ve found a perfect listing and you decide to apply, take the time to make your application personalized. Refer to the pets, the host’s names, and other specific details mentioned in the posting. Remember to mention your profile, which will have much more info about you and your capabilities. This blog post takes you through the application process in detail.
The Wait
So you’ve sent your application off and now are eagerly waiting to hear back. Try to be patient and give the hosts time to review the other applications they may have received.
If you are in different time zones, allow some flexibility for this too, Hosts will usually want to wait until they have some time they can dedicate to reviewing applications properly – during an evening or even over a weekend.
We’ve sometimes waited over a week to hear back from a host. Don’t pressure them into making a decision. However, if another opportunity comes up or you need to confirm wider travel plans, I don’t think it is too much to ask for a quick update after a week or so has past to see if you are in the running.
The Text Exchange
Once a host has had the chance to review all applications and they like the look of your application, you’ll usually hear back from them via email or within the messaging function of the house sitting website you are using.
Trusted Housesitters, for example, has a great in-app chat functionality where hosts can contact you directly. They might get in touch to thank you for your application, update you on their review process, or, hopefully, request to set up a house sitting video call.
At this stage of proceedings, we usually exchange Whatsapp numbers so that we can contact each other that way. WhatsApp is usually a good method of video calling too – see the next sections.
The House Sitting Video Call
The all-important video call! There have only been a few occasions in our 30+ house sitting career where we have secured a sit without a video call.
At this stage, you are in the running for the sit. It is a great opportunity for both the hosts and the potential sitters to ask important questions and gauge whether they are a good match. Read on for some tips on what questions you should consider asking and questions you should expect to answer.
The Offer
If the video call goes well, you may well be offered the sit there and then on the call. Don’t feel pressure to accept there and then though – especially if you want to think about it a little.
On the other hand, you may not be offered the house sit on the call. Hosts might have a few house sitting video calls to make so again, there may be a few days wait after your call before you hear if you are successful. The good news is that the wait isn’t usually too long. I think at this stage hosts are keen to get the house sit confirmed.
Remember that the host must officially offer the house sit to you via the house sitting platform. A verbal contract is no good. Sites like Trusted Housesitters offer sitter insurance that covers accommodation costs if a host were to cancel last minute. Unless all offers and acceptances are conducted through the app, you’ll be ineligible for this and any similar benefits
Why is the House Sitting Video Call So Important?
The video call is important not only for the hosts but also for you, the potential house sitters. You can learn so much more about people and their pets in a naturally flowing conversation, rather than exchanging a few text messages.
For potential house sitters, the video call serves as a great way to get a feel for the pet owners. You can learn some important details about the pet and home responsibilities and get a sneak peek at the house. We’ve occasionally had a virtual tour of the house and pets on these video calls. This helps with any decision to accept a listing and whether you can imagine living in that home for a while.
For hosts, it’s a nice opportunity to learn more about the potential house sitters. The house sitting video call is a great time for both sides to ask important questions. You’ll get to know one another a little more, and get a good idea about personality and suitability matches.
How to Best Set Up the House Sitting Video Call
You want the video call to go smoothly as you’ll want to impress the hosts and secure the house sit. However, there are a few logistical considerations to get right. This way, you can focus on the conversation at hand and get all the information you need on the call.
Make sure you are in a location with decent WiFi. There’s nothing worse than screen freezes or 3-second delays when you are trying to get to know people. Think about the sound quality too. Don’t have the call in a crowded cafe with a lot of background noise. Make sure the lighting is reasonable too, so you can all see each other well.
If you are calling across time zones, check you have a time that works for both sides. Then double-check what time you should be dialing in. It wouldn’t make a great first impression for you to miss the call because you got your timings wrong! Agree beforehand on who will call who and by what method. We’ve used Zoom and WhatsApp mostly, and both have worked well.
What to Ask on the House Sitting Video Call
Prepare in advance for your video call. Have some questions ready that will help you understand whether this sit is in fact, the perfect sit for you. Refresh your memory on the location, the pets, the house, and the amenities listed on the host’s profile, so you can cover everything you need to.
You may have many more, but here are a few key questions to consider adding to your list.
WiFi
Working remotely from our laptops for a few hours a day is great company for the pets we look after. However, more than once the WiFi has proved a bit of a stumbling block. For this reason, we double-check the availability and reliability of the WiFi.
If your hosts don’t usually use a lot of house WiFi, a change in usage patterns (like two people working in the day and streaming a couple of hours of Netflix in the evening) might exceed their usual allowance. It’s worth discussing WiFi on the house sitting video call so you don’t end up stuck offline when your hosts are on the other side of the world.
Dates
Use this virtual face-to-face to get into the nitty gritty about dates. Are the dates the hosts posted in their listing final and confirmed? Or will they change slightly in the months before the sit?
If they have their travel plans already booked, ask what time of day they are arriving and leaving. This way you can plan your arrival and departure. Ask when they would like you to arrive at their home, too. Sometimes they will offer for you to stay the night before they leave so you can have a detailed handover.
A Car
We have applied for house sits that don’t list the availability of a car. In these cases, we have been prepared to walk everywhere or use public transport. However, during house sitting video calls, when we’ve mentioned this, more than one host has offered up the free use of their vehicle. If a car isn’t mentioned on the hours sit listing, it’s worth exploring options with the host.
They know the area better than you so will know if you can easily access amenities on foot or by bus, and will tell you so. Like I said, you never know, perhaps they will offer a vehicle up for you. This happened to us with a Nashville sit. No car was listed, but when we asked, the hosts said we could use theirs.
Whilst house sitting in Arizona, we had the use of three vehicles, which was handy because the temperatures were about 100 Fahrenheit!
Where Do the Pets Sleep
A good night’s sleep is so important. Therefore, understanding if you need to share your bed with a furry friend is worth double-checking. A couple of times when arriving at a house sit, we’ve been told that the dogs or cats sleep in the room with you. Sometimes, in the bed with you!
Each to their own. Some people might be comfortable with that situation, but it’s not for everyone. If, like us there are already two humans in the bed, adding a 30kg dog or fidgety cats is not a recipe for a restful night of sleep.
This information is just good to know ahead of time. This way, you won’t get any surprises when you arrive and have to adjust your sleeping habits to accommodate them. It’s never been a make or break for us. However, if we knew ahead of time that 3 dogs needed to sleep on the bed with us, it might make us think twice about accepting any offer.
House Sitting Video Call: Important Points To Cover
Remember that the house sitting video call is the perfect time for you to shine as potential sitters.
Perhaps you have previously cared for particularly old cats or a dog that needed daily medication? If this is relevant to the responsibilities of a sit, be sure to mention your experience. It will give hosts peace of mind that the responsibilities involved in their house sit are well within your wheelhouse.
Refer back to all the great info on your profile too. It’s important to keep your profile up to date for this reason. Referring to certain key points will encourage the hosts to refer back to this after the call. It might cement in their mind, that you are indeed the perfect sitters. Having an up-to-date profile also positions you as a reliable and trustworthy house sitter.
Another key point to mention on the house sitting video call is how you plan to get to the sit. Demonstrate that you have done some research and have considered the travel logistics. Outline your travel schedule and modes of transport. These don’t need to be booked, but showing that you have put some thought into how you could get to a sit, will go a long way.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. A little insight into how to ace your house sitting video call. Hopefully, this article will help you plan and manage a successful video call with any hosts and demonstrate your full potential as house sitters.
Remember, the house sitting video call is a two-way conversation. Use it to understand if you are happy to accept a sit if it were offered to you. The hosts will be trying to impress too.
Happy house sitting!
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