In this article, I am going to take a light-hearted look at some of the top things our previous house sitting hosts have ‘forgot’ to mention in their listings. Hannah and I have had some truly fabulous house sitting experiences around the world and we’ve made some great friends. However, there have been quite a few ‘Oh and by the way’ moments – some good, some scary, all memorable!
House Sitting Experiences Around the World
Before we start allow me to tell you a little about our experiences house sitting. Websites like Trusted Housesitters have given us plenty of amazing memories. We use it as our primary source of accommodation as we continue our global exploration. We’ve taken care of so many fantastic pets and beautiful homes in some incredible places around the world.
It’s a unique way of traveling, the benefits of which go much further than simply saving money on accommodation. The enhanced experience of living somewhere rather than simply passing through is what it’s all about for us.
The number of house sitting opportunities is growing exponentially. At the time of writing this article Trusted Housesitters alone has almost 9,000 active listings looking for sitters. Other great platforms like Mind My House and Nomador have thousands of active users with diverse international listings.
Now, let’s have some fun and get started with the list!
The Top Things Hosts ‘Forgot’ to Mention in Their Listing
Honestly, we have no bad feelings about any of these anecdotes and I hope this article comes across in the light-hearted way that I intend. It’s a fun look back at some things that for whatever reason, didn’t get mentioned until we were actually in the home and about to start the house sit! We honestly wouldn’t change a thing about any of our house sitting experiences. Whatever happens, it all forms part of our story and makes a great memory.
Beware of the Poisonous Toads
In Mission, Texas, we stayed in a retirement community looking after Trix the Giant Schnauzer. If you’ve read our Short Tails, you’ll remember Trix from When Giant Dogs Get Sick. It was a beautiful home and an excellent house sit. Being the youngest residents by 30 years we got a lot of attention and made lots of new friends.
Trix’s owners Rob and Irene were fantastic hosts who opened their home to us, they couldn’t have been more accommodating. Two years on, we remain in contact and hope to cross paths again someday, somewhere down the line.
However, I will forever remember our first walk with Trix. Rob and Irene came along to introduce us to neighbors and show us Trix’s preferred routes. Halfway around Rob turned to me and said ‘You need to beware of the poisonous toads’ as Trix might lick them. You didn’t mention toad vigilance in the listing, Rob! Thankfully we never did see a poisonous toad.
Call This Number When (NOT IF!) You See a Rattlesnake
This one has cropped up numerous times as apparently, it’s just an accepted inconvenience in certain parts of the world. But let me tell you, it certainly isn’t normal for a couple coming from Peterborough, England.
As well as the poisonous toads Rob and Irene also warned us about possible snakes in the garden. But it was during our first international house sit in Tucson, AZ that the pet owners told us who to call when, not if, we see rattlesnakes. The previous year they had found baby rattlers in their shoes!
Needless to say, it changed the way we put on shoes forever. The ranch setting was primed for snake activity but again, almost disappointingly, we didn’t see any. On our last night, we did find a huge tarantula that reinforced my hatred of spiders.
Oh, Here’s a Car For You
Sometimes there are positive things that hosts forget to mention. During a house sit in Colorado, the host messaged us on the way to the airport to say “Oh, the car on the drive is for you’. We had been planning our stay around walking and Ubering everywhere so it was a great bonus. Read all about Colorado in my previous Short Tails – ‘Colorado and a Trip to Red Rocks’
The use of a car is not always included in a house sitting listing. But we’ve found that some hosts consider it as standard and forget to include it in the amenities they list. It’s certainly always worth asking during the application process. Hosts, especially in the US where the car is insured rather than the person, are open to leaving their vehicle.
It’s mutually beneficial too. We have done plenty of airport runs to save the hosts from having to take taxis or pay for parking. Plus their dogs get to go further afield for walks!
If There’s A Hurricane Here’s What You Do
We don’t really get hurricanes in England – lots of rain but hurricanes not so much. In Durham, NC, Peter, the homeowner, showed me the emergency generator and what to do if a hurricane hit.
Most importantly, he said hurricanes bring a lot of rain and the basement will flood. If the water level gets too high in the basement, the house electrics will permanently fry! I paid close attention but going through my mind throughout this run-through was ‘Please don’t let there be a hurricane, please don’t let there be a hurricane!’.
We had some epic storms in Durham and thunder and lightning so loud I thought a bomb had gone off. Trees were cut back to the trunk as huge branches fell on the roads and paths during one bad night. Thankfully and miraculously nothing and no one was hit. No hurricanes though, the generator thankfully stayed safely in the shed.
Would You Mind Mowing Our Field?
Any gardening or manual tasks should be well listed in a house sitting listing, the key word being SHOULD. It doesn’t always happen though and during a house sit in a beautiful English country farmhouse as the hosts were leaving they asked if I’d mind cutting their expansive lawns once a week.
I honestly hate cutting grass, it bores the hell out of me and I’m allergic to cut grass. But when faced with a direct request like that it was difficult to refuse, so I agreed. They caveated the deal by letting me use their ride-on mower, which was apparently the ‘Ferrari of mowers’. Even with the ride-on, it took me hours to cut the grass.
The strangest thing about it was that they had a weekly gardener but, he didn’t seem to like mowing either. If cutting grass doesn’t fall under your job description, I don’t think you can call yourself a gardener!
The Pets All Sleep in the Bed With You
I’m not a great sleeper, it’s certainly getting worse as I’m getting older, but I deal with it. Traveling the world, long-haul flights, and constantly moving cities can have a big impact on your sleeping patterns.
However, another factor is not being told that the pets sleep on the bed with you! This has happened a couple of times and although we have been forewarned at some house sits, not everyone mentions it. If this is likely to be a problem for you ask at the application stage about the pet’s sleeping arrangements.
We’ve had a few still and quiet sleepers but some cats have been banished from the bedroom for their safety. I once rolled from my side to my back and nearly flattened a cat trying to sleep next to me. Hannah once woke to find a cat sitting on her stomach simply staring intensely at her. It freaked her out but it still makes me laugh to this day.
We’re Taking You Shopping
Many of the hosts we have sat for have been super generous and open with their homes. I guess it’s part and parcel of the whole process – by being someone inclined to let strangers take over your home you’re naturally going to be welcoming and easygoing.
We’ve been treated to many delicious home-cooked meals during the handover periods and taken out for dinner and drinks at the majority of the house sits we’ve completed. Meeting and socializing with new people is a great aspect of the house sitting experience that we enjoy. We always reciprocate when and however we can but a lot of our former hosts have been just that, hosts, and convivial ones at that.
In Texas, we were even taken grocery shopping, and after tentatively selecting a few items we were told unequivocally to load up the cart. Hannah was upsold to a $15 block of cheese and while I was checking the price of a bottle of wine the host grabbed 4 better bottles and put them in the trolley. An unexpected but great bonus.
The Cleaner Comes 3 Times a Week
As a super tidy neat freak, having a cleaner come and blitz the house is a huge bonus for me, and it’s information that rarely makes it into the host’s listing. A number of the homes we have cared for have used a regular service that comes in one, twice, or even three times a week to clean.
Obviously, with pets, it’s important to stay on top of the cleaning. It’s just good sense to keep the cleaners coming in whilst away from home. It means they can come back to a nice and clean home to.
We have no problems tackling routine cleaning but arriving and finding out there’s a regular service is a nice perk.
When It’s Windy There’s No WiFi
As digital nomads, the WiFi situation is of peak concern for us. Usually, the listing will mention the WiFi quality but not always. It’s worth bringing it up during the application process if you’re unclear on the situation.
Even then, there have been a couple of occasions when after arriving we have realized the WiFi isn’t going to cut it. During our stay In Toulouse, France the hosts went out of their way to make sure the WiFi was working but advised during windy and inclement weather it might cut out. After a couple of days of pleasant weather and continued WiFi issues, we had to contact them and try and get it fixed.
We hated to bother them, especially during their first few days away but we knew they would hate that we were having issues. They dropped everything to fix it. We ended up driving into town and picking up a pre-arranged replacement router that thankfully resolved the issue, bad weather withstanding.
To note, there’s usually always a workaround – SIM cards, laptop-friendly cafes, coworking spaces, libraries, etc., so if you think WiFi isn’t up to scratch, it’s not the end of the world.
Please Help Me Clear Out My Fridge
This one can be both good and bad. ‘Help yourself to anything’ is a pretty common thing to hear from home and pet owners as they’re heading out of the door, and it’s another great boon of house sitting. Not having to buy things like coffee, olive oil, butter, and seasonings is a nice bonus and we’ve been graced with some epic fridges and pantries during our house sitting experiences.
I speak from experience when I say the Americans win (by a mile) when it comes to the amount of food left behind. However, this has led to us finding many forgotten-about items and we have kept a record of the oldest out-of-date stuff we’ve come across. The winner, thankfully a sealed canned good, was over a decade past its best-before date!
Being a couple who only buy what we intend to eat in the next few days, it’s pretty unusual for us to see cupboards and even second refrigerators filled with food. Expired produce aside, it’s generally positive and like I said another bonus that is never mentioned in the listing but is great to discover on arrival.
Further House Sitting Information
If you’re interested in discovering more about house sitting, sign up for a free account with Trusted Housesitters and discover where house sitting could take you.
To complete an exchange you’ll need to be a paying member of THS. A sitter membership, with unlimited house sitting experiences starts at just $129/year but use code BEACHES25 at checkout to receive a 25% discount on any membership. Click here to get started.
Conclusion
I’ve had some fun writing this article and I hope it’s given you a few insights into possible things to expect from a house sitting exchange.
100% of our house sitting experiences have been positive experiences and we wouldn’t change a thing about any of them. We enjoy meeting new people, exploring, and rising to the challenges of new situations and locations, and learning from every posting.
If you have any ‘Oh by the way’ house-sitting moments feel free to let me know and I’ll add a new section to this article. Happy house sitting!
*Owners consent given to show property and pets