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House Sitter


Beejay

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We are planning another trip around Oz next year and will be away for about 8 months and in the past we have always arranged a house sitter, usually someone who comes recommended by a close friend or a close relative and even then we have had one bad experience. We just wonder how everyone else manages to look after their vacant house while on the road.



If house sitters have been arranged how did you go about it and what was your experience ? We would appreciate any comments and advice.



Brian


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We have tried house sitters a few times and were disappointed with the damage done ,plants died and general mess left.

Maybe we expected too much . It was good for security purposes but!

Nowadays we have a niece who calls in twice a day to play with the dog feed the chooks and collect some eggs .We pay her for this she is happy we are happy .works for us

John

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When we go away for a few weeks or more we get a house sitter. Fortunately for us we have never had a problem. In most cases we come home and find our gardens looking better than when we leave them.

Sometime we find things in different places in the kitchen, but that only takes a day to sort out.

Personally we like the security of having someone in the house to collect mail and to make it look lived in.

Also with our insurance policy I think we can only have our vacant for 60 days without having to pay a higher premium.

Cheers,

Clive and Sandra

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Brian,


Where are you in the country (not your address but approx.) and at what time are you going to be away?



Grahame


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G`Day Brian


We do housesits all over Australia ,for about 6 yrs.now. We have just completed our 21st. sit and about to do our 22nd. in Adelaide. We usehttp://www.aussiehousesitters.com.au/


Look for sitters that have done a few and have checkable references. If you advertise for sitters on Aussie.it is free.


Good luck


Cheers


Rick & Lea



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Brian,

Where are you in the country (not your address but approx.) and at what time are you going to be away?

Grahame

Hi Grahame & Wendy we are located in the best spot in Oz at Bribie Island. We hope to take to the road towards the end on March next year.

Brian

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G`Day Brian

We do housesits all over Australia ,for about 6 yrs.now. We have just completed our 21st. sit and about to do our 22nd. in Adelaide. We usehttp://www.aussiehousesitters.com.au/

Look for sitters that have done a few and have checkable references. If you advertise for sitters on Aussie.it is free.

Good luck

Cheers

Rick & Lea

Thanks for the advice. We have briefly perused the site you mentioned but will now have a closer look. It is good to hear from people who have been involved in house sitting, we appreciate your input

Brian

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When we go away for a few weeks or more we get a house sitter. Fortunately for us we have never had a problem. In most cases we come home and find our gardens looking better than when we leave them.

Sometime we find things in different places in the kitchen, but that only takes a day to sort out.

Personally we like the security of having someone in the house to collect mail and to make it look lived in.

Also with our insurance policy I think we can only have our vacant for 60 days without having to pay a higher premium.

Cheers,

Clive and Sandra

Hi Clive & Sandra, thanks for the input. Like yourselves we have had many good experiences and only the one bad experience when the house sitter allowed their dogs into our lounge room and they urinated on the carpet. Insurance is a big issue, our policy must be similar to yours as we also have a 60 day clause when the insurance company passes all the risk back to the insured. IMHO this is totally unfair when we have had a policy with the same company for eons without a claim.

It seems the task of safeguarding our important assets is a bugbear when we want independence and at the same time want to hit the road for extended periods and enjoy ourselves.

Brian

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We have tried house sitters a few times and were disappointed with the damage done ,plants died and general mess left.

Maybe we expected too much . It was good for security purposes but!

Nowadays we have a niece who calls in twice a day to play with the dog feed the chooks and collect some eggs .We pay her for this she is happy we are happy .works for us

John

Hi John & Jo, I only wish we could enjoy the same arrangements as it sounds like the ideal set up. Good luck to you both and enjoy your travels.

Brian

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks for the advice. We have briefly perused the site you mentioned but will now have a closer look. It is good to hear from people who have been involved in house sitting, we appreciate your input

Brian

Hi Lea & Rick,

Aussie House Sitters turned out to be a good option. We placed an ad and were inundated with responses, I had to close down the thread after 1/2 day then sort through them all, respond to everyone, organise interviews with those we shortlisted then make our final selection. All that we need to do now is get everything ready for our trip which isn't such a bad task. First on the list is a phone call to Tom and organise a detailed service.

Many thanks for your input.

Brian

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Hi Brian,

Unfortunately, Tom has recently retired, but Ashley is there as well as Leisa's daughter, Loryn.

Regards

Chris

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the update. Ashley is good value and knows his way around all the vans, it's good to see the Gall Bros taking on family members of employees in new positions, pretty hard to go wrong with those decisions. They have always known what they are doing with their business especially when it comes to looking after customers. I am confident that all Kedron owners will continue to enjoy the high quality of service that we are used to so I look forward to talking to Loryn/Ashley in the early new year.

Regards,

Brian

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