House Sitting FAQ’s

In my last article, Can House Sitters Be Trusted?, I discussed what kinds of people house sit, touching upon the issue of trustworthiness. I’ll now delve deeper into that vein, providing the details you need to effectively screen your house sitting candidates.

How to Interview Potential Housesitters

Finding an appropriate house sitter is a little like a dating game. Both you and the prospective house sitter have needs and desires and the better aligned these are, the more “compatible” your house sitter. So the interview process is a little like a first date, a meal with a stranger if you will. You eat and chit-chat, all the while sizing up the other, deciding if you want to extend the date after dinner, have a second date, or run for the exits like the restaurant’s on fire.

The importance of the interview process can not be emphasized enough, as this is the way you get a real “feel” for the applicant. After all, this person will be living in your home, caring for your land and maybe even your precious pets. If you’re an intuitive person, or very “street-wise,” the interview may likely give you everything you need to make a decision. So this is the time to get to know your applicant as a person. This “acquaintance process” can be done via email correspondence, online chats, telephone dialogue or in person, depending on the location and budgetary restraints of those involved. But before the interview begins, you need to do some serious prep work.

Getting Clear about your Needs

In order to effectively interview prospective house sitters, you need to be clear on your needs and expectations. So, before you attempt to talk with anyone, take some time first to sit down and make a list of the following:

• What are your major needs? Do you have pets, a pool, a garden that needs care?
• How many hours of work a day, week, or month do you expect the necessary tasks to take?
• Are you willing to pay the house sitter for any of these tasks?
• Do you have any additional tasks you would like to see done, if possible? How much extra are you willing to pay to see these things accomplished?
• What are the most important qualities you would like someone who is staying in your home to have? These could include cleanliness, non-smoking, handyman or gardening skills, a love of dogs, etc.
• What is the time frame of this position? What is the date you must have someone there by and when do you expect the position to end?
• If the position is open-ended (as in a possible long-term caretaking position), what kind of notice will you give the person if the situation changes and they must vacate?
• What amenities will you provide for the house sitter? (Utilities, internet, pet food, groundskeeper, etc.)
• Do you want a security deposit? How will you guarantee it will be returned? (It is not only home owners who run the risk of being ripped off. House sitters can be scammed too.) Some people use online escrow accounts for this purpose

Provide Solid Information

Now that you have your needs more organized and your feelings clear, it is time to contact the candidate(s) with some information. Send a clear email stipulating the situation, the duties, and the requirements. Put all this information into a document you can send to every potential candidate. Be sure to include:

• Exactly what your needs and expectations are concerning the individual. This would be things like non-smoking, no drugs, specific skills required, etc.
• A thorough job description. If it involves grass cutting, say how often. If pets are involved, state exactly how much care and attention they need. Be specific.
• A clear picture of the situation. Is it in a smoggy city in the bustling downtown area right on a busline, a 20^th floor condo in a high-rise building, the jungle where howler monkeys screech all night… Is there a mosquito problem, frogs on the walls, hazardous weather? Is it very hot and humid with no air conditioning? Does the person have to carry firewood for heat?
• Next, state your financial criteria. Will you expect the sitter to pay any of the bills? Do you want a deposit and, if so, how much?
• Is the candidate willing to sign an agreement?
• Is the house sitter willing to provide a criminal records check and/or references?
• End the letter by asking that only those who can imagine living in the given conditions and who agree with your terms respond, as well as inviting any questions the person may need to ask to clarify the terms or situation.

Often, home owners get so focused on screening would-be house sitters that they neglect to provide important information which could assure a good match. Remember, it’s not just you that has to find the right person. That person also has to find the right situation. Remember the dating game? Don’t forget to look for compatibility on both sides. The more you can tell candidates up front about the situation they would be getting themselves into, the more success you will have at screening out inappropriate candidates. This greatly reduces your risk of having a housesitter walk out in the middle of an assignment — a nerve-wracking and sometimes costly event, especially if it happens on long-term assignments.

Taking the time to get organized and follow the steps above can save you a lot of time and headaches going forward. In this way, you can be sure the potential sitter is okay with all your conditions before wasting much of your time. You can even use this document, which we’ll call the DOS (description of situation), as the basis of any ads that you run. This helps filter people out right from the start to cut down on the number of responses you have to make. (To further cut your screening time, you can also request that people send a photo, a resume, or any pertinent experience right up front.) But if your description is very long – such an unusual homestead situation or a job that may potentially pay — you will still need to send out a longer letter with all the details after people respond to your ad. If it’s not too long, you can make a thorough ad and skip straight to interviewing the respondents that look good.

The Interview

Hopefully you’ll get a few (maybe even a lot!) of responses from people interesting in helping you out with house sitting. Answer each of these with an email requesting a time and date they can be interviewed by phone or online chat. Be sure to provide what days and times you are available for them to choose from. If you don’t require a “live” interview, then emailing some interview questions works well too. Here are some things you may want to ask:

• Tell me a little about yourself.
• Why do you want to house sit?
• Do you speak the language here or are willing to learn?
• Are you available on the date needed, for the full time frame?
• Do you have any experience house sitting or with any of the tasks that need to be done, such as plant care, pet care, etc.? (Note: You may already know this from their initial contact with you.)
• Do you have the skills listed for the job? (You probably already know this too but, if it involves serous work, such as electrical, you may want to delve into their experience here.)
• Do you have a source of income to live on during this time? (Make sure your candidates know this is not a paying job, unless it is.)
• Can you provide references?

Again, make sure you provide plenty of opportunity for the person to ask questions, being honest about the situation and any drawbacks. The interview process could go back and forth a number of times via email or phone. The important thing is that it continues until each party is satisfied s/he knows everything necessary to feel good about accepting the person or position.

If, after the interview(s), you’ve found someone you like, who seems to have the skills and qualities that meet your needs, then great! You’re three-quarters of the way there! Now it is time to dig deeper to see if he is as good as he seems. And that is the topic of my next article: How to Screen Potential House Sitters.