House Sitting 101: 4 Tips for Beginning House Sitters

By Danielle Wirsansky on May 27, 2017

During the summer, many students need a way to make some easy money and a really great way to do that is to become a house sitter!

However, house sitting can be a little jarring for students, especially those that have never been in charge of their own home before. It can be a pretty laid back job but there are some things that could go wrong and you need to be prepared so you can fulfill your duties as a house sitter.

Here are some tips for college students who may be house sitting this summer!

Get the Wi-Fi password

This might seem like a simple step, but it is something that is very easy to forget. But once the homeowners leave and you are on your own, you will notice the lack of Wi-Fi very quickly, especially if you are staying over at the house a majority of the time. You will use up all your data before you know it or otherwise feel very disconnected and isolated from the world in an effort to preserve your data, which is not too much better.

Say you have unlimited data and that is not a concern — it will also be very difficult for you to hook up your computer and get on the internet and do any work from that home too. If you are taking summer classes and need to get assignments done or you are working remotely or even other things besides, they will be extremely difficult to do without Wi-Fi and internet.

You do not want to be stuck at your local Starbucks using the Wi- Fi and wasting your money in order to justify your presence there — the whole point is that you are supposed to be at the home you are watching over! Just avoid a whole heap of hassle by getting the Wi-Fi information up front.

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Know where the spare keys are hidden

It is something that happens quite often and to almost everyone — you have lost your keys or locked them inside something! Except now you have not just lost or trapped your keys, you have lost and trapped the keys to the house you are house sitting. This could be very bad.

But rather than escalating your personal alarm levels to DEFCON five, take a second to think. The situation is not so bad — as long as you know where the spare keys are hidden. If you do not know where the spare keys are, then it is the time to panic. Are there animals inside the house you have to care for? Does this house have an alarm system? Is it easy to get a hold of the homeowners?

Again, avoid the struggle, the anxiety, and the panic by knowing where spare keys are hidden ahead of time so that if you lock your keys in the car or misplaced them in the house, you can still do all the tasks the homeowners are paying you to do.

Meet the neighbors

Before the homeowners leave on their trip or vacation, have them introduce you to the neighbors. Neighbors can get suspicious when they see someone that they do not know entering a home they know does not belong to the intruder. As a house sitter, you do not want to be seen as an intruder. They could come confront you themselves or even call the police if they are suspicious of you and your activities. And if you introduce yourself, they might not believe you and, really, why should they?

If the homeowner introduces you to the neighbors, the neighbors will accept that and not find your presence suspicious and it could help you to avoid a whole lot of trouble. It is also good to know the neighbors in case of an emergency.

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List of emergency contacts

Another thing to get from the homeowners before they evacuate the premises is a list of emergency contacts. Of course, you do not want anything to happen, but in case it does, you need to be prepared.

What if the house burns down — who should you call? What if the dog gets sick — who is the dog’s vet? What if their rare and prized exotic bird gets sick — do you know who to contact?

Anyone that they might want you to contact in their stead if they are not easy to get a hold of should be clearly listed along with their contact info. Their neighbors, family members who live nearby, family members who live far away, doctors, vets, repairmen — you want all the contact info of everyone that the homeowner can recommend so that you are completely set and covered during an emergency. And is there a way to get a hold of them in the case of an emergency besides their phone number? Make sure you have covered all your bases.

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