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About house-sitting in general
Is house-sitting right for me?
How much does it cost to become a house-sitter?
What is expected of me as a house-sitter?
What type of person do home owners look for?
How flexible do house-sitters have to be?
How long is the average house-sit?
Registering with Happy House Sitters
How does Happy House Sitters work?
How do I become a house-sitter?
Does Happy House Sitters offer a student / seniors discount?
Finding a house to sit
How do I know if I will find a house sit?
What are the benefits and what's in it for me?
Am I guaranteed a house sit?
Do I need references and a police check to register?
How do I attract home owners with my advertisement?
When can I start looking for a house to sit?
How long will it take to find a house to sit and how long will my listing be 'live'
Are house-sits available in rural areas?
Connecting with home owners
Can I contact Home Owners directly or do I have to wait for them to contact me?
Can Home Owners contact me?
Your account
Does Happy House Sitters provide anyone with my contact details?
Can I suspend my account?
How do I change my details? Does it cost?
↑ Back to Top Is house-sitting right for me?
House-sitting is ideal for you if...
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You are saving for your first home.
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You are renovating
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You are retired
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You're travelling
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You're not sure where you want to live
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You love pets
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You hate paying rent!
↑ Back to Top How much does it cost to become a house-sitter?
Our house-sitter membership prices vary depending on the areas you wish to sit.
House-sitters pay a one-off membership fee (12 or 24 months). No weekly or monthly fees.
Prices start from $115 per year. About the same as one week's rent to register and live RENT FREE for one year!
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What is expected of me as a house-sitter?
In return for living rent free, you agree to keep the property secure, clean and tidy. You take care of any minor maintenance (e.g. gardens, lawns or pool) as well as care for any pets as if they were your own.
In most cases the house-sitter agrees to pay the day-to-day bills such as phone, electricity and gas.
Ultimately though, the actual terms must be negotiated between you and the home owner.
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What type of person do home owners look for?
The truth is, anyone can be a house-sitter. There is no 'type'. Home owners simply want someone they like and trust. Just as you would.
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How flexible do house-sitters have to be?
Be as flexible as possible. This increases your chances of getting a home to sit sooner! House-sitting requires flexibility but offers the opportunity to save huge amounts of money.
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How long is the average house-sit?
House-sits can range between two weeks and 12 months. Sometimes longer.
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How does Happy House Sitters work?
Both house-sitters and home owners register as members. The sitter creates and advertisement about themselves and the areas they are interested in. The home owner also creates an advertisement about their home and the arrangement they are looking for.
House-sitters and home owners then connect in one or both of the following ways.
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You search for homes to sit
As a registered house-sitter, you can search anywhere in Australia for homes to house sit, and you can apply to sits in the areas you registered. When you find something of interest, you send a message directly to that home owner. (This is your chance to sell yourself as a great house-sitter). When the home owner replies to your message you arrange a time to meet and discuss the house sit.
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Home Owners search for you
Home owners can also search our database for potential house-sitters. If they like the sound of you, they will send you a message to see if you are interested. (It is very important that you are easy to reach. Many home owners will just message the next person on their list if they can't contact you)
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How do I become a house-sitter?
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Become a full member by completing our registration form. We will then send you an email with your login details.
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Create an advertisement about yourself. See examples here.
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Login to the members' section. Here you can search homes available and contact any of the home owners in the areas you registered.
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Does Happy House Sitters offer a student / seniors discount?
Yes. Just include your student / seniors card ID number and name of institution on the registration form.
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How do I know if I will find a house sit?
Happy House Sitters has more houses on our books than any other site. Why do we get more listings? Because we don't charge the home owners to advertise their properties. In fact we get at least twice as many houses to sitters, so you are much more likely to get the sit you want. Don't believe us? Check us out and compare us with other sites. If you find a site with more sits, we suggest you join up. If a site doesn't get lots of sits you are wasting your time and your money.
Find out how many homes we have advertised right now by signing up for a FREE Guest Trial.
Happy House Sitters registrations for ALL Australia.
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What are the benefits and what's in it for me?
You get to live RENT FREE! If you are currently paying $300 pw in rent, that's a saving of $15,600.00 pa! In return for living rent free you agree to keep the property secure, clean and tidy, take care of any maintenance i.e. gardens, lawns as well as care for any pets as if they were your own loved ones. In most cases the sitter agrees to pay for any utilities used. However, this should only be used a guideline and the actual terms must be negotiated between the sitter and the homeowner.
It costs about the same as one week's rent to register to house sit and live rent free for one year!
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Am I guaranteed a house sit?
No house sitting agency can give a 100% guarantee who will get which house sit, because ultimately it's the home owners that choose the sitters and not the agency.
But we are so confident in our service that we offer you this guarantee:
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If after 12 months you don't find any homes to apply for, we will send you a $50.00 MYER/Grace Bros voucher! PLUS we will also give you an extra three months on your membership. Absolutely FREE. |
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Do I need references and a police check to register?
No. However some home owners do ask for character references and police checks when they interview you. You can apply for a police check at any police station.
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How do I attract home owners with my advertisement?
When writing your advertisement, think about the sorts of qualities you would want in looking after your home and pets.
But mostly be honest and be yourself.
Read some previously successful advertisements.
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When can I start looking for a house to sit?
As soon as you register, we will send you a password to access the Members section on this website. From there, you can contact any of the home owners in the areas you have registered.
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How long will it take to find a house to sit and how long will my listing be 'live'
Happy House Sitters cannot guarantee the period of time it will take to find a suitable house sit, however your password to search the for sits on the 'Members page' is valid for 12 months and your application details are searchable by every listed homeowner in all of your nominated location zones for a period of 12 months.
Your password to search is valid for 12 or 24 months (depending on your membership). Plus your details are searchable by all home owners in your nominated zones for that same period.
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Are house-sits available in rural areas?
We often have homes in rural areas that we can't fill due to lack of sitters wanting to sit in those areas. So if you feel like escaping the city life and enjoying the fresh air of the country, why not try a rural sit?
Can I contact Home Owners directly or do I have to wait for them to contact me?
Once you become a full member you can contact home owners via our internal email system accessed from your 'My Account' page. This means you can be proactive and don't have to wait around for the phone to ring.
All messages are stored and can be viewed and replied to from your 'My Account' page.
↑ Back to TopCan Home Owners contact me?
Yes. When home owners who read your advertisement want to get in touch with you, they can contact you via our internal email system.
↑ Back to Top Does Happy House Sitters provide anyone with my contact details?
No. We respect your privacy. Only you can disclose your contact details to prospective home owners.
↑ Back to TopCan I suspend my account?
Yes. Your membership can be suspended in situations like where you go overseas or decide to rent and can't use your membership. Accounts cannot be suspended while you are house-sitting.
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How do I change my details? Does it cost?
You may change your details as often as you like free of charge.
Just login to your account via the home page.
How can Happy House Sitters be improved?