• Do you need a house sitter? Are you a house sitter? Use this forum to hook up with each other and arrange house-sitting and pet care etc.  MotorhomeFun takes no responsibility for any aspect of the house sit and only provides this forum as a way of introduction. Vetting and due diligence is the responsibility of the individual.  You are advised to use a formal agreement an example of which can be found here

    HOUSE OWNERS
    Tell us roughly where you are, the dates you require, what you are looking for, if you accept pets, largest motorhome you could accommodate etc.

    SITTERS
    Tell us about you, your van, any pets, any house sitting experience, where you would travel to etc

Sitter Available Who We Are. (1 Viewer)

Shrimp

Funster
May 27, 2015
3,962
32,900
Bedfordshire, UK
Funster No
36,573
MH
Hymer B584
Exp
Long time
Hi, we are a married couple-Nick & Mandy. I am retired he's just not working!
We have a MH, a small car we tow and a small dog that sometimes tows us-on walks!
I have worked with horses and animals most of my working life including rearing Calves.
Nick was trained as an Engineer and ended up on Maintenance in a big Engineering company. He has worked with Fibreglass & Carbon Fibre.
We built a Kit car a few years back and he always does all our mechanics.
We haven't any House sitting exp as such, except looking after our own house for several years!
We have four years of Campsite work under our belts, cleaning, maintenance of machinery, buildings, gardens, etc.
We are practical, hard working and honest. We can supply references-from all sorts of areas!
We are 'working' at present and would be available from about mid-end Nov 2015, UK or France.
 
Last edited:

Joyce Baker

Free Member
Aug 9, 2015
1
0
Cornwall
Funster No
37,551
MH
VW Campervan
Exp
New to this
Hi - I live in Cornwall and run a smallholding - just wondered how this house/animal sitting works.

Can you give me some more info - many thanks

Joyce
 

Don Quixote

Free Member
Jul 29, 2012
2,966
5,257
Lost in La Mancha, Spain
Funster No
22,171
MH
VW T6 Campervan
Exp
Not long enough, but a little common sense helps..........
We have been doing it for 2 years, belonging to a few web sites. Great fun.

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Bailey58

LIFE MEMBER
Jun 23, 2010
8,782
29,102
Norfolk and Toftir.
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12,267
MH
Sold
Exp
July 2010 (ex tugger)
We are 3 weeks in to a one month arrangement but we're just off out so I'll give you our take on it later. :)
 

Bailey58

LIFE MEMBER
Jun 23, 2010
8,782
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Norfolk and Toftir.
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12,267
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July 2010 (ex tugger)
Sorry we were out longer than planned! :LOL:

I suppose each case is an individual arrangement like any house sitting/swopping idea, it has to suit the parties involved. Ours has worked very well, we tentatively suggested the idea would suit us as our dog sitters were out of action and we had a four week holiday booked, our sitters were looking to move back to this part of the country and wanted somewhere as a base to explore the wider area and potential properties/prices. We provide a driveway to park on, electric hook up and water plus waste disposal and our sitters have access to the house and walk, feed and generally take care of our dog plus other jobs that any household needs over a longer period, mowing grass, tending to the fish pond, putting out bins etc.

It can involve more or less than that with access or no access to the house depending on individual needs. Four weeks would be too long for many and an animal would restrict those looking for more of a holiday stay with longer away from the house than would be manageable with an animal involved.

For our sitters, they (I hope) have had four weeks in the area with no camping fees to pay, the freedom, within the constraints of daily animal requirements, to attend to their own needs and long enough to give them an idea of where they may wish to re-settle, if at all. We have been able to go away with no worries about any upheaval for the dog and safe in the knowledge that should anything untoward happen she will be cared for plus the house will be "lived in" and things will seem as normal with an active presence around the place.

On this occasion it has worked well, hopefully for both parties but whether we should be so lucky again remains to be seen and as Jim, I think, said, anybody can join Fun so being a member is no guarantee that you should trust anybody and everybody with your house or your pet. Make your own decision based on your needs and those of your potential sitter.
 

Wombles

LIFE MEMBER
Oct 28, 2013
10,783
11,029
SW England
Funster No
28,783
MH
Van Conversion
Exp
A few years now
Great to see interest in & feedback about the house/driveway motorhome sitting idea (y) Everyone that we talk to at rallies seem very enthusiastic about it (as an idea) but how well it works is down to who you pair up with. So think that open, frank discussion before anything is agreed so each know their comfortable limits & each feel that they have some benefit from the sitting is the way to go but easier said than done!
We wanted to housesit in Bath while our son is on work experience there & although we had some potential offers our dates didn't match up which is the other difficulty but still worth posting wants or offers :)

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OP
OP
Shrimp

Shrimp

Funster
May 27, 2015
3,962
32,900
Bedfordshire, UK
Funster No
36,573
MH
Hymer B584
Exp
Long time
We don't mind if we had access to the house or not, as said a spot to put a 6 mtr van, electric, fresh water and a drain to lift for the loo waste.
Most animals are not a problem.
Basically it gives us a new area to visit and the owner peace of mind.
 
Last edited:

Wildman

Free Member
May 30, 2008
0
8,470
Ilfracombe, Devon
Funster No
2,913
MH
Amazon Ambassador
Exp
since 1967
for those of us with smallholdings electric is not always available so solar or generator would be needed. We have used site sitters for the past 5 years to enable us to get away without our dogs.
 

CWH

LIFE MEMBER
Jan 29, 2014
5,128
245,429
UK
Funster No
29,909
MH
WildAx PVC
Exp
From November 2013
Sorry we were out longer than planned! :LOL:

I suppose each case is an individual arrangement like any house sitting/swopping idea, it has to suit the parties involved. Ours has worked very well, we tentatively suggested the idea would suit us as our dog sitters were out of action and we had a four week holiday booked, our sitters were looking to move back to this part of the country and wanted somewhere as a base to explore the wider area and potential properties/prices. We provide a driveway to park on, electric hook up and water plus waste disposal and our sitters have access to the house and walk, feed and generally take care of our dog plus other jobs that any household needs over a longer period, mowing grass, tending to the fish pond, putting out bins etc.

It can involve more or less than that with access or no access to the house depending on individual needs. Four weeks would be too long for many and an animal would restrict those looking for more of a holiday stay with longer away from the house than would be manageable with an animal involved.

For our sitters, they (I hope) have had four weeks in the area with no camping fees to pay, the freedom, within the constraints of daily animal requirements, to attend to their own needs and long enough to give them an idea of where they may wish to re-settle, if at all. We have been able to go away with no worries about any upheaval for the dog and safe in the knowledge that should anything untoward happen she will be cared for plus the house will be "lived in" and things will seem as normal with an active presence around the place.

On this occasion it has worked well, hopefully for both parties but whether we should be so lucky again remains to be seen and as Jim, I think, said, anybody can join Fun so being a member is no guarantee that you should trust anybody and everybody with your house or your pet. Make your own decision based on your needs and those of your potential sitter.
We're the "other half" of this house-sit. We had a specific reason for wanting to be in the area and this meant that a four-week house-sit was a perfect solution for us.
The main things that made it particularly successful were
[1] our hosts were very clear about what was required - lots of communication via Fun beforehand, and written instructions with all the contact details we could ever need, and
[2] we arrived 2 days before they left so we had a thorough 'induction' - the dog got to know us and our hosts took us on a tour of the area and pointed out important things like shops, buses, vet & doctors surgeries. We were introduced to the neighbours, who were really friendly and helpful throughout our stay.
We were offered exceptionally good facilities, and the dog is a little sweetie! - we do miss her .....

I think we were particularly fortunate with our host partners in this venture. A four week commitment is a little bit of a risk for the sitter, but much more so for the host if, as in our case, you're being given access to the house. I felt I knew a little bit about our hosts from posts on Fun from which you can often get a flavour of someone's outlook on life, and I thought ours were similar. As it turned out we got on really well right from the start, and we wished we hadn't arranged to be somewhere else quite so soon after their return home, as we'd have loved to take advantage of the offer to stay on a few more days and get to know them better.

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Bailey58

LIFE MEMBER
Jun 23, 2010
8,782
29,102
Norfolk and Toftir.
Funster No
12,267
MH
Sold
Exp
July 2010 (ex tugger)
Ah that's nice! Erm . . . . . . we would like to do the Amalfi coast with Travelsphere over the autumn any offers? :LOL:
 

wanderer

Free Member
Apr 14, 2008
643
769
huntingdon
Funster No
2,152
MH
a class Arto
Exp
since 2008
We are in the middle of our third house/car swop in Perth Australia and find it a great way to travel . Twice caravans have been included in the swop but we have not included our motorhome i think the insurance would be difficult and its plated over 3.5 . Since we registered on the website "homesforexchange" we have had over 90 inquiries to exchange .
 
OP
OP
Shrimp

Shrimp

Funster
May 27, 2015
3,962
32,900
Bedfordshire, UK
Funster No
36,573
MH
Hymer B584
Exp
Long time
We don't mind if we had access to the house or not, as said a spot to put a 6 mtr van, electric, fresh water and a drain to lift for the loo waste.
Most animals are not a problem.
Basically it gives us a new area to visit and the owner peace of mind.
Yes, sorry we don't actually need electric-we have solar and 2 big batts!

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Jul 2, 2011
953
492
UK
Funster No
17,151
MH
Swift Kon Tiki Tag, 2007.
Exp
Newbie
We are in the middle of our third house/car swop in Perth Australia and find it a great way to travel . Twice caravans have been included in the swop but we have not included our motorhome i think the insurance would be difficult and its plated over 3.5 . Since we registered on the website "homesforexchange" we have had over 90 inquiries to exchange .


Love Perth, luckily have friends we stay with in Roleystone in the hills about a hour South of the city.

As a matter of interest, if your sitters are using your car, how easy/difficult was it to sort your insurance for them?

I think you can drive theirs as it is part of the road tax they pay, but only third party I believe. Is that how you understand it?

Steve
 
OP
OP
Shrimp

Shrimp

Funster
May 27, 2015
3,962
32,900
Bedfordshire, UK
Funster No
36,573
MH
Hymer B584
Exp
Long time
As long as you have FC ins on your vehicle you can drive someone's car with their permission but then it's only 3rd party ins.
The other way is just to get their details and add them as a named driver for the duration.
We left our car with brother-in-law one time and put him on as a named driver for 6 months. It didn't cost the earth.
 
Jul 2, 2011
953
492
UK
Funster No
17,151
MH
Swift Kon Tiki Tag, 2007.
Exp
Newbie
I assumed it would not be as simple with someone from abroad where the Ins co has no history that they can verify.

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