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In this article, we’ll give you our honest Trusted Housesitters review. We’ll share what we like about using Trusted Housesitters, and what we don’t like. We’ll also explain how the Trusted Housesitters platform works so you can decide if it’s the right house sitting platform for you.
Stevo and I have been using Trusted Housesitters to find house sits since 2019. Since then, we’ve done 15 house sits in 10 countries across Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. We’ve had mostly amazing experiences, but it hasn’t all been perfect.
About Trusted Housesitters
Trusted Housesitters was founded in Brighton, UK in 2010 and has one of the largest user bases of house sitting opportunities worldwide. Homeowners and house sitters pay an annual membership fee to join Trusted Housesitters and house sits are arranged and agreed to through the platform.
Get 25% off any Trusted Housesitters Membership Plan.
Trusted Housesitters works as an exchange. House sitters stay in a home and take care of the pets, gardens, and any other agreed-upon responsibilities. In exchange, they live in the home for free. Sometimes house sits also include the use of the owner’s car.
Things We Like about Trusted Housesitters
The majority of our experiences through Trusted Housesitters have been extremely positive. That’s why we’ve continued to use the platform over the past five years.
The thing we like most about Trusted Housesitters is, of course, the opportunity to get free accommodation. Since 2019, we’ve had over 27 months of free accommodation while traveling the world.
As digital nomads, we appreciate that house sitting provides the creature comforts of living in a home rather than staying in Airbnbs, hotels, or hostels all the time. It’s such a luxury to have a full kitchen, a comfy bed, and a nice couch to cuddle up on with sweet pets.
We love that on Trusted Housesitters there are house sitting opportunities available worldwide, whereas many other house sitting platforms are specific to one region.
The most popular locations to find house sits on Trusted Housesitters are in the USA, UK, Australia, and around Europe. However, you can find house sits in countries all over the world.
To give you an idea, we’ve done house sits in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Romania, France, England, Spain, Peru, Costa Rica, Panama, and the US.
A view of the available house sits on Trusted Housesitters in early June 2024.
But is Trusted Housesitters Legit?
In terms of safety, we like that a Trusted Housesitters membership includes background and ID checks through a 3rd party company for both housesitters and homeowners. This makes us feel more secure knowing all parties have been vetted.
We also like the Trusted Housesitters review process. After every housesit is finished, homeowners and house sitters are asked to leave a review. Reviews are hidden for up to 14 days until both parties write theirs, which creates more transparency and honesty.
Reading reviews is one of the most important things when it comes to choosing a house sit or choosing a house sitter.
How Much Does it Cost to Join Trusted Housesitters?
The next thing we like about Trusted Housesitters might be surprising. Most house sitting websites have a fee to be a member and Trusted Housesitters is one of the most expensive memberships out there. But we think that’s a good thing!
The homeowners who are members of Trusted Housesitters are looking for top-quality housesitters. Because of this, we’ve been able to secure incredible stays in beautiful properties all around the world.
We’ve stayed in amazing and unique locations from bustling neighborhoods in Bangkok, Thailand to beautiful homes in quaint European villages. The types of house sits and locations available are plentiful and varied.
Trusted Housesitters offers three different membership levels (Basic, Standard, and Premium) ranging from $149 to $299 per year. There are memberships for house sitters, homeowners, and combined memberships.
All Trusted Housesitters members get access to unlimited house sits or house sitters worldwide. Higher membership levels provide additional things like Accident and Third-party Liability insurance, a 24/7 Vet Advice Line, sit cancellation insurance, and perks like airport lounge passes.
We recommend getting the Standard or Premium plan because of the additional benefits. One of the most useful benefits of both of those plans is that you can set alerts for when house sits for the places and dates you want become available. It’s important to apply quickly when you find a house sit you want, so this is a worthwhile benefit to have!
The Trusted Housesitters Website
The Trusted Housesitters website is well laid out and easy to use. There is also an app that is just as functional.
The process to find and apply for house sits is simple and fun!
The Trusted Housesitters Community
When you join Trusted Housesitters, you get access to their community forum. It is choc-a-bloc with information and resources to help you get started and answer any questions you may have.
The Trusted Housesitters community is very responsive and open to helping one another out. They also organize in-person meet-ups sometimes, although we haven’t been able to attend those yet.
We have met so many wonderful people and pets through the house sits we’ve done who have become friends. We still stay in touch with many of the people we have house sat for. We’ve even met up with them when our paths crossed. We’ve also been invited back by homeowners to house sit for them again.
Overall, we love using Trusted Housesitters to arrange house sits all over the world, and we don’t see ourselves stopping any time soon!
That said, it’s not perfect…
Things We Don’t Like About Trusted Housesitters + Our Recommendations
While we love using Trusted Housesitters, we understand that house sitting is not for everyone.
As we mentioned before, when you are house sitting, the pets and the home are your #1 priority. That means that you may not have as much free time or flexibility as you might when you’re on a regular vacation.
That’s why it’s extremely important to discuss all of the responsibilities and expectations with the homeowner upfront before accepting a house sit.
For example, we did a house sit for elderly dogs who required medication twice a day at specific times. Their owners also asked us not to leave them unattended for more than 3-4 hours at a time. We weighed the pros and cons. In the end, we accepted the sit because we felt that we could meet their expectations and still have a great time.
However, there have been some house sits where after having a conversation with the owner, we realized it wasn’t a good fit so we politely declined.
How to House Sit Without Hiccups
Like in any relationship, communication is the leading factor in whether it will work out. That’s why we highly recommend jumping on a call with the homeowner to ask any and all questions you may have so that there are no unhappy surprises when you arrive at the house sit.
An issue we had was with a homeowner who didn’t have reviews. Unfortunately, we didn’t ask enough of the right questions on our call, which led to some misunderstandings and miscommunications during the house sit.
We also weren’t able to overlap with the homeowner in person before their trip as their dates changed. Because of the poor communication, it just wasn’t the best experience overall.
We now have a rule not to apply for house sits unless the homeowner already has reviews.
How Do I Become a House Sitter With No Experience?
You might be wondering about how to become a house sitter with no experience. How can you get reviews without having done any house sits, and how can you get house sits without any reviews?
The good news is that Trusted Housesitters has two types of reviews you can get: External References and Reviews from homeowners/house sitters after a house sit is completed.
When you are first setting up your Trusted Housesitters profile, we recommend getting three to five External References from friends and family who know you well and can speak to your character.
Trusted Housesitters makes it easy to send these External Reference requests through the website. Having these will go a long way in helping you land your first house sit or find a great house sitter.
Another thing that might mean house sitting isn’t a good fit for you is if you don’t like animals. About 95% of the house sitting opportunities on Trusted Housesitters include taking care of pets.
There are filters on the website that let you search for specific pets or even no pets to make it easier to find what you’re comfortable with.
Trusted Housesitters Update
In 2023, Trusted Housesitters made a change to limit house sitting applications to only five house sitters per listing. That means after five people apply for a house sit, the listing is closed until the homeowner responds to those first five applicants.
This change is great for newer house sitters because it means that as long as you are one of the first five people to apply, you have a good chance of landing house sits.
However, for sitters who have been around for a while, like us, who relied on having lots of great reviews and experience to get chosen, it now means we need to be more on top of applying quickly.
In the past, we were able to secure house sits with 50+ applicants because of our profile and experience, but that won’t be the case anymore.
We understand why this change was made because it was difficult for homeowners to go through and respond to so many applications, and it was also hard for newer house sitters to land the sits they wanted.
Now to make sure we stay on top of applying for house sits we want, we take advantage of the option to get instant alerts for our saved searches when house sits for the locations and dates we’re interested in become available. This feature is only available with the Standard Sitter and Premium Sitter plans.
We honestly don’t have too many bad things to say about using Trusted Housesitters. We’re incredibly grateful for the opportunities we’ve gotten through the platform to travel to new places and live for free while meeting cool people and cute pets along the way!
How Does Trusted Housesitters Work?
After joining Trusted Housesitters as either a homeowner, a housesitter, or both, you set up your profile. The company also runs a 3rd party background check on every member. They’ll guide you through the process, which is quick and easy.
The Process of Looking for House Sitters/Finding House Sits
Homeowners can share when they need a sitter and include their dates, information about the home, their pets, and the area they live in. They will also list all of the responsibilities and expectations they are looking for from a house sitter on their profile.
Housesitters can search the Trusted Housesitters platform using filters such as location, dates, types of pets, sit duration, etc. to find house sits that are a good fit for them.
When a house sitter finds a house sit they like, they can apply to the house sit and send the homeowner a message.
The homeowner and housesitter exchange messages through the Trusted Housesitters platform and can set up a time to have a call together. We always like to do a video call with the homeowners through Skype, Zoom, or WhatsApp.
This is a great opportunity for both parties to get to know one another and ask all questions you may have before offering/accepting a house sit.
If both the homeowner and house sitter feel that it’s a good fit then the homeowner will send an invitation to the house sitter. Then both parties can formally agree to do the house sit through the Trusted Housesitters website.
Prior to the house sit, we stay in contact with the homeowner to let them know about our arrival plans. Often homeowners will offer to pick us up at the nearest train or bus station if we are arriving by public transportation.
Before the House Sit Begins
Before the house sit starts, the homeowner will be prompted by Trusted Housesitters to complete a Welcome Guide for the house sitter which provides important information about the house, the responsibilities involved, emergency contact details, and any other useful information.
House sitters should expect a clean and tidy house when they arrive, and homeowners will expect that the house looks in as good of shape when they return.
In our experience, most homeowners leave some food for you to eat, and may leave cash for incidentals related to pet care or something with the house.
Homeowners will often ask the housesitter to arrive a day or two in advance. That is so they can show the housesitter everything in person so they have a smoother transition. Often the homeowner and housesitter will spend time together and may share a meal before the homeowner leaves. However, this varies from sit to sit.
We’ve had situations where we only overlapped with the homeowner for a couple of hours before they left. Another time we overlapped with other house sitters, and once we didn’t meet the homeowner at all (not ideal)!
We prefer to overlap with homeowners for at least a day. It’s a great opportunity to get to know one another and make sure we can ask any questions we have in person.
Questions to Ask Before House Sitting
One good question to ask the homeowner is how often they would like updates about their home and pets. Some homeowners like to be messaged daily with a short update and pictures of their pets. Others may be comfortable with more infrequent communication.
Either way, you should be in communication throughout the house sit in case anything comes up that you need to ask about.
Read: The 37 Most Important Questions to Ask Before House Sitting
When the Homeowner Returns
Before the homeowner returns home, we always ensure that the house is as clean or cleaner than when we arrived. We also make sure there is some food available for the homeowner as they did for us.
When possible, we like to cook a meal for the homeowner upon their return, especially if we will be staying at the house on the night they arrive home. This is a great chance to hear about their trip and catch them up on your time in their home with their pets.
Our Trusted Housesitters Review Verdict
After all the travel we’ve done, all the adventures, and all the furry friends we’ve made, there’s only one question left: is Trusted Housesitters worth it?
Of course, it is!
We hope you found this article helpful if you’ve been considering signing up with Trusted Housesitters. If you’re someone who loves animals and loves to travel and meet great people, then we think you’d enjoy it as much as we do!
And if you know anyone else who might like house sitting, share this article with them! The most the Trusted Housesitters platform grows, the more people can connect with each other and have amazing travel experiences thanks to house sitting.
If you have any questions about Trusted Housesitters or house sitting, feel free to leave them in the comments or send us a message on Instagram.
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