How to
Make Money from House Sitting


In recent years, House Sitting has become a very common practice in the US of A. Due to an increase in crime and an ever growing fear of terrorism, people no longer want to leave their homes empty when they go off on holiday or leave town for any other reason. Yes, people can ask family members and friends to watch their homes while they’re away, but since no one likes to impose on others, they would rather pay someone to keep an eye on their property instead. This is where home sitting as a business comes in.

What Does It Mean To House Sit

It means to look after someone else’s home when they are away. This may require you to live at the person’s home for a specified number of days, or you may simply need to visit the house a few times a day or week to make the home look lived in.

Generally, when people go away just for the weekend or for few days, they may ask an independant contractor to visit their home once or twice everyday instead of living in their house full time. However, people who have to be gone for days or months on end may even want them to live in their home for the entire time they are away. Each house sitting job is thus different and depends on the home owners needs.

Regardless of how long a particular job is, here are some duties that you typically would have to perform during your stay:

  • Pick up the newspapers daily so that there isn’t a bunch gathering on the door step.
  • Water and take care of house plants.
  • Take care of any pets that the home owner may have. This includes feeding the pets, walking them, and any other activities that the home owner may request you to do.
  • Mowing the lawn, trimming the plants etc. Essentially taking care of the outdoor portions of the home so that the house does not look like it is abandoned.

    In short, a house sitter has to look after the house and any pets in the house while the owners are away. Typically, a contract is entered into by the home owner and the independant contractor that outlines the duration of the house sit and all the duties that the sitter has to perform. Remuneration, if any, to be paid to the independant contractor is also included in the contract.

    Earning Money From House Sitting

    You can make money in the following two ways:

    1. Getting paid for your services: You can charge a per visit fee (for short duration house sits) or a lump sum fee for house sitting for longer periods. Since most people would anyways have to pay people to complete various tasks while they are away, they don’t mind paying that money to independant contractors instead.

    2. Saving money on rent: Many house sitting jobs are such where the sitter manages the home for the owners in exchange for rent free accommodation in the homes. In such jobs, you will not get paid a monetary fee, but will get to live in the house for free. This can translate into heavy savings on rent, which can build up considerably if you can manage to get house sitting jobs throughout the year.

    You can also have more than one job at a time. For instance, you can commit to several daily visits or weekly visits to sit other homes while you are holding a residential house sitting job for someone else.

    Thus, if you can build your reputation as competent and reliable, and you don’t mind moving to different locations as the job demands, then you can indeed make a great income as an independant contractor in this field.


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