House sitter or how else to keep home safe while away on vacation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We use lamp timers in several rooms all the time, NOT just when we are away. So the light pattern contains no information. Different rooms have different times to turn on or off. It is also convenient to awake and come downstairs and have some lights already on. Also convenient that we can go upstairs without having to switch off those same lights.

Our garage has no windows, so one cannot peek inside to see if there is a car parked or not.

We do have an alarm with a couple of alarm signs.

Still maybe leave your oldest car in the driveway.

[Anonymous]

We are not at all social with our next door neighbors but we do look out for one another - and advise when we’re going to be away or something unusual will be happening like fence repair or tree work.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t pay a house sitter in your situation.
We pay a dog sitter to stay at our house, because of the dog.
Do you not have nice neighbors? Ask each other to keep an eye on your houses while your away..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a house/pet sitter. Yes, I stay there, and work remotely from the house. I take in mail, water plants, turn on/off sprinklers, play music, turn on/off lights, open/shut street-facing blinds, etc.

People find me through word-of-mouth. I don't advertise or use any websites/app.

Sometimes I have a friend over, but always clear it with the homeowners and it's like "My friend from work who's a lawyer would love to meet your dog - can I invite her over to play with Rover and let her stay for dinner?" And that's only after I've established a good working relationship with them.

OP here. Interesting, thanks for sharing! I’ll ask around, but so far everyone I know leans on their neighbors or family to check in on their houses.

You can look for house sitters at the most reputable pet care companies in your area. They often house-sit as well for folks who don't have pets, and you can just look at companies are bonded. It isn't inexpensive, but it's much better than finding someone random.

Rover.com has house sitters. We've used rover more times than I can count for our dog and we've never had a bad experience.

That said, we do nothing when we leave. We don't have cameras or an alarm. We just make sure the doors are locked and ask neighbors to take in any random packages that show up. Neighbors also know when we're away in case they see anything fishy.

Thanks for the tip! Does your area not have any burglaries? We live in the burbs of a major city, and there are property crimes such as burglaries anywhere and everywhere within a 40 mile radius of this city, even places that have no highway access and are pretty remote. Crime seems to have gotten so much worse since I was a kid.

If these house sitters go to their jobs during the day, how does it help?

I work remotely and can work from anywhere. I’ve housesat many times for friends and family because of it, especially when I was younger and had roommates.

[Anonymous]

Standard sensible and prudent security measures work whether you're home or not.

Alarm system with warning signs/stickers on all sides of the property, especially near doors. Interior and exterior smart lights: interior lights visible from all sides of the house set to go on at dusk and off at a conventional bedtime. Exterior lights programmed go on at dusk and off at dawn. Additional exterior lighting on motion detectors - by doors, including garage doors. Keep shrubs near house well trimmed, so they offer no concealment. Smart video doorbell with an illuminated bell press, alerting people to its presence before they get to the front door. Visible CCTV cameras all around the exterior, which alert when detecting motion and record what they see. If you have an exterior mailbox, have your mail held at the post office. Ask a neighbor to check daily for packages left by your garage or front door; don't place any orders/suspend automatic subscription deliveries so nothing is likely to delivered during your absence. Keep blinds/shades down on the ground floor level, so it's not possible to see into the house; many people do that to block sunlight, so it's not necessarily an indicator that you're not home. Have quality deadbolt locks and hardware on your exterior doors, nothing which suggests the door can be easily pushed/kicked in. Have the lawn mowed before you leave. Keep the irrigation system running on the usual automatic schedule.

You just need to make your house look less attractive to a potential intruder than nearby alternatives which have no such visible deterrents.

Have good insurance.

[Anonymous]

We are in a good neighborhood but not the million dollar house neighborhood. When we go vacation longer than couple of days we stop mail, ask neighbor to help with trash cart ( pull out day before then push in the day it’s collected) also packages ( in rare cases). We have home security and both indoor/outdoor security cameras set up. We close some curtains and left some open, leave some light on and set some on timer. We don’t have valuables in the house.

[Anonymous]

How do some of you live with such anxiety? We lock the door and leave on vacation. If someone breaks in, oh well. We have nothing of value that can’t be replaced. No alarm no cameras. The neighbors look out for each other and know when we’re gone but that’s it. I don’t worry at all when we’re gone.

[Anonymous]

Who would trust a house sitter? Isn’t this someone you don’t know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do some of you live with such anxiety? We lock the door and leave on vacation. If someone breaks in, oh well. We have nothing of value that can’t be replaced. No alarm no cameras. The neighbors look out for each other and know when we’re gone but that’s it. I don’t worry at all when we’re gone.

+1
This thread is a bit crazy. We do have cameras and an alarm.

Remember that most thieves are looking for the house that's the easiest to rob. They are going to pick your neighbor who have no cameras instead of you even if they know you're on vacation -unless they are people you know and they know you have something valuable in the house that's worth a more elaborate strategy. But if they are targeting you there's really not much you can do anyway.

In our neighborhood a lot of high school or even MS kids will take care of a house. They have pretty random schedules so they are coming at all hours of the day I've found. These are the same kids that will come feed the cat, hamsters or fish but if you don't have pets they also water the plants, pick up packages or random brochures that may have been left around the house, put out the garbage and bring the cans back at the end of the day, check the mail, do a lap around the house to make sure nothing is leaking or the fridge hasn't died. They are really responsible and their parents backstop. We have a lot of plants so have hired kids for that and have always had a great experience.

[Anonymous]

I would use my network to find a graduate, student or law student in the area who might enjoy staying in a big house instead of their usual small accommodations. You can pay them something and have peace of mind.