10 Best Sites to Find Paid House Sitting Jobs (or Stay in Luxury Homes for Free!)

And, with house sitting jobs, it’s totally possible.

These jobs allow you to stay in homes across the country, and overseas, ranging from modern apartments to luxurious houses.

What’s great is that you can actually get paid for it too.

What does a House Sitter Do?

Before we get onto the jobs, let’s take a quick look at what a house sitter actually does.

Well, it’s simple really.

A house sitter takes care of a homeowners place while they are away.

You might have to take care of the house for just a few days, or even for weeks or months.

In exchange for living rent free, you have to take on a combination of responsibilities.

Basically, it’s your job to ensure that everything in the home runs smoothly – just as if the owner was at home.

Your responsibilities could include:

• Performing general maintenance tasks on things like the lawn, or pool.
• Readdressing the mail.
• Forwarding phone messages.
• Cleaning the house.
• Making sure no one trespasses on the property.
• Taking care of the homeowner’s pets.
• Sometimes you might have to pay for the cost of utilities.

Paid vs Free House Sitting

House sitting is a job that’s great because it gives you the chance to explore new neighborhoods, cities and countries – all without you having to pay for accommodation.

However, since you’re getting to live rent free, most opportunities for house sitters aren’t paid.

It’s accepted that you’re compensated with a free stay.

However, that’s not to say that there are no paid job opportunities out there at all.

There are paid house sitting jobs available. There just aren’t that many of them.

So, in this post, we’re going to start with paid jobs and then move onto job opportunities that aren’t paid but allow you to live rent free.

And, living rent free is pretty sweet.

Think about it, if you turn house sitting into a regular job, you could save yourself $1,000s on rent.

Paid house sitting jobs

You can use general job search engines to find house sitting jobs.

Here are some of the best ones to keep an eye on:

1. Indeed

On here, you’ll find some paid house sitting opportunities.

For example, there’s one job available in Trabuco Canyon, CA that includes taking care of pets, which pays $10 to $15 an hour.

And, another job on Indeed pays $15 to $50 an hour to house-sit, and take care of dogs and cats.

Just visit Indeed, and then enter the term “house sitter” or “house sitting” into the search bar, along with your location, and you’ll find jobs in your area.

2. Care.com

Care.com is a company that focuses on helping people to find child care, senior care, pet care and housekeeping services.

It features some housesitting jobs, most of which include caring for pets or cleaning. One job pays $10 to $20 an hour and includes pet sitting and house cleaning.

This site doesn’t always have housesitting jobs available, but sometimes it does, so it’s always worth a look.

The company often posts jobs on Indeed as well.

3. The Caretaker Gazette

This is a bi-monthly newsletter that connects property owners with property caretakers and house sitters.

You do have to pay for The Caretaker Gazette, so keep that in mind.

In The Caretaker Gazette, you can sometimes find paid job opportunities.

Here’s an example of a paid job posting from the newsletter:

“NEW MEXICO

HELP WANTED year-round to caretake home, property, and pets (one dog, six cats). 37 acre property half way between Santa Fe and Taos, bordered by the Rio Grande. Two bedrooms, recently remodeled home, (unfurnished) plus utilities offered, as well as negotiated salary. To apply, please fax: (505) XXX-XXXX.”

Most of the jobs do require you to do tasks, like caretaking, as well as just house-sitting.

There are so many jobs posted, so it’s definitely a great resource for those looking to make money from house-sitting jobs.

House-Sitting Jobs

In this section, we’ve listed housesitting jobs that aren’t paid. But, do allow you to live rent free.

Let’s say you house-sit for six months, and used to pay $1,200 a month for rent – the average across the country.

Well, you’d save $7,200 in that time period!

So, it’s definitely worth looking at these jobs too.

4. House Sitters America

• Membership cost: $30 a year

This website always has postings for housesitting opportunities. While most aren’t paid, on the website’s FAQ section it says:

“In most cases it’s just a straight swap; the house sitter cares for the house and pets in exchange for free accommodation.

However there may be times when a homeowner will offer some money for the house sitting job. For example if the house was situated in an undesirable location, and/or the length of the sit was not really desirable (too short), and/or there were lots of pets to care for and jobs to do, then the homeowner may offer to pay the house sitter something or at the very least they might cover the house sitters utility costs (electricity, gas, phone etc).”

So, there might be the opportunity to get paid work too.

On the site, you’ll find house sitting jobs for a huge range of places throughout the United States, from Colorado to Massachusetts.

5. Mind My House

• Membership cost: $20 a year

On Mind My House you can find jobs in a wide range of places across the United States, and in other countries, such as Scotland, Australia, and Spain.

The fee charged for joining is low as well.

6. Luxury House Sitting

• Membership cost: $25 a year

Like house sitting for the rich and famous?

This is the site for you then!

On this website, you can find luxury house sitting jobs in beautiful homes in a variety of countries.

Opportunities are available in the United States, and in other countries, like Spain and Ireland.

7. Nomador

• Membership cost: $89 a year (or free with limited applications)

This is a great site to find international paid house sitting opportunities.

On the site, you’ll find jobs available in a huge range of countries, like Belgium, France, Spain, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Costa Rica and, of course, in the United States.

There is a free membership option available too, but you only get three applications.

8. House Sit Match

• Membership cost: £79 a year

Housesit Match is another website that features jobs across the world.

On there, you can find jobs in places like the USA, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

This has a great rating of 9.8 on Trustpilot as well.

9. Trusted Housesitters

• Membership cost: $119 a year

Trusted Housesitters features house-sitting opportunities from a plethora of countries.

There are jobs available in the United States in places ranging from Montana to Texas to California.

And, there are opportunities available in other countries too, like Australia and places like the United Kingdom.

Trusted Housesitters has a 9.7 rating on Trustpilot, which is great.

10. HouseCarers

• Membership cost: $50 a year

HouseCarers offers a great selection of jobs in a huge range of places.

You can find opportunities in places like Bali, Indonesia, Arizona, United States, The Aegean Region, Turkey, and Catalonia, Spain.

Tips for Housesitting

There are plenty of places to find work as a house-sitter.

In this section, we’re going to offer a few tips for housesitting.

Be Flexible

This is an important one. If you’re struggling to find opportunities, then try broadening your search.

If you were looking at Spain in early September for example, then why not look for jobs in late August or late September.

The more flexible you are with location and dates, the more house sitting opportunities you’ll find.

Ask for Instructions in Advance

Whether it’s the feeding schedule for the homeowner’s dog, the dates the utility bills need to be paid, or the days the recycling is collected, knowing your responsibilities is important.

After all, the homeowner won’t be pleased if you don’t take care of the household responsibilities while they’re away.

It’s a good idea to ask for instructions early on. This way, if there’s anything you need more detail about, then you can ask the homeowner.

Ask for Emergency Information and Keep in Nearby

What if a pipe bursts while the owner is away?

Or, what if you lock yourself out?

If something goes wrong, then you’ll need the number of a plumber, locksmith, etc., nearby.

Having the contact information for tradespeople in the area is important if an emergency arises.

Get the House Rules

Homeowners will all have their own rules for what goes and doesn’t go in their homes.

For example, some homeowners don’t allow you to invite other guests over and some do. So, it’s always good to ask about the rules.

Lock-Up – Even if the Owner’s Usually Don’t

Some people are super laid back when it comes to locking their front door or making sure the windows are closed.

Regardless of the homeowner’s stance, always lock every door and window when you leave the house – even if it’s only for a short period.

If someone were to break in while you were away, your reputation as a house-sitter would be damaged.

Leave the House in the Same Condition you Found it or Better

Create a daily to-list that includes all of your household chores and tasks, like watering the plants, collecting the mail, etc. This way, you won’t forget important household tasks.

Include your cleaning tasks on there too.

You want the house to be nice and clean when the owners get back.

Go the Extra Mile

While not a necessity, doing a few little extras for the homeowner is a good idea.

For example, emailing the homeowner photos of their pet while they’re away, restocking the fridge so they have stuff to eat and drink when they return, or even leaving them a little welcome home gift, or making them dinner when they arrive back are a few extra things that you can do.

Doing these things will make the homeowners more likely to recommend you to others and praise your services as a house-sitter.

Keep an eye on Craigslist

Whether you’re looking for house sitting jobs for couples, students, retirees or anyone else, you should also keep an eye on Craigslist for house sitting jobs.

You do have to be careful, but Craigslist is one of the biggest sites in the world and a lot of people use it to post job openings including house sitter jobs. So do keep an eye on it.

And the best part about using Craigslist is that if you want to travel and make money, you can look in other cities and countries if you are looking for paid house sitting jobs in other cities countries.

Closing thoughts

Being a house-sitter is a great job.

You can stay in different cities, states and even countries, and you don’t have to pay for your accommodation.

It’s ideal for saving money since you don’t have to worry about the rent, and it can be a good way to make money too.

Also, it’s perfect if you’re looking to travel, but don’t want the expense of a hotel or vacation rental.

So, visit one of the sites above, and earn yourself some cash, or at least a free stay.