Where and When to Look for a housesitting situation
Next spring, we'll have to leave our home in North Berkeley while it's being remodeled. We will have to be out of the house for 7 months or even longer. Since we can't afford to rent for that long, we hope to housesit for someone who will be away for a long time and likes the idea of having someone minding their home. We have experience with cats so we could also care for that person's pet. We're both academics in our 60s and we have strong references. Should we be putting the word out now or later? And aside from BPN and NextDoor, where else could we publicize our request? Please advise us!
Jul 18, 2018
Parent Replies
Yes, put out the word now on your neighborhood listserve (if there is one) or NextDoor, and BPN too. You might also be able to have a friend at a local school post on their listserve for you. We did that before our house remodel in Rockridge a couple years ago and were able to cobble together 2+ months of house sitting. That was about 5 different house-sits, so keep in mind that it may be chaotic if you have to move frequently (we mainly got summer vacation house-sits of 1-3 weeks). I'd be surprised if you could get 7 full months but who knows, it's worth putting out the word now. We traveled during a gap between house-sits, so you might be able to work your vacation into the 7 months too. Good luck!
With today’s rental market, it seems unlikely that you would find someone who just wants you to “stay” in their home, rather than rent it out. Most likely, if a family is in need of pet care while they’re gone from their home, it would be in terms of reduced rent (e.g. something less than $3500/mo for a 2-3 bedroom?) rather than no rent. Craigslist is another place to look for rentals, and Cal Rental if you are affiliated with U.C. Best of luck to you.
If you are willing to pet sit, I would suggest Trusted House Sitters or House Sitters America. Both are sites where people house sit, typically in exchange for pet care. You probably wouldn't be able to find a full 7 month stint but you could likely piece something together! We use it for dog sitting and have been very happy so far!