Home > Blog > How to Get Started in House Sitting
Quick Facts
| What you actually need | A strong profile, personalised applications, and one first review |
| Time to first sit | Most people land their first sit within 4 to 8 weeks of joining |
| Best starting platform | TrustedHouseSitters, 25% off with our discount, highest listing count globally |
| Best platform for Australia | Aussie House Sitters |
| Best platform for New Zealand | Kiwi House Sitters |
| Best platform for France | Nomador, 800+ French listings vs THS's 67 |
| Our first sit | Bochum, Germany, 2023, two cats, five stars, Caro's family home five minutes away |
| Sits completed | 17 locations, 11 countries, over €24,000 in accommodation saved |
| The core mindset | It is an exchange, not a freebie. You are a temporary guardian, not a guest |
The first house sit I ever applied for was not part of a grand plan. I wanted to spend two weeks with Caro in Bochum, but a hotel in the area would have cost around €2,000. So I typed "house sit Bochum" into Google, found a listing that had just gone live, signed up to TrustedHouseSitters on the spot, and applied immediately. We got it.
After that first sit, we wondered whether we could actually compete against sitters with longer track records and more reviews. It turned out we could. We now have 15 sits on TrustedHouseSitters, two arranged privately, and have traveled through countries across Europe and beyond, saving thousands on accommodation along the way. Our way of travelling has completely transformed. At this point we cannot imagine doing it any other way. We are currently driving through Albania on our way to a six-month sit in Portugal, with 17 locations across 11 countries behind us.
None of it started with experience. It started with a Google search and a listing that had just come online.
This is what actually works.
The Mindset That Changes Everything
Before you write a single word of your profile or application, understand this: house sitting is not a free holiday. It is an exchange of value. Homeowners are not looking for a tourist who wants a cheap base. They are looking for a temporary guardian for the things they care most about: their pets and their home.
The moment you internalise this, every part of the process becomes clearer. Your profile stops being about what you want and starts being about what you offer. Your applications stop sounding like requests and start sounding like proposals. The homeowners who choose you do so because they trust you, not because you convinced them to give you something for free.
This is the switch that separates sitters who get sits from sitters who sit waiting.
Step 1: Build a Profile That Creates Immediate Trust
Your house sitting profile has one job: to make a homeowner feel calm and confident about handing you their keys. It does not need to be long. It needs to be credible.
Photos do most of the work. Homeowners look at the gallery before they read a word of the bio. They want to see you with animals, comfortable, relaxed, clearly at ease. You do not need professional pet experience. Look through your existing photos for any picture where you are interacting with a dog or a cat. A friend's dog on a walk, a family cat, any animal will do. A profile with eight natural photos of you with animals will outperform a profile with one perfect portrait every time.
The bio should sound like you, not like a job application. Write in your own voice. Focus on what you offer the homeowner rather than what you are hoping to get from house sitting. The phrase "we love to travel" tells a homeowner nothing useful. The phrase "as remote workers, one of us is home with your pets throughout the day" tells them something they care about.
Caro had two rescue cats before we started travelling. That goes in the bio. It is specific, it is true, and it signals genuine animal experience in a way that generic phrases about "loving animals" do not. Use whatever real details from your life are relevant: pets you have cared for, a professional background that suggests reliability, practical experience that applies to home maintenance.
Identity verification strengthens your profile immediately. On TrustedHouseSitters, completing ID verification adds a verified badge to your profile. For a homeowner deciding between a verified and an unverified applicant, this is an easy filter. Complete it before you send your first application.
Step 2: Write Applications That Actually Get Read
Most sitters send generic applications. That is not an assumption. Homeowners report it consistently, and it is the single biggest opportunity for a new sitter with no reviews to stand out.
A homeowner can tell within the first sentence whether you read their listing. If your message could have been sent to any listing on the platform, it will be treated like it was sent to all of them and ignored.
The application formula that works is simple. Open by addressing the homeowner by name and mentioning the pets by name in the first sentence. "Hi Sarah, we would love to look after Milo and Biscuit while you are away" takes thirty seconds and immediately signals that you read the actual listing.
Then connect your experience directly to their specific situation. If they have nervous cats, reference that you understand how unsettled a cat can get with changes to routine. If they have a dog that needs two hours of exercise a day, confirm that this is something you actively enjoy. Do not claim experience you do not have, but do make the connection between what you know and what they need.
Close with a single clear call to action: an invitation to a video call. "We would love to jump on a quick call this week to introduce ourselves properly and hear more about Milo and Biscuit" gives them something easy to say yes to.
Keep the whole message to three or four short paragraphs. A long application is not more impressive. A focused, specific, warm message that references real details from the listing is.
On TrustedHouseSitters, only five applications can be sent per listing, and yours is competing with a maximum of four others. On Nomador the same five-application limit applies. This concentrates the competition, which makes the quality of your application matter even more.
Step 3: The Video Call
The video call is not a test. By the time a homeowner invites you to a call, they have already decided you look credible on paper. The call is about connection. They want to know if you are the kind of people they would hand their keys to.
Treat it like a conversation, not an interview. Ask about the pets. Ask what their personalities are like, what the routine looks like, whether there is anything the animals find stressful. Let them talk about the things they care about and listen properly. Share a little about yourselves naturally as the conversation moves.
We use WhatsApp for video calls with homeowners. It is a format everyone is already comfortable with, and it keeps everything in one thread rather than scattering communication across multiple platforms. Our video call guide goes into more detail on what to cover, but the short version is: be warm, be curious, be specific about the animals.
Use the call to clarify anything practical you need to know before confirming: arrival time, overnight expectations, any specific routines or medical needs for the pets. Once you confirm, these details need to be agreed on clearly.
Step 4: The First Sit
Landing the first sit is the hardest step. Everything after that is easier because you have a review.
Before the sit starts, confirm all details over WhatsApp and ask one simple question: how often would you like updates while you are away? Some homeowners want a photo every day; others are happy with a message every few days. Asking shows you have thought about their experience, not just yours.
During the sit, your job is to maintain the home and care for the animals to the standard the homeowner expects. This is not complicated. Feed the animals on schedule, keep the house tidy, send the updates you agreed on, and contact the homeowner immediately if anything is wrong rather than trying to manage it alone. The homeowners in Athens asked us to stay an extra night for dinner when they returned. The homeowner in Switzerland took us up a mountain for drinks. Those relationships developed because we treated the sit as a genuine responsibility.
Before you leave, clean the home to the standard you found it. Vacuum the floors you used, clean the kitchen and bathroom, strip the bedsheets and put them in the wash. This takes an hour and it is what separates a five-star review from a four-star one.
The first review changes everything. Your applications move from the bottom of the pile to the top and the process becomes progressively easier from there.
Choosing Your Platform
TrustedHouseSitters is the right starting point for most people. It has the largest listing count of any platform globally, the most developed review and verification systems, and the widest international coverage. We use it exclusively for all our platform sits. Our 25% discount brings the Standard plan to around $99 for a full year + $12 booking fee per sit, which still ends up being less than two-three nights of accommodation in most European cities.
For specific regions, add the relevant platform alongside THS. Aussie House Sitters has the deepest coverage in Australia, Kiwi House Sitters for New Zealand, and Nomador for France, where it has over 800 French listings compared to THS's 67. These regional platforms are worth adding once you have a target country in mind.
Browse listings on any platform for free before paying. Most allow this without an account. Find a sit you want to apply for, then sign up. That way your membership is working from day one.
Conclusion
The barrier to getting started in house sitting is lower than it looks from the outside. You do not need reviews to get your first review. You need a profile that is honest and specific, applications that show you actually read the listing, and a first sit close enough to home that the risk feels manageable.
Our first sit was two cats in Bochum, found through a Google search on a Tuesday afternoon. Yours might be a dog two suburbs over or a cat belonging to a colleague's friend. The location does not matter. The review does.
From there, every application gets easier and every sit opens the door to the next one. We went from that first sit in Bochum to Cortona, Switzerland, Athens, and a six-month stay in Portugal, all within three years, all through the same process. House sitting has completely transformed how we travel. We cannot imagine doing it any other way.
DM us @housesittersguide on Instagram if you have questions about getting started. We answer everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need professional experience to start house sitting?
No. Homeowners want to see reliability and genuine care for animals, not a CV. A well-written profile with honest personal experience, photos with animals, and a completed identity verification is enough to get your first sit. Many of the most successful long-term sitters started with no formal pet care background at all.
How long does it take to get a first house sit?
Most new sitters land their first sit within four to eight weeks of joining a platform, provided they are applying consistently and personalising each application. Applying to sits near your home location significantly improves your chances early on. You can offer an in-person meet-and-greet, which remote applicants cannot.
What is the most important part of a house sitting application?
The first sentence. If you address the homeowner and their pets by name in your opening line, you have already separated yourself from the majority of applications they receive. Everything after that should connect your specific experience to their specific situation. Generic applications describing a general love of animals are ignored.
Which platform should I start with?
TrustedHouseSitters for most people. It has the largest global listing count and the most developed community. Use our 25% discount to start. If you are targeting a specific country, add the relevant regional platform alongside it. Browse listings for free before paying so you know there are sits you want to apply for before committing.
What should I do during the video call?
Talk about the pets. Ask about their personalities, their routines, anything they find stressful. Let the homeowner talk about the things they care about. The call is not an interview. It is a conversation about whether you are people they can trust. Be yourself, be curious, and use the call to confirm any practical details you need before confirming the sit.
How do I get a five-star review on my first sit?
Meet the standard the homeowner described, communicate at the frequency you agreed on, and leave the home in the same condition you found it. The review does not require going dramatically above and beyond. It requires consistency, reliability, and a home that looks the same when they return as when they left. One thing that always leaves a good impression: strip the bedsheets and put them in the wash before you go.
