(affiliate link).

The only thing you can’t do is contact the owners who are offering house sitting opportunities. If you’re on a strict budget, this means you can take a look at the available housesits to see if there are many that take your attention.

Note: Sometimes you can do a reverse image search on websites like these (Workaway for example) to find out the contact details of the people, therefore, avoiding the cost of registering for the website. This method doesn’t appear to work for Kiwi House Sitters.

But with 43 new house sits listed in the previous seven days as I write this. If you are planning on doing a house sit, there’s no real downside to registering given the cost (mentioned below) and the need to be responsive when new listings do show up.

Signing up is a super simple process and Kiwi House Sitters make it really clear what details remain private and which aren’t. You can include your phone number which I recommend this as there’s a chance you’ll be asked to call the owner’s for an interview (I recommend using a Skinny sim in NZ).

The next page is the payment page.

The cost is $84 for a one-year membership p.s. If you use the referral code you get HSMAG15 you’ll get 15% off.

Which in the grand scheme is not a lot. If you’re staying in hostels in New Zealand, they’ll be $20-25/night. So after just four nights of house sitting, you’ll be saving money (I’m guessing that’s one of the main reasons you’re considering this). Hotels? Well, you make your money back in one night on most occasions.

Once you’ve signed up (credit card only), you’ll have instant access to the chat feature on Kiwi House Sitters. I do recommend getting your account verified ($5), as that is a better look on your account (you get a badge on your profile).

Also, Kiwi House Sitters is a part of an associated group of sites. If you’ve used one of the sites below previously, you can have your reviews seen on your Kiwi House Sitters account.

Note: If you’re a couple/family, you only need one account.

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2.3. COMPLETE YOUR PROFILE

This is my Kiwi House Sitters profile.

Now for the tricky part. How do you get someone to trust you when you have no reviews?

1. Upload a few photos. This isn’t your Tinder profile so use photos that show your face (like hitchhiking, sunglasses don’t help) and paint a picture of you looking somewhat responsible.

I uploaded one photo holding my sister’s cat, and a couple of others out having fun in the mountains.

2. Complete the description in your profile. Make it enthusiastic, but not too a dirty salesman level, stay authentic:

• Describe your love for pets
• Mention other skills that might be attractive (gardening? cleaning? bi-lingual?)
• Mention your house sitting experience.

You can find more tips on making your profile look good on the Kiwi House Sitters website here.

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2.4. APPLYING FOR THE FIRST HOUSE SIT

Before applying for a house sit, make sure you’re:

• available for the dates
• can reach the area where the house sit is

you don’t mind looking after the pets they list (I won’t look after dogs for example)

Once you’ve found your house sit of choice (read the listing carefully), it’s time to send the owner a message.

There are a few simple things to mention about your first message to the person looking for a house sitter:

• Message ASAP – I can’t find any details on how many people apply for each housesit, but speed is a priority. I’m certain (no data so it’s my opinion only) that the sooner you apply, the more chance you have of being the successful applicant.
• Make your application personal – Speed is no excuse for quality. Make sure to at least address the person by name, mention the name of the pets (if they’re mentioned) and something about them (e.g. I love his fur). It’s also helpful to be clear you understand what’s involved.

I have reviewed my Kiwi House Sitters account, and I sent out three messages of the house sits I was interested in and was lucky enough to secure one.

This is the listing I successfully applied for, and my opening message below.

What I did well:

• Kept it brief.
• Acknowledged the cat was fussy.
• Replied soon after the messaage as posted.

What I didn’t do well:

• Didn’t include my phone number (even though it’s on my profile).
• Didn’t mention my references.

Note: You can apply for multiple housesits at the same time, so don’t be afraid of conflicting dates at this stage. If you get two acceptances for the same dates, you can manage that, professionally, as the situation arises.

Once you’ve applied, it’s a matter of waiting and hoping you get a response. If you do, make sure you respond as soon as possible as they’ll likely want to interview you. And the sooner they can see you, the more likely they are to choose you as interviewing housesitters all day isn’t exactly what they want to do before they head away on holiday.

I contacted Coral on the 23rd of November, she responded the next day and we had everything confirmed over a phone call later that evening. The house sit was to start on December 17th. Some house sits will be months in advance, but you can get ones that are days away too.

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2.5. House Sit Secured, Now What?

The preparation for a house sit takes little time, it’s just tidying up loose ends.

• Send a courtesy message to any house sits that you applied for that have crossover dates and let them know you’ll no longer be available.
• If you need to travel to the region of the house sit, start putting plans in place ASAP to get there and confirm you’re arrival with the home (pet?) owner.

Once you’re at the house, the homeowner may or may not be there. From here it’s all about treating the house with respect, following the guidelines from the house owner, and having fun with the animals. Don’t forget to send the owner a few pics of the animals, they’ll be happy (another reason to get a local sim card).

There’s a non-0% chance things may go wrong (the animal gets sick etc.). If something does come up stay calm and make the logical moves depending on the situation. Fortunately, I had an older cat who just lazed around the house all day, an easy introduction to housesitting.

When it comes to leaving the place, make sure to leave the house in better condition than what you arrived in. And if you can find out what snacks the owner likes, you’re on the way to getting a 5-star review if you leave some on the kitchen bench.

Speaking of reviews, make sure to follow up and ask for a review. That’ll help your account look a lot more trustworthy when you apply for your next house sit.

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ALTERNATIVES TO KIWI HOUSE SITTERS

The tagline of KiwiHouseSitters.co.nz is “The largest, most trusted pet and house sitting site in New Zealand”. I decided to verify this claim.

When I Google ‘House sitting New Zealand’, a host of different house sitting websites were presented.

At the time of writing this article the number of housesits available in New Zealand on the first five sites found in the search are:

KiwiHouseSitters.co.nz: 150
HouseSitters.co.nz: 140
TrustedHouseSitters.com: 32
HouseSitSearch.com: 35
LuxuryHouseSitting.com: 13

Looks like they are biggest in my brief test. You’re more than welcome to test out these other sites, they might be better suited to your eye. I really like the design of Kiwi House Sitters, they make it so simple. When I look at the luxuryhousesitting, it’s just ugh.

Maybe it’s because I haven’t signed up for any other house sitting websites, but I couldn’t think of anything downsides to Kiwi House Sitters.

There are other methods of finding house sits too. They aren’t so easy if you’re currently travelling in NZ, but you never know.

Once you start housesitting in a few places you can start getting referrals from your previous housesits. Two friends (a couple) have been housesitting all over Auckland for nearly three years now. They still use Kiwi House Sitters and Trusted House Sitters, but they also get people they’ve previously house sat for reach out to them again, along with referrals. They’ve managed to get to know lots of different suburbs around Auckland.

You can also create a Facebook page and document your house sits which helps position you as a qualified house sitting which you can use to show your history when you have zero reviews on Kiwi House Sitters.

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I hope this review of Kiwi House Sitters helps you on your road to giving house sitting in New Zealand a go.

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Jub

Hey, it’s Jub here. I’m the guy behind Chur New Zealand, helping you have the best time hiking, trekking, walking…whatever you want to call it…in NZ. I’m based in Queenstown and am always out and about exploring trails, old & new. If you have any questions, reach out.