Interested in having your say? Add your testimonial now.
Just wanted to say you are the best housesitting site out there (Sitter)
Just wanted to say you are the best housesitting site out there, we have been members since we started sitting in 2013 along with other sites, and I love how MMH has always been the same, we have had some tremendous sits and the website is one of the easiest to use, (probably because it is not fiddled with too much (if it ain't broke, don't fix it). The membership fee is amazing, please carry on with all your wonderful work. Thank you so much, it is very reassuring in this world of fast moving technology to find something you can rely on always. All the very best.
Kudos!! (Owner)
I think you've done a wonderful job with this site! It keeps getting better and better over the years.
Easy setup (Sitter)
Site works great, I’m in about a dozen and I found it one of the easier ones to set up a profile on.
Dual member (Owner)
I’m still using your site every year as owner and sitter and just again got an amazing housesit yesterday!
House sitting has been a very positive experience for us (Owner)
House sitting has been a very positive experience for us on the whole, the odd glitch but over 15 years hardly surprising! With many animals and an off grid farm we have attracted lots of different folk and several are still in touch with us as friends. We have also had both young and more mature but all embraced the peace and beauty of our location. Having house sitters is a lesson in trust and we have learnt lots and would say our property and animals have been cared to our standards of not better! If we come across behaviour we find unacceptable we deal with it and come to resolution that suits both parties. Housesitters and volunteers have given us the opportunity to travel, work and deal with family bereavement in another country. I would use the word invaluable especially having so many animals. Thankyou for setting up this valuable service.
You’re doing a great job!!! (Sitter)
Yes, I have benefited greatly. I’ve been with you guys, and only you, for years and have done manyyyy housesittings. They were all awesome and I had an amazing time. I’ve recommended your site to many friends and family members over the years. Thanks so much. You’re doing a great job!!!
We have had 2 experiences with house sitters and they have both been wonderful! (Owner)
Our cat was so lovingly taken care of and our home left very clean just as we leave it for our sitters. Our first couple is from Czech Republic, they were so kind and sweet with our cat, They actually go him to exercise a bit which is a big deal because he is so lazy. We had them stay for dinner before they left, we had wonderful conversations, and have remained in contact. They loved our cat and didn't want to leave. Our second and recent sitter was a wonderful woman from Poland. After she settled in I made dinner and had wonderful conversations. She was very experienced, our cat took right to her. She was working while here and several times our cat would sit on her lap. She took plenty of pictures and cute photos, seems he never left her side. Our cat sat on her lap with his favorite blanket while watching tv, he never does this with anyone but me. He was very spoiled. Our sitter didn't want to leave him. And I think he is still looking for her. This site is fantastic! I found Mind My House through a friend who knew our cat's last boarding facility literally abused him. I was angry beyond words. This site provides wonderful people who truly care about animals. I highly recommend Mind My House
Thanks for the brilliant service you are providing (Owner)
May I take this opportunity to thank you all at MindMyHouse for the brilliant service you are providing? I have been using the site for a few years and, without exception, all the people who have come to cat-sit for me have been delightful. When I needed to contact the site, my issue was resolved efficiently and courteously. Thank you, MindMyHouse, for a great resource! From a very grateful cat-owner.
Thank you! (Owner)
We were very satisfied with our sitters from MMH and wouldn't hesitate in using your services again. We have recommended yourselves to other people.
I love this website (Sitter)
I love this website and have met some of the nicest people.
I love your site (Owner)
Good Morning Susan and Alan, I love your site. Thanks for the adventures we have had. We are both sitters and owners, and all the daily offers certainly broaden my world. I enjoy them every morning refer others often. Keep up the wonderful work. We travel a lot, and when I need a sitter I always have many (difficult) choices. We have also had wonderful pet sits in Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii. From your "longest/oldest" non family paid subscriber. Who knew where this would go when you started, and where we all would travel. Blessings and Thank you once again for another great year.
We would just like to thank you (Sitter)
We have decided not to renew our membership as we are getting older now, so it is getting harder to travel and look after pets and houses. We would just like to thank you for the opportunity house sitting has given us around the world after doing over 35 house sits with yourselves and other sites. We have enjoyed our times abroad, the pets and the experiences that we’ve had. We are off to Uzbechistan shortly and will maybe travel to countries that don’t usually advertise house sitting while we still can and we have been to over 100 countries now. Thank you again for the opportunity and we wish you well for the future.
I got the chance to see the world (Sitter)
I just saw your post on Twitter and want to let you know that you are amazing and don't worry about the Twitter integration! (I'm receiving your daily newsletters anyway.) Thanks to you I got the chance to see the world and I will be always thankful for that!
I would like to thank you for having such an easy-to-use and efficient site (Owner)
I would like to thank you for having such an easy-to-use and efficient site. I have just experienced my first time using your site and was so lucky to land on an exceptional couple from Edinburgh. They took care of my ancient Tuxedo cat and brushed and loved him so that he hardly noticed I was away for 3 weeks; My house was also loved and cared for and cleaned so that on my return I found everything in fantastic condition. Their frequent mails and photos assured me that all was well back at the ranch, and I was able to be away relaxed and happy. I would love to have them any time again if I need to go away. I would recommend them to anyone; They became very popular with the neighbours, loved the area where I live and settled in perfectly. Again thank you .
I have had several highly successful house-sits through this fantastic service as a house-sitter. (Sitter)
I have had several highly successful house-sits through this fantastic service as a house-sitter. I have in addition used their rival company which I assume to be the market leader (I did not renew my membership with them) and by contrast I found MindMyHouse WAY ahead in many areas. MMH is so user friendly and straight forward to make connections and get started without unnecessary complications; they don't charge a completely unreasonable fee like their competitors do; I get the sense they don't interfer too much in any issues either side may face so you feel supported but not suffocated through the process like I experienced with their competitor; again unlike their competitor it feels like everyone has a fair chance at being selected for a role as everyone is presented as fairly equal (both sides can choose whether to publish reviews) whereas their competitor configures the site to mean that those who have never had a house-sitting role really struggle to get their 'foot in the door' as the site is flooded with those who have done it numerous times before and will continue to be take priority. I'm very surprised at some of these reviews. Of course there is no way to completely safeguard against crime but homeowners do need to be aware of those risks and take responsibility for following MMH's clear guidelines around drawing up a contract etc. To sum up, I had a wonderful experience and could only have travelled to the fabulous places I went because of Mind my House. Thank you!
Thanks for making all of this possible for me and the millions of others who love to travel (Sitter)
As a longterm member (9 years), I have watched as you have improved your service, keeping up with the times and making it easy and safe to use. I have had several housesits over the years and have found my homeowners not only delightful people but also very appreciative of whatever I could do to make their own travel go smoothly. I have fed and watered a horse and a mule, kept a friendly cat or two and have seen parts of the world I would never have had the opportunity to visit otherwise. Thanks for making all of this possible for me and the millions of others who love to travel.
I have been a member of MindMyhouse for several years (Sitter)
I have been a member of MindMyhouse for several years. I enjoy reading on a daily basis all of the worldwide assignments. Using the MindMyhouse website, I had the good fortune to dog sit in France and it was a joyous experience. I highly recommend MindMyhouse. Susan and her staff do a marvelous job.
We just finished our fifth house sit! (Sitter)
We just finished our fifth house sit since joining just before the pandemic struck in 2020. It has been a wonderful experience, offering the opportunity to visit areas of interest while making new friends in other countries and taking care of lovely cats. We’ve done two sits in the United States, two in the UK, one in Dublin and another one coming up in Toronto. Whenever people we encounter ask us about why we’re in their area, we explain about MindMyHouse and they are always intrigued and amazed—so hopefully more folks will be coming to this wonderful exchange! Many thanks to the site providers for such a convenient way to locate quality house sitting experiences.
Thank you! (Owner)
I am getting used to using it. Especially as a home owner, I have found it easy to use, AND most importantly, it has matched me with a sitter who I am very happy to have found--very much looking forward to meeting her in a week....she even offered to bring me to the airport! THANK YOU!
Had a wonderful experience in first sit recently for this site and very pleased to renew with you (Sitter)
I would like to compliment you on such an easy to navigate site which really addresses most common issues especially for the lesser tech trained aka myself! It all runs so smoothly aside from the inexcusable rudeness of those who can't learn how to reply to or even acknowledge an offer of help which to some degree you can't control other than to stipulate that one ought to respond politely. The thanks but no thanks option would not be my way, sorry!! It takes all sorts but my offers are rock solid and genuine and I guess we expect similar in return and enjoy like minded people. Had a wonderful experience in first sit recently for this site and very pleased to renew with you. Keep up your good ideas and look forward to another year with you, thank you so much,
Wonderful! (Owner)
Wonderful! Very valuable. We recommend it during our travels.
Every homeowner I meet is wonderful and interesting. (Sitter)
I have been with MindMyHouse since the end of 2018. I have not had a bad experience! Every homeowner I meet is wonderful and interesting. I have been busy through this season of covid, mostly sitting for 'regulars'. Their trips are shorter, but they still like to travel. I am fully vaccinated against covid, which is appreciated by every homeowner. Thank you MindMyHouse for connecting me with great people, pets, and places!
We have had great experiences from house sitting with MMH (Sitter)
We have had great experiences from house sitting with MMH having completed over 30 house sits in a variety of countries. We love animals and have none of our own now and most have been taking care of animals. It is a great way to live in a country rather than stay in hotels and usually the houses are really nice ,many with pools.We thoroughly recommend this to anyone who loves animals ( although not all are with animals) and if you are committed to looking after places where you stay as well, house sitting is for you. We thank MMH for the opportunity and as we are getting older this will probably be our last year but we can look back and reminisce about all the things we have done, the lovely animals we have looked after and the places we have stayed. Thank you again.
We love your website (Owner)
Hello, we love your website. We have met some really nice people, many have stayed in touch. Thanks for an excellent service
I am feeling very relieved having found a site that matches my ideals (Sitter)
I am feeling very relieved having found a site that matches my ideals which will let me do what I love, travel and cat sitting. I did belong to another sitting site but the bigger they got the harder it was to communicate. I have been searching and happy I have found you.
I love your site so much (Sitter)
I love your site so much, it's a pleasure scrolling on it and gives me a chance to dream of travelling through the world. For the moment Belgians are not allowed to travel before 1st of April. I really hope for your site and for all of you, that you will be able to continue for many more years.
I think MMH is brilliant. (Sitter)
I joined in 2009, when I was 67 and did my first house/cat sit nr Toronto, that Spring. I had a month there, and was so lucky; the house owners were a lovely couple and the cats very sweet. I was able to visit not just Toronto, using the excellent public transport, but also made a trip to Niagara Falls, complete with helicopter trip over the Falls, and boat trip beneath them. I still keep in touch with the house owners. I also went to Tucson Arizona, and spent 3 months in Australia, fitting a months travelling and visiting family and friends, between house sitting. My last sit was in a lovely Oxfordshire cottage with a variety of animals. I was 'between cats' at the time, but then got my own cat which of course restricted my travels. I did keep my membership going for some years, thinking I may just do one more, (love looking down the list of possibilities) before I really am too old (now late 70s), but of course the pandemic put paid to that. Although I'm still fit and healthy, I think many home owners would think twice about entrusting their house/animals to an 'oldie'. So.. very reluctantly, and with some wonderful memories (including a strange one, if you remember the scammer 'James Backlord'?!), I am going to let my membership expire. Many thank yous MMH, long may you continue.
A very good experience with your site (Sitter)
We had very good experience with your site, we did a long-term housesit (6months) while house hunting in France. Now we found a nice house we are not able to go housesitting next few years because we will be renovating.
Happy New Year and thanks for the bonus (Sitter)
Happy New Year! and thanks for the bonus months you gave last year when the pandemic started. I thought that was very kind and thoughtful of you and I just wanted to express my appreciation for that gesture. Hope I get to go on a pet-sit soon; I have missed doing so.
We would just like to say a big thank you (Owner)
My husband and I would just like to say a big thank you for your site. We posted a listing and found ourselves a sitter within 24 hours. We found your site very easy to use and navigate and were more than happy with the service you provide. Keep up the good work.
We love your site (Sitter)
We love your site and has been very successful for us. We had some very nice house sits from it. But for now we can not travel so we like to pause it for the time being. Until we can travel safely from covid.We will contact you when we can. Thank you for being the best site we know. Kind regards Eve.
I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you (Sitter)
I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for the service and efficient way you present your Mind My House. My wife and I have been members for several years now but as we near the age of eighty we think it is time to call it a day, we have had a fantastic time with you and have met some wonderful people. I hope you continue in your well organised system of providing people for people who need this service.
I recommend Mind my house to everyone who asks me (Sitter)
I recommend Mind my house to everyone who asks me about what are the best sites to join. It's easy to use. And again, you don't dictate if house sitters can charge or other stuff that really isn't the sites business. It reminds me of the early days of couch surfing, before the masses discovered it. It's more of a community , then a free place to stay and throw food at an animal. You have one competitor that really made me mad when I saw a BBC report about them and how they are millionaires now because of their house sitting site. More power to them, I guess. But, I'm not paying €99 a year for them to be richer then me. I don't care how much you make, just don't rip me off doing it!
I joined 12 years ago (Sitter)
I joined 12 years ago and have enjoyed so many good housesits with MindMyHouse, including one that lasted for 19 months! There is never a problem with the site and support is great. Long may it continue.
I was actually quite lucky (Sitter)
I was actually quite lucky, I had found a house sit for three months on the island of Faial in the Azores on your website. It began in March, and when I arrived the family had cancelled their travel plans. First, I was shocked, but then they put me in their guest cottage, and now I can weather the global storm on an island where I have relative safety and freedom to move around. And because I had planned to for three months anyway, I brought enough books. So I really can't complain. :-) I can't wait for house sitting to pick up again later this year or next year! For me, it has been a fantastic way of getting to know new countries. All the best to you!
What a great idea! (Sitter)
Thanks for your continuing support in tuff times. At one time or another I have belonged to ‘Nomador’ and ‘TrustedHousesitters’ and I can tell you neither of their websites hold the proverbial candle to MMH. And, that doesn’t even consider the huge difference in membership fees. Please keep up the great, corporately responsible attitude. Thank you.
You guys ROCK!!! (Sitter)
You guys ROCK!!! Your are so great! What great big heart, and God will BLESS you and yours for giving us this! Congrats on your website and business. You've done a great job and more so, a great service to so many!
I wanted to thank you guys (Sitter)
I have wanted to thank you guys several times already for the fantastic pieces of experience my partner and I have been able to have thanks to your site. I have just finished reading through the new features and they will be of help. It's great that for a really amazingly reasonable annual fee one gets to enjoy a completely different kind of holiday. Keep up the good work and thanks so much for all your effort!
MindMyHouse has been a wonderful platform for exploring the world! (Sitter)
MindMyHouse has been a wonderful platform for exploring the world! I’ve been to gorgeous places and met lovely people who have become friends. I recommend it to anyone who takes the role seriously and who enjoys an adventure!
Thank you very much for the membership extension. (Sitter)
Thank you very much for the membership extension. You’ve done us proud since 2008 with end-on house-sitting all over Europe! Sadly, we had to cancel this year’s bookings because of my father’s death. Now we are looking after the family home until it is sold and because of the pandemic and a complicated estate we will be here into next year. We will continue reading your notifications and look forward to picking up where we left off!
We've been members of MindMyHouse since 2017 (Sitter)
We've been members of MindMyHouse since 2017 and we've carried out several assignments in Europe over the last few years, during which time we've met lots of lovely owners, lots of lovely animals and stayed in lots of lovely houses in some fantastic locations. House-sitting a great concept and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who loves travel and animals. We've found plenty of assignments on MindMyHouse and everyone we've contacted through the site has been friendly and helpfull. We've also had plenty of requests to house-sit and the opportunity to explore the world is at your fingertips!
This site is the key to my holidays (Sitter)
As a "poor" sitter this site is the key to my holidays. I have had some wonderful breaks and summers (normally out of my budget) & have made friends with and now have regular sits within the region I Iive. 2 of which recently have had to be cancelled due to this situation/restrictions in Spain/Europe. I am constantly recommending MindMyHouse to people when we talk about holidays. It really is a great site and community. Keep the great work.
Thank you (Sitter)
This gives me also the opportunity to tell you how much I like My My House. Through Mind My House I had great holidays abroad en I met so many nice people who are my friends now. Thanks again!
Well done and many thanks (Owner)
Your site is fantastic. Well done to you and many thanks for assisting me find reliable house and pet minders while away. Hope all good luck comes your way.
I am so grateful for MMH (Owner)
I have a sick kitty who needs daily medication (and lots of love and play). I would not be able to leave him to go on vacation if I did not have someone staying at my house, as he needs to be encouraged to eat and drink throughout the day. Since joining this site I have had two outstanding cat sitters. Metta, my kitty, enjoyed being with both of them. He looked relaxed and happy upon my return after both vacations. My first cat sitter, Georgina, was an extremely experienced cat sitter - it was obvious in the questions she asked and how she interacted with my cat. She texted and sent pix of my kitty daily, which was very reassuring, and left my home immaculate. My garden was also in better shape than when I had left. My second cat sitter, Stuart, was on his first assignment. He, too, was very reliable and it is clear that Metta was well taken care of. I would never be able to go on vacation if I had to leave my kitty with "strangers". But on this site I get a reliable platform to interact with potential cat sitters, get references and feel comfortable leaving my kitty and house in good hands.
I think it is GREAT. (Sitter)
I think it is GREAT. It is clear and easy to navigate. I have done one job and it was a great fit. I look forward to more jobs in the future. Thank you MMH for allowing me to meet a great couple, I never would have otherwise.
I just want to say how much we’ve enjoyed using MindMyHouse.com (Owner)
I just want to say how much we’ve enjoyed using MindMyHouse.com over the past ten or so years – we’ve found a number of house-sitters and they’ve all been really nice people – we’re still in touch with many of them, especially our first-ever couple Jack and Patsy from the American Virgin Islands. Sadly, what with decreasing travel plans owing to increasing age and the recent death of our little cat, it’s unlikely that we’ll be needing house-sitters in the near future. However, we’ll retain our membership just in case. Thanks for everything.
I love your site (Sitter)
I love your site and one of the things I really like about is that you don't automatically renew my membership (as other sites do). Very good feature! It is simple, reasonably priced, and easy to navigate. Even though I have not been "active" on your site, lately, I really appreciate that you are there when I am ready to travel! Thank you very much for providing this good service for so many people and pets!
Hang up my hat (Sitter)
Hi, I love your site and love my experiences over the past many years (nine years all told). Just a note to tell you I am going to "hang up my hat" at 70 years old when my subscription expires in October and do little traveling except locally. Thanks for the fun and for being such a wonderful facilitator. Best wishes.
I love this site (Owner)
We have used it about 8 times. Three times with the same family. It is a win, win. We get a sitter for our dogs and house and the sitters get a bit of a vacation at a new place. I have had the best experiences with all the sitters I have had thus far. It truly has been the greatest community. I used to pay $35.00 a day for a sitter and we travel a lot. Sometimes for 3-4 weeks. That can become terribly costly. We live in Florida and go to New Zealand at least once a year to see our son, his family and other family members. Thanks MINDMYHOUSE.
About time to write a testimonial (Owner)
Since we have been using this site to find house and cat sitters for 10 years now, I thought it was about time to write a testimonial! Quite honestly this site has been nothing less than fantastic as a home owner with pets. I'm originally from NZ and live in The Netherlands with my partner and 2 children. We have had a sitter every year since 2009, in the summer and over Christmas/New Year. The amount of time for each trip has varied from 5 days to 5 weeks and each time we found a great sitter. Our first sitter Jane from NZ loved it so much she came back the year after. She became a good friend and we've kept in touch and visited each other several times since then. She was not the only sitter that came more than once. Last year, Corina from Australia came from where she is currently living in Spain and she's coming back this summer too. Other sitters were from Canada, Australia, America, England and Scotland. We always asked them to come one day before and most stayed one night after we returned. It's been great to spend time with them and wonderful to hear all the nice things they discovered to do while visiting. We often recommend the website to family and friends, however most Dutch people we know, think we're a bit weird to let strangers live in our house. However we love the win-win arrangement: our house and cats are well looked after and the sitters get a great holiday/new work environment. So thanks, MindMyHouse. We look forward to many more years of successful mindings.
...wanted to let you know how wonderful I’ve found the site (Sitter)
Hi guys, I’ve just been reading through the changes on the site...and wanted to let you know how wonderful I’ve found the site, and how delighted to know you guys are Kiwi, or at lest Kiwi based. As a Kiwi myself, it’s always nice to know help is close at hand. Never needed it since using you in 2013, but it’s still nice to know. I really like the site, and given my personal background with Bookabach.co.nz before retiring to sit internationally, I can see how much work you’ve put into it. Well done, and thanks!
15 years, 11 countries, 37 different locations, 61 cats, 14 dogs, 18 chickens, 10 cows, 5 tortoises, and 2 horses. ( I know what you're thinking...no partridge in a pear tree!) (Sitter)
It is with great sadness that I am letting our membership expire, though I'm sure I'll be checking in and drooling occasionally. The Gypsy Hirsts ("Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. We'll care for yours as we would our own.") must admit to age and financial limitations that are keeping us closer to home these days. We can't complain, though, and are grateful for the wonderful friends and memories we have from our housesitting adventures, and to Susan and crew for this fantastic website that made it all possible. 15 years, 11 countries, 37 different locations, 61 cats, 14 dogs, 18 chickens, 10 cows, 5 tortoises, and 2 horses. ( I know what you're thinking...no partridge in a pear tree.) Best wishes to those of you starting out or continuing as sitters - enjoy the ride! Happy Travels, The Gypsy Hirsts
All you need is love and a sense of adventure … just do it! (Sitter)
Have found it easy to use and have just renewed :) A year ago we started planning our epic trip! We were at a perfect point in our lives - not too old, no dependant kids, no pets, happy and well parents - to take a ‘gap year’. Eight dogs (one disabled), 11 cats, 7 ‘assignments’, 3 cruises [last minute deals are the perfect way to travel from A to B, and have a holiday] and 8 months after our first sit, we have been having the time of our lives. When we first put our profile online, applied for our first sit, and then got it (within a few days) we were so amazed, exhilarated and filled with excitement. It had been 32 years since we had embarked on our last overseas experience to London and beyond. We had been lucky enough to have several holidays since then, but always had the urge to ‘travel’ again. House sitting has been the perfect way to do this and we have made some wonderful new friends. We rented the house, packed up our favourite possessions, gave everything else away, put the business on hold, said our goodbyes and headed to Las Vegas for our first sit [for 5 weeks] looking after 3 rescue cats. Our first ‘assignment’ was perfect! It was her first time too and we were so lucky to have met someone so generous and trusting (and who gave us a wonderful reference - yah!). We have now ‘sat’ in Seattle, Vancouver, S. Carolina, Cyprus, Malta and are currently in Wilmslow, UK. We are booked for France and Bulgaria and are currently searching for another one or two in Europe. We have absolutely loved meeting all our new furry [and human] friends. Not everyone lives like we do, so that has been a challenge for me with a bit of OCD! I haven’t always felt comfortable with some pet arrangements (whether the dogs are walked or not, or when the cat wees in the shower!) but we have always done our best to give these ‘pets’ our love and commitment and leave the homes in the same [or better condition] than we found them. Things we have learned: 1. ask more questions - it is a two way commitment! 2. We can live out of a suitcase! We haven’t always been accepted for sits we applied for (not feeling the rejections quite so much now!) or found sits that suited our travels, BUT we have had the most incredible experiences and love sharing our adventures with people we meet along the way. Most people haven’t heard of house sitting! We are heading home in July, but I am sure it won’t be long before we are on the road again, although we have invited everyone we meet to stay with us in New Zealand, so perhaps with the ‘world’ visiting us, we might feel settled for a while. All you need is love and a sense of adventure … just do it! Shona and Colin Auckland, New Zealand
I have only had very good experiences here (Sitter)
I have recently resubscribed to MindMyHouse as a house and pet sitter after a two-year hiatus. In the past, I joined other per sitting sites, as well as this one but the customer service from the admin team/owners encouraged me to join MindMyHouse once again as a sitter. I have only had very good experiences here. The same cannot be said for other sites to which, I no longer am a member because they have become too impersonal and self-serving. MindMyHouse has always been polite, responsive, and eager to find a solution regardless of the query, all qualities sadly missing from many customer service experiences. I introduced my mother as a sitter (on the other side of the world) who also stand by her experiences here too. I am happy to be back and look forward to many more house and pet sits!
Love the website redesign (Sitter)
I am writing to tell you I love the website redesign. While it has always been user-friendly, the new look is fresh and precise. Thank you for keeping it useful to find sits and for owners to find us as sitters. One of our best sits this summer was through MindMyHouse!!
MMH is my favorite of the many house sitting sites online. (Sitter)
MMH is my favorite of the many house sitting sites online. I have received more contacts and offers than thru any other site. The variety and quality of the opportunities continue to amaze me... at a very reasonable fee. Your new features are terrific and will continue to attract and expand the membership for sure! Thank you.. the people, pets and places have been a dream come true!
The new version of the web it's fantastic!! (Sitter)
Hi there! Only I want to tell you that the new version of the web it's fantastic!! I love it!! Very practical, clear, complete and beautiful! Thanks you very much for all your efforts and work in this project which is so good for everybody!
Love the new site (Sitter)
Love the new site.
I have met some very nice housesitters through your website, and I would recommend it highly. (Owner)
Our family has made arrangements with housesitters as a swap - a place to stay (with food and amenities) in exchange for a housesit and petsit, which has worked very well. We have made some fabulous friends. Thank you for a wonderful service!
Thank you for creating such a great site at a reasonable cost (Sitter)
Thank you for creating such a great site at a reasonable cost. I have already done one successful sit and looking forward to many more.
This is a fantastic site to find reliable people for homesitting (Owner)
We experienced it for the first time with Cheryl P. Brewer and her husband Richard, as our homesitters for two weeks. They took a perfect care of our dog and cat and our plants (we have a lot...inside and outside). We would not hesitate to refer them anytime. Good people, clean, devoted and honest.
Really loving our housesitting and the great people we are meeting (Sitter)
We are certainly enjoying our "new career" since retiring and hope to do many more housesits in the coming years. I have also recommended MMH to many of my friends and family who hope to join in the near future. We have always loved travelling but now that we have retired we need to be careful with finances so house/pet sitting is ideal for our situation.
Thanks Ben and Jill (Owner)
As a first time home owner needing sitters I found your site user friendly, but what was really great were the sitters who looked after our home in South Africa while we were 'camping and tramping' for 6 weeks in New Zealand. Ben and Jill Hill are absolutely amazing - they cared for our home, the plants, the pool, and above all, our cat. Corresponding with them before their arrival was so relaxed and reassuring that it felt as if we were meeting up with old friends. I can unreservedly recommend them.
Your website is awesome! (Sitter)
It's really well laid out and also easy to use. It's pretty complete too. Congratulations on a nice website, I look forward to doing some sitting soon. If I were to make a suggestion, it might be that you make some statistics available to your users. I would like to know when anyone's noticed my listing; a timeline of my listing's activity (available just to me) would be cool. It would also be nice to have some anonymous global stats; A timeline of all activities per region, available to all, would be useful for understanding seasonal trends. It's not a small request, I know, and it could be tricky, but you could develop it slowly. Anyway, that's my two cents. Even if you don't change a thing, it's a great website. Thanks.
Thank you for offering such a fantastic opportunity (Sitter)
Thank you for offering such a fantastic opportunity to meet gorgeous pets whilst travelling the world. What a great way to combine the best things in life! Your website and approach are so intuitive – far more so than other house sitting sites. I just wanted to let you know that you do an amazing job.
My first time (Sitter)
This was my 1st time to be involved with house/pet sitting. I love it and shall return in a year or so after I spend some time with family. Your folks at MindmyHouse have been amazing, and I should be signing up again in a year.
Thanks to your site (Sitter)
Thanks to your site I have had multiple pet sits for the past year. I am actually booked until May. At that time I will renew my membership. Thank you for providing the opportunity to meet with amazing pet owners and allow me endless travel options.
The site is great! (Owner)
The site is great!
Love this service! (Owner)
We've had great sitters, whom we will always remember, who are members of this site. MindMyHouse's collection of sitters is very fine indeed. The site is easy to use as well. I have recommended it often to other owners, and to friends who might want to become sitters as well. Maybe we ourselves will take a trip to Europe to sit at one of those great places we see on this site! Thank you for such a sensible, easy and trustworthy place to find good people.
A home away from home (Sitter)
One of my friends told me about your site two or three years ago. Since then, I've been able to travel to England, Australia, and do a few sits in the U.S. and Canada. As a retired teacher, it has enabled me to spend lots of quality time with pets, exploring a local area, having time to visit art galleries, book stores, shop, and eat at amazing restaurants too! "A home away from home" has been the best ever, as it is economical and always a learning experience! Thank you so much for enriching my life, and hopefully the pets and people I've house-sat for as well!! (The hard part is leaving and coming back home! :(
Love it (Sitter)
Love it. DO NOT CHANGE it, it's perfect! :)
Thank you for a great site (Owner)
Hi guys, thank you for a great site you've been a great help and we have had some wonderful applicants for our house sit position. We have tried to answer all who applied, except those in a foreign language that translate couldn't help us with !!! The position has been filled, should we be in need in the future we will certainly be in touch, Kind regards, Jim & Penny
What a great way to afford to see the world! (Sitter)
I have been retired and "homeless" for the last year, house/pet sitting in US and Europe. I'm now doing a long term house/kitty sit in East Finchley, a lovely northern suburb of London, and won't be available for another sit until mid-September. What a great way to afford to see the world, meeting interesting people, seeing new places, and with kitties to cuddle.
MindMyHouse is still our favourite website (Sitter)
I first posted a comment the first year we were sitting, and her it is, going on five years, and we are just as thrilled with MindMyHouse, as we were at the beginning. It has been quite a ride. We've made great friends, and have loved our many pets along the way. MindMyHouse, is still our favourite website. It has provided quality sits, is very easy to use, and if there was a problem, they got back to us very quickly. My only regret is that we didn't start TEN years ago! Looking forward to many more years. Thank you MindMyHouse.
Very user friendly (Sitter)
I like it a lot, very user friendly and great selection of homes to sit.
Our first experience with a sitter was a huge success (Owner)
Dear Susan, our first experience with a "mindmyhouse-sitter" was a huge success, from the very first moment we were in contact. Jorge, from Canada, stayed in our house in The Hague, last summer, and we couldn't have wished for a better sitter. He proved to be a lovely and caring man, and we got along immediately, including our 12 year old daughter. And when we returned, three weeks later, we could sense the care that he took of our house. For one, it had never been tidier ;-), but it felt as if a friend had looked after it. Also, the cats were happy and healthy. It has simply been a great pleasure to meet Jorge, and I am certain you will, too, when you let him look after your house.
I have used your site with great success, 3 times in the last 5 months (Owner)
Hi, I have used your site with great success, 3 times in the last 5 months. I live in France and have recommended you to all the dog owners I meet. Your site is incredibly well written and easy to use..unlike Trusted House Sitter which I used before. I am a great fan and I travel a great deal. Thank you.
I absolutely love your site. (Owner)
I absolutely love your site. We would never have been able to take any vacations if it weren't for you. I've met some really great people and enjoyed hearing about their world traveling adventures. The site is easy to navigate and fun. Keep up the good work!
My dream of spending a summer in Bulgaria (Sitter)
I was able to fulfil my dream of spending a summer in Bulgaria thanks to this site and have since found other assignments (I'll be spending the holiday season in Amsterdam!). I love that you can at a glance see all the assignments in an area and then narrow down by dates. When you consider the cost of just one night at a hotel, a membership pays for itself very quickly with your first assignment. My 2017 calendar is already fully booked, but I renewed anyway to keep my profile history and to possibly take advantage of sits closer to home!
Your website is superb! (Owner)
Home is where the heart is and thank you MmH for creating an amazing, quality service and growing community that minds this. Your website is superb. Thank you very much. DS
We have nothing but praise and admiration for the Mind My House site! (Sitter)
We started house sitting in Pas de Calais in 2008 and have been pet and house sitting continuously since then. Here we are in 2016 house sitting in Provence for the fifth time for the same owner. Thanks to MMH we have had an amazing time and met some incredible people and some very funny and eccentric dogs and cats! We've certainly seen a lot of France and feel that it's become almost our second home. People write to us all the time offering us assignments and every email is answered. Felicitations Mind My House!! We tell all our friends about your site. We love it!
Thank you, thank you....without you all I would not be able to travel. (Owner)
I have used MMH for 6 years now, and apart from one tiny blip, each and every sitter I have chosen has been exemplary. I have had sitters from the US, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. I have made new friends and love the fact that I can leave my home and 3 crazy cats in capable hands when I go away. I have used MMH at least twice a year for each of the 6 years I have been registered, I recommend it highly to all who are not aware that such a wonderful thing exists. Thank you, thank you....without you all I would not be able to travel.
My only complaint is I have received too many amazing responses. (Owner)
This is fabulous! We live in Hawaii and are going to the mainland for 3 weeks. We are looking for someone to house/dog sit while we are gone. Within two days of posting our ad, we had many responses from fabulous sitters. We haven't gone on our trip yet, but am confident the sitter we chose will be great. My only complaint is I have received so many amazing responses, it is going to be SO hard to chose. Thanks Sue
So glad I came across this site as we found the nicest people to house sit our four loony dogs and our nine hens! (Owner)
So glad I came across this site as we found the nicest people to house sit our four loony dogs and our nine hens. Angela and Mel are the nicest 'strangers' we have met, they have turned into good friends which is great. The house was well looked after and our dogs loved them to pieces, the chickens were all clean and the eggs taken to my list of takers. They loved our little village and found it very friendly. They stayed an extra day as our flight was delayed in Chicago due to tornado and we kept them informed of our plight, they even had tea ready made when we finally arrived home. We hope to see them again soon. Once again this site has been very beneficial to both us and Angie and Mel. Many thanks.
What a great idea (Owner)
What a great idea - my sister put me on to your site and it has been so beneficial. We have met some delightful house sitters and our elderly cat has been so much happier than being put into a cattery. Our house has been well looked after and it has been a real pleasure to come home.
This is something we should have done years ago! (Sitter)
We have had 2 great sits through your website, one in Virginia Water England and the other in Trim, Ireland. The owners both took us on trust to look after their homes and animals while they were away, as we did not have references and these two were our first, and I think everyone was happy at the end of the stay! What a great way to see different parts of the world, and integrate yourself into the local communities. So, we now have references, and will continue on this site to look for further opportunities in Australia and abroad. This is something we should have done years ago!
Wow, what a wonderful experience (Owner)
Wow, what a wonderful experience. Janet and Phil from Oregon stayed at my house and took care of my lab for 5 weeks. Could not have asked for two more wonderful people. They were great with my dog Bailey and they took extra special care of my house and actually made improvements that I found challenging. Very energetic couple. They are trustworthy, quiet, dependable, sensible, caring, and friendly people. I would highly recommend them to anyone anytime. I feel like I gained two very special friends and they are welcome anytime in my home as guests. Mind my house turned out to be a very good experience. I will definitely use them again. They have my highest recommendation.
I like your site and look forward to seeing more house sitting opportunities in the USA (Sitter)
I like your site. It's very easy to use. It does seem more for free exchange than for someone like me who does this for a living. I do want to suggest that you put an area for references, for both house sitter and house owner, as the home owners aren't the only ones that need to know they will be safe. One other suggestion is that you create an app for your site, one that does NOT have to have access to everything in you phone. Other than that, I like your site and look forward to seeing more house sitting opportunities in the USA.
We unconditionally recommend MindMyHouse as your source for all house and pet sitting listings, you will not be disappointed! (Sitter)
It has been our pleasure to home and pet sit over the past years and to enjoy wonderful assignments both local and overseas. Only by the support provided by MindMyHouse and (their excellent listings) has it been possible to review such incredible opportunities and to offer our sitting services which usually were accepted. We are sad that aging has now caught up with us making it necessary to retire and pass the banner to younger folk. We unconditionally recommend MindMyHouse as your source for all house and pet sitting listings, you will not be disappointed! Thank you again for letting us share the joy of your website as it has grown from its early infancy years in London to it's home and maturity in N Zealand. Bravo!!! David and Barbara T
The last 2 couples who sat for me were excellent and highly recommended! (Owner)
Thank you, the last 2 couples who sat for me were excellent and highly recommended. I am sure the next will be as brilliant. I have recommended your service to everyone.
We have had a great experience in using your site! (Sitter)
We have had a great experience in using your site, so good in fact that we returned for a second stay in 2015 to the same place as in 2014. (Please note: I think we have been members for two years, not one as indicated in your note.) The site works well and with a prominent reference to the length of stay it is quick to pick out long (or short) term stays. Plenty of photographs are always very welcome. Many thanks for your work in making it all work. We hope soon to renew our acquaintance! Best regards, Brian and Susan Phillips
Excellent. Membership has brought us to a year long house sit in France! (Sitter)
Excellent. Membership has brought us to a year long house sit in France. It is allowing us to "try before we buy" and is proving to be a huge insight for us. We are discovering many things about ourselves and changing what we previously believed to be firmly held convictions about where we would we like to live and much more. Luckily we are in tandem with our newly discovered thoughts and are finding ourselves opening up new avenues to look into. Having the ability to do this from our house sit, to travel in France and see it without holiday, rosy spectacles on is invaluable. We have been lucky enough to have a wonderful owner who takes the view that "no news is good news". I send updates and occasional questions from time to time. We consider ourselves very lucky to have such a terrific opportunity and are using it to our very best advantage.
We have used you for a number of years and a good number of sittings and ALL of the 'sitters' have been courteous, engaging and 100% on it! (Owner)
MindMyHouse is like some glorious dream of a site - pretty easy to use as an 'owner' whilst offering a fabulous service of like minded wonderful people to come and mind our home - I'm not sure how you get rid of the cranky ones (possibly the fees) but to date we have used you for a number of years and a good number of sittings and ALL of the 'sitters' have been courteous, engaging and 100% on it! The animals and the postman are as equally charmed. I was sat next to an international viola player at a formal lunch the other day and shared with him how wonderful the site is for his many dogs .. I swear I thought he was going to run away from the table and find the internet as he was so excited at my telling him all about it. Well done all round!
What a wonderful experience from start to finish! (Owner)
Wow! What a wonderful experience from start to finish! We had lots of lovely people apply for the house sitting offer and it was a pleasant and interesting process meeting everyone online. Our sitters Sean and Lisa were superb! We were able to leave our beloved animals and travel half way round the world without any stress, worries or troubles. We would not hesitate to recommend the service and hope to use it again this year when we go away again. Thank you so much!
It has been a really fun time and I would like to encourage more seniors to try it! (Sitter)
THANKS SO MUCH SUSAN - I HAVE HAD GREAT LUCK WITH THIS SITE, BY THE WAY - AS A SENIOR LADY, I HAVE SAT IN AUSTRALIA 3 TIMES, HONG KONG AND BANGKOK PLUS MANY HERE IN THE US. IT HAS BEEN A REALLY FUN TIME AND I WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE MORE SINGLE SENIORS TO TRY IT! CHEERS, PATSY.
We have found 2 amazing housesitters through MMH so far, so the bar is set pretty high. (Owner)
Love the site. We found a housesitter through MMH and it worked out great. We have found 2 amazing housesitters through MMH so far, so the bar is set pretty high.
Here's to more great memories to come! (Sitter)
MindMyHouse is a superior agency that matches home owners and house sitters for the perfect experience. The cite is easy to navigate and it is safe to say that there is something for everyone as far as geographical locations and pets to love are concerned. Speaking from my own experience, I have had two wonderful opportunities to look after a personable dog and two curious cats in two very diverse cities of the world. My host families were kind, and giving people, with whom were easy to work. I was enthralled with Singapore and made friends for a lifetime while in France! In this sense, the opportunities afforded by belonging to MindMyHouse are "priceless" and I would readily encourage everyone to avail themselves to this quality service. The support that is given to both home owners and sitters alike is second to none. Here's to more great memories to come!
Great service! (Owner)
Great service. I have had three different housesitters, all of which have provided excellent house sitting services to us.
We look forward to seeing them again! (Owner)
David and Susan from Washington State minded our home and dog in western Canada for 3 weeks in the winter of 2015. They are a terrific couple with a rich history of lifetime accomplishments. This winter brought a huge 2 day snowfall which broke a 40 year record. David was undaunted and fired-up the snow-blower, clearing our horseshoe shaped driveway. Though we didn’t ask him to repair things, he did. Amongst them was the motion detector light on the garage door opener and the pulley system for the bird feeder. We heartily recommend David and Susan to mind your home and pet. We look forward to seeing them again.
We had a wonderful first experience! (Owner)
We had a wonderful first experience! We went to Mexico for two weeks, leaving our home and spoiled cat in the hands of Georgiana in Northern California. She was in touch daily, setting our minds at ease. We returned to a clean house and a happy , well cared for cat. If you do your due diligence this is a win-win for everyone. GREAT site....
The owners were so welcoming, supportive and friendly! (Sitter)
Hi I want to thank you very much for your 'simple to use' site. I have recently returned home from an amazing 3-week house/pet sit near Confelons in France. This was my first booking through 'MindMyHouse' and on my own. The owners were so welcoming, supportive and friendly. There is no doubt that the owners, Sue and Alan, enabled me to have an unforgettable stay. Their pets, a Labrador and friendly cat were a pleasure to care for. I was introduced to some of their friends who also extended a warm welcome, lots of invites for meals, coffee and walks. Alan kindly offered me the use of a car which I declined but I did enjoy using Sue's bicycle which allowed me to explore the surrounding countryside. The icing on the cake was being asked if I wanted to return, which I hope to do next year. Thank you to your staff who created your site which I found to be informative, safe and user friendly. Regards, Elizabeth
...you must be open minded and trust in people that you DON'T KNOW, you leave your treasures in someone else's hands!! (Owner)
Hello, we are an Italian couple of 39, and I discovered this site in June 2014. Me and my husband Marco we were worried thinking about leaving our pets to a dog sitter, and leaving the house empty during our holydays. Too many thieves around! So I did think that house sitter would be the perfect solution. Of course you must be open minded and trust in people that you DON'T KNOW, you leave your treasures in someone else's hands!! But we did, so we met Natalie and Robson, a young married couple from Brazil that they own a beautiful travel blog, Love and Road, and we think that we couldn't choose better!! They are wonderful people, that treated our house and our dogs with all the love they have, and they enjoyed our little city, going to the park, the local markets, visiting the old town. We are of course still in touch and we hope for them all the best!!
I could fully enjoy my 3-weeks leave! (Owner)
It was the first time I used such a service. I found a sitter within 2 weeks. Everything went perfect. Stefano and Alexandra from Italy took a great care of my house and my 2 cats. They were very pleasant hosts and I could fully enjoy my 3-weeks leave. A very good experience. Next time, I'll try being a sitter :)
Excellent - second time we have used you. (Owner)
Excellent - second time we have used you. Our ad. was up for no more than three hours, and found the ideal house-sitter today. Well done!
Update: They did a marvelous job of caring for our aging Labrador, Pippa, and she was really sad when they departed! (Owner)
This is a really good site and over the past few years we've had some wonderful people to care for our home, garden and dogs. We'd like to thank our most recent, Jean-Michel and Kristina Allaeys from Belgium. They did a marvelous job of caring for our aging Labrador, Pippa, and she was really sad when they departed! The house sit was for 3 months, which is a long time, and of course, things didn't always go right, but Kiki and Jean-Michel coped fantastically and we are truly grateful and happy with all the work they did for us. A big 'Thank You' to them and to the website for providing such good and trustworthy people.
I have met some amazing people, seen places I would never have found any other way and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. (Sitter)
Hello, I'm both an owner and a sitter (I can't tick both boxes). I first found mindmyhouse when I was looking for a sitter for my dog in the Hebridean Islands. I had a great response and booked someone within 2 days. Based on that experience, I joined as a sitter myself in February 2012. Since then I have house sat in Thailand, Australia and USA. This month I head out to Costa Rica. I have met some amazing people, seen places I would never have found any other way and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. Your site works very well for both owners and sitters, keep up the good work! Mary
I will pass this on to friends and neighbours! (Sitter)
What a wonderful service. I will pass this on to friends and neighbours. Please cancel my ad as the position has been filled. I am a writer/published author currently confined to a wheelchair as the result of an accident. It was a great relief for find so many qualified people responding to my listing so quickly. I found your site user friendly and very informative. Congratulations on a job well done!
MindMyHouse has taken that stress completely off my back! (Owner)
I was in a panic trying to figure out what to do with my cat and goldfish for two months. MindMyHouse has taken that stress completely off my back. Can't be happier.
When we first signed up, I thought the competition would be too stiff to get an assignment, but we have been thrilled with the response! (Sitter)
I can't tell you how much we like using your website. We sold our home last year, and to travel, and do house sitting for a a couple of years. We joined about 4 websites, yours among them in July of last year. By the end of July, we had booked our first assignment in Brittany for the end of August (4 days after we moved out of our home!!). That was a three month sit, and we loved it. We also booked our current sit in August, for Maryland, (from January to mid April) which is a wonderful sit, and booked England from May until August of this year. All three of these sits have been from Mind My House. When we first signed up, I thought the competition would be too stiff to get an assignment, but we have been thrilled with the response. We are now looking ahead to doing a sit from mid August on, hopefully, in France or Italy, but we are open to other places Your website is extremely easy to use, and when resigning comes due, we will be sure to stay on this site. Thanks again for such a wonderful opportunity, what a great way to travel, and meet some wonderful people. Regards, Margaret
Five stars! (Owner)
Last year, having animals including two lovely horses we thought that we'd give your website a try. We found a fabulous couple for last summer who came to France from Tasmainia (his mum lives in France). They were absolutely delightful. This year we have found a couple from the UK who are vets. We had many replies from our advert and we are very impressed. Thanks to your site we have had two years of excellent sitters and the couple we have chosen this year seem to be ideal. We have had lots of applicants, far more than I would have expected and all seem to fit our demands so it has been hard to turn people down. Your site works very very well and I can only recommend it. FIVE STARS Henry
We adore saying we are HOUSE SITTERS and the look of awe and interest on others' faces is quite interesting to observe. (Sitter)
Hello Sue, (I presume you will get this first). Just wanted to give you some feedback from using the site and having been house sitters in the UK last year. Paul and I started out planning our adventure early in 2011 and arrived in the UK at the end of November in that year. We stayed for 9 months and did 5 house sits (2 were repeats) and a long one of 3 months in Northumberland. All were very successful and we now have glowing references and in fact we are going back to our first house sit in Kent for this winter of 2013. We loved that house and the dogs so much we are very excited to be able to go back again. We feel we could do this for another year at least this time and hope to include the continent as well. Paul and I also used the Airbnb site quite a bit and hope to do so in the future. This was for when we were between house sits and just doing our own thing visiting places where house sits did not present themselves. We joined English Heritage and the National Trust and really got our monies worth out of the yearly memberships. We absolutely love MMH and tell lots and lots of people about the site now we are back home for this year. We meet lots of dog owners on our morning walks and actually have 3 local house sits to do soon to keep our references up to date. Many thanks to you all for all the great work in keeping the site so user friendly and for the very reasonable cost to join. We will be taking out membership again later this year when we 'dip our toes into the water' once more. We adore saying we are HOUSE SITTERS and the look of awe and interest on others' faces is quite interesting to observe. No hum drum life for us anymore. Best wishes, Denyse & Paul
A happy Homeowner turns Housesitter! (Owner)
Back in summer 2007 I’d just bought a seaside flat on the English coast: a wonderful 19th century rambling property, and I needed someone to look after the cats, not kill the bougainvilleas and banana plant in the conservatory, and keep an eye on the frankly vast garden. I was off to Tanzania to start fieldwork on my PhD. Digging out the cutting from my national newspaper, The Guardian, ‘How to live cheaply’ I think. I advertised on this featured website, www.mindmyhouse.com that had recently started. Susan Holtham wrote back and was kind and tolerant with my ineptitude with the web, the site, and replies started rolling in. Even then I remember thinking 'wow, what detailed and exceptional service', and at the time it was Susan on her own, in a new company. A lovely woman, Annie Francis, came and looked after my flat. Nothing died, the flat was in better nick than when I gave it to her, and the cats, although sulky at my departures, were in fine fettle. She did a sterling job, through her own efforts, but also because the site actually ‘trouble-shot’ the process, and gave me the chance to think about, and iron out, any potentially tricky issues, long before they arose. And so, of course, they never did! Now it is 2013: so much has happened for me personally, and to top and tail it serendipitously I am now looking for a housesit in France, (letting out my own house in Tanzania), to write up the PhD and the novel this summer. I was genuinely delighted this morning to receive an email from Susan (because despite everything I am still technologically very challenged!) remembering me… So I am writing this because I although I’ve never met Susan, in a strange way I feel I’ve got a friend, someone who is on my side when it comes to finding a house to sit, or a house sitter for my own place. I am sure this level of customer care is not just for me… and it’s impressive, particularly in an age where corners are cut, and the quick buck is God. This is so very much NOT the case with mindmyhouse.com! I have written this sterling endorsement because good work should be lauded, and this is good work!
They are no longer just house-sitters, but friends. (Owner)
We've just had our first house sitters, Lian and Henk from Holland. They were absolute stars and did above and beyond what we'd been expecting from them. Our home was immaculate, our dogs happy and well cared for. They are no longer just house-sitters, but friends. Would highly recommend them and we look forward to having them again in 2013.
Thank you so much and we will be back! (Sitter)
Hello Susan, my husband and I have been mind my house sitters for two years now and in that time we had great house sits. Some of them we are asked back several times. We have been in Australia, NZ and Europe. And most have been picked up via your advertisement via the daily email alerts. Thank you very much for the time we had the honor of being part of mind my house so far. We thoroughly enjoyed the last years. Thank you so much and we will be back. John and Eve
Well, you must be congratulated! (Sitter)
Well, you must be congratulated. Within two days of joining we received our first house sit. A delightful young couple with a splendid house. It is for the duration of five and a half months. We met them and immediately bonded. Like you would say, a match made in heaven. Now we are looking forward to our next appointment and thank you again for showing us this new way of life. Regards.
...it feels like I've got a second home in France! (Sitter)
I'm emailing from the south of France, where I am dog sitting for the fourth time for the same family. The initial contact was made through your website a couple of years ago, and since then the dogs' owner and I have become firm friends. I have become really attached to her lovely little dogs, and it feels like I've got a second home in France. (I live in the UK). Keep up the good work Mind My House - I'll be registered for years to come.
I would certainly recommend MindMyHouse as a first class company with integrity and efficiency! (Sitter)
I would certainly recommend MindMyHouse as a first class company with integrity and efficiency. I am not enrolled with any other house sitting agency but I can't imagine them being superior in any way to this NZ based company. To use the silly cliché they certainly deliver what "it says on the tin." One hopes they go from strength to strength. Thanks for all you've done.
We had a much more relaxing visit back home because we knew our cat was well-looked after (Owner)
We used MindMyHouse for the first time this summer so that someone would stay with our cat while we visited family for a few weeks. The site made it simple for us to post a listing, receive messages from potential house sitters, and check out their profiles to see which would be a good fit. Whenever I had an issue with the site, I just sent an email to Susan and she got back to me very quickly. We had a much more relaxing visit back home because we knew our cat was well-looked after - our house sitters even sent us weekly pictures to show us he was happy and healthy! Since then, I've recommended MindMyHouse to many people and am planning to use it for several travel dates this year.
As anticipated, the house sitting assignment went very well! (Sitter)
Dear Susan, As anticipated, the house sitting assignment went very well. Sammy and Roddy were extremely happy on their return, and I thought they were a genuinely lovely couple. Benson the spaniel had a delightful character, very affectionate and lots of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience!! Thanks again for making it possible, Best wishes, Heather
So glad we found this site and look forward to our next adventure! (Sitter)
My husband and I just returned from our first experience through MindMyHouse. Starting off a little concerned about what we were getting ourselves into, unknown people, dog, birds, home. Well, being a longtime property manager and Realtor, I was confident we would figure it all out. The couple were charming and had a lot of interesting aspects of their life that we discovered in our brief introduction. Their four legged family member was the 'Dream' dog/friend everyone would want and the rest of the assortment of creatures and interesting aspects of the home was like discovering a new land. We chose an area that we were familiar with, so we had plenty of activities and places we were used to but staying at this home was looking at the area with a different perspective. We met several of their neighbors and friends and felt an immediate 'acceptance' as opposed to just being a visitor/tourist. The routine of tending the home, animals, plants and seeing the same neighbors and chatting with them was so natural, it felt like being at home. We ended up being very pleased with our circumstance and during our stay communicated daily with the home owners via e-mail, and sending pictures of our daily activities with their wonderful 'woofer'. We now feel we have made some new friends, keep in touch and will likely stay with them and vice versa, when in that area in the future. So glad we found this site and look forward to our next adventure. We will definitely have less trepidation in the future and feel the quality of people that use this site are sincere and authentic. Definite win-win intentions.
I wanted to send you a review of my first sitters from Australia ... because they are absolutely wonderful! (Owner)
Absolutely wonderful: young people with no experience and no money can travel, elderly people that for a lifetime worked a lot and had no chance to travel can do it now even when retired. I wanted to send you a review of my first sitters from Australia. I also would like to review them because they are absolutely wonderful. Shall we send the reviews to you? Ciao!
It was great fun and can't wait to do it again! (Sitter)
Hello, Mind My House is fabulous. We just finished a house sit for homeowners in La Crosse, WI. They were lovely people and the house was very nice. My husband and I took care of there two dogs M. and M. and the fish. Lyle tidied up the yard and I took care of the house. It was great fun and can't wait to do it again. Lovely family we sat for and hope to stay in touch with them. Beautiful part of the USA we were able to visit. Lyle and Patricia
...both experiences were fantastic! (Owner)
We have been members since Jan 2011 ...first year contacted Marion from Norfolk to sit for 3 weeks ..this year Mike & Jenny from New Zealand for 2 weeks ...both experiences were fantastic ...two wonderful sets of * sitters * Well done for an easy to use and informative web site. Brilliant to be able to get in touch with * sitters * direct after first contact. Just cannot seems to figure out if there is somewhere on your site where we can leave them all a well deserved reference. Our sincere thank you. Lorna and Alan.
A great concept and a lovely way for people to help each other out. (Owner)
Brilliant. A great concept and a lovely way for people to help each other out. It's good to share and refreshing that money isn't the driving force.
I certainly have no hesitation in recommending your service for efficiency, value for money and integrity! (Sitter)
Dear Susan and the team, I would like to take the opportunity of thanking you for your excellent service. Unfortunately, family illness and my work have meant that I’ve had to refuse a number of firm offers. However, I am about take on my first assignment in France in the new year and I am really looking forward to it. I certainly have no hesitation in recommending your service for efficiency, value for money and integrity.
Your website is brilliant! (Owner)
Nine o'clock on Tuesday morning I registered with your service. Twelve hours later I was receiving offers from sitters. Eleven of them! your website is brilliant. It is easy to use and does all the right things. I live in Madeira and have had offers from all around the globe. Spectacular. Very well done. Congratulations. Charles
We've now used MindMyHouse on three separate occasions and each time, our expectations have been exceeded!! (Owner)
Dear Susan I'm just writing to tell you how wonderful I think your site is and just wanted to write a short note to let you know!!!! We live in Germany, where housesitting isn't really a common thing. I did look at some German sites, but firstly I didn't understand them very well and secondly, it worked out to be very expensive!!! I think I came across your site by surfing and I'm so pleased I did. I don't honestly know what we would have done without it. We have one dog, Lucy and two cats, Molly and Daisy. We've now used MindMyHouse on three separate occasions and each time, our expectations have been exceeded!! Our lovely animals have been cared for so well, our house and garden too. We've been able to go away without having to worry about anything at all. Not only that, we've made so lovely new friends. I can't recommend MindMyHouse highly enough. I would be more than happy for you to use this mail (or part of it) as a testimonial. With kind regards, Ruth . . . and Lucy, Molly and Daisy send their thanks too xxxxxx
Our son arrived back to a totally spotless apartment, a freezer full of baked foods, a very happy cat. You couldn't wish for more! (Owner)
We either use your wonderful business for either ourselves in Tasmania or for our son who lives in London and have never been let down. We have just had the most amazing house sitters looking after our son's apartment and cat in London. They were absolutely amazing, meeting up at the apartment well beforehand and meeting the cat. They kept in touch with us prior to the house sitting dates coming up so that we felt secure in the knowledge that they were reliable and were going to turn up. Our son was with us for 6 weeks in Australia, so there were planes to catch etc and throughout the whole duration the house sitters kept in touch informing us as to how the cat was and passing on any messages. Basically our minds were put at rest from the beginning to the end. Our son arrived back to a totally spotless apartment, a freezer full of baked foods, a very happy cat. You couldn't wish for more! Thank you so much Susan, we have no hesitation in recommending your agency, you have a wonderful calibre of house sitter.
Thank you so much for that peace of mind! (Owner)
Dear MindMyHouse Team, Once again you've allowed us to take a break in the UK to see our families and friends, knowing that our house, our lovely dog Pippa and the garden are all in the most excellent hands. Thank you so much for that peace of mind! Our sitters were Ray and Sue Hamilton and have done a wonderful job with everything! How can we thank such lovely people? This is our third set of sitters over a three year period and each couple has brought their own special characters into our lives and have remained in touch as friends. Your site gives us confidence and security in the knowledge that there are so many excellent people on your books. It always seems sad that we can't choose everyone that replies to our ads. Thank you so much to Ray and Sue and we wish them every success with future 'sits'. And thank you to MMH for providing such an excellent service.
When we plan another OE, we'll certainly sign up again! (Sitter)
We have just had a twelve month membership with Mind My House. As a housesitter in New Zealand, looking for housesits in the UK and France, we have been more than happy with the numerous housesit alerts sent to us throughout this time. We ended up with two housesits - a short one in Virginia Waters, London and a five-week one in Ashburton, Devon. Plus we were approached by other house-owners during this time through this site. The site is easy to use and navigate. And having our own web page to advertise our details was brilliant. Plus we sent our web address to all our friends and anyone else who wanted to know about housesitting. This site is also the best value for money - there are other sites who charge much more and give little in return. Thanks Mind My House for an homesit excellent site. When we plan another OE, we'll certainly sign up again!
FANTASTIC service! (Owner)
Sorry to be a pain, but I’m not sure that we don’t owe you a subscription? We have had 2 great experiences with MMH sitters and are currently looking again. FANTASTIC service!
I am scanning for my next house sit and will stay a member! (Sitter)
Hi, Thanks for the news letter & so glad 'mind my house' is doing well. My name is Suzanne Young and I am a member and I did the house sit at the 2000 meter above sea level in Cyprus for 7 weeks. I looked after Bertie the beautiful rescue dog and 6 rescue cats. The owner of the house and I got to spend a week together because of the ash cloud and she kindly took me all over the place to meet people so I was not alone during the sit and now have many friends from Lania village on skype and email. It was an easy house sit, I had use of the car and luckily because I used to live in Cyprus I got to see my own dear friends I had not seen for many years. I am scanning for my next house sit and will stay a member! God Bless, regards Suzanne (living in Ireland).
We were very pleased with our first experience with MindMyHouse! (Owner)
We were very pleased with our first experience with MindMyHouse. The couple we had to sit were young and new to housesitting, but they were homeowners themselves. We ran credit and DMV checks as one way to feel comfortable that they were okay and talked to personal references. They were a lovely couple and were willing to come a few days early and stay in our guest room to 'learn the ropes'. That made us feel much more secure. We even had them use one of our cars weekly so the battery would stay alive. I look forward to using this service again!
Having just accepted a housesit for early next year, after only days on MindMyHouse, I couldn't be more impressed with your site! (Sitter)
Having just accepted a housesit for early next year, after only days on MindMyHouse, I couldn't be more impressed with your site. In the past I have used housesitters for my home here in Australia while on my extended adventures overseas, but never previously sought to housesit myself somewhere else. It is an exciting prospect to have the chance to be a local resident for a time in another country, consequently I've been passing your website on to all and sundry. Well done in putting together a well thought out, comprehensive, but nevertheless user-friendly site.
I can't begin to describe the RELIEF we are experiencing as well as excitement at being able to leave home for so long and not have to worry! (Owner)
Dear Wonderful Staff, I just had to write and give you my deepest, heartfelt thanks for your incredible service. We live in the west Highlands of Scotland and must go to the US every year for 3 months on business. This year we re-homed two gorgeous, young Ragdoll cats and realized they would be utterly miserable without human companionship. What to do? We explored every local avenue, from trusted neighbors to the medical surgery to the churches. Nothing was clicking. Only a few days ago I suddenly had the idea to Google "free house sitters." There you were. I started looking at would be caretakers, and there were SO many excellent sounding people! I wrote up an advert and waited to see what would happen. To say that we've received many lovely responses is to put it mildly. I never even went to my "short list" that I'd selected, as the first day the couple that I believe we'll be using contacted us. They sounded too good to be true, but they're the real thing. Plus I have a great "reserve list" if a problem arises. I can't begin to describe the RELIEF we are experiencing as well as excitement at being able to leave home for so long and not have to worry. It is indeed a fabulous service you provide.
Absolutely fabulous! (Owner)
Absolutely fabulous. No problems at all! If only I had found this earlier...
I had responses via a different website I also used but the lady from yours seemed the most reliable... (Owner)
Thank you for your email. I'm very happy with the service MindMyHouse provided. I sent five emails, got three responses, two negative (but very friendly and helpful!) and one positive, from the lady who will be house sitting for me. I had responses via a different website I also used but the lady from yours seemed the most reliable and was very prompt to respond to all my queries. I am therefore very satisfied with the service and can't really think of any improvements!
Great site, very professional! (Owner)
Just had our first sitter in. We needed a short notice sitter, we were very satisfied and pleased, with the sitter, and the response to our notice. Great site, very professional!
Great service you have; cheers! (Owner)
Thank you - we found a couple to watch our home. Great service you have; cheers!
It was really great to have such choice from so many people who were willing to house-sit! (Owner)
Hello, I was very happy with the house sitting matching service. Due to the huge numbers of house-sitters offering their services, I chose to put a "wanted" advert on. I had lots and lots of responses from a big variety of people. It was really great to have such choice from so many people who were willing to house-sit. The only problem I had really was trying to work out what my criteria were for choosing someone. Most potential house-sitters were very forthcoming in providing details about themselves. I really appreciated the ability to communicate with potential house-sitters by email without actually revealing my personal email address. This enabled me to whittle down the numbers without feeling that I might get any come-back from anyone. We did come to an agreement with someone for our house-sit, and the arrangement worked out well. We would certainly use the service again. Rhiannon
Thank you so much to you, our house sitters, words seem quite inadequate for the peace of mind you provided. (Owner)
We think your site is excellent and easy to navigate. Tons of very useful information too. But we'd like to say a big 'thank you' to you for providing our house-sitters from New Zealand. We've been away for a couple of months and we couldn't have asked for a more wonderful couple to look after the house, garden and our little dog Pip. We felt so confident with them in charge and went off happily to our families in the UK. Thank you so much to you, our house sitters, words seem quite inadequate for the peace of mind you provided. And thank you MindMyHouse for such a brilliant site. Kind regards and heartfelt thanks from Derek and Mai, and Pip of course!
They settled down in our house for one year and did a wonderful job here with the dogs (lucky dogs :o)! (Owner)
Hello! Few lines to thank you so much for the wonderful idea you had with Mindmyhouse!!! In 2009, my husband and I had only two months to organise our departure to go to work for one year to New-Caledonia (we're French). We have two adorable dogs, a big house and garden. I finally discovered your web site and thought maybe we'll find a solution contacting a few people looking for house and pet sitting. We received some very nice answers. One from a couple from England ... what a luck !! They settled down in our house for one year and did a wonderful job here with the dogs (lucky dogs :o) !). The house had new paintings and the garden a rebuilt wall when we came back ... wow ! We already were confident with our house sitters before leaving and they are also responsible for the very happy year we had living in New-Caledonia. With the contact we had through Mindmyhouse, we didn't just met dog/house sitters but also new friends ... many thanks ! Thank you to our house sitters for being so professional and friendly ! Thank you to you for this fantastic work you do with Mindmyhouse!
In fact they are housesitting in France right now thanks to your site! (Owner)
Dear Susan Yes I am very satisfied with mindmyhouse. I even recommended my vet and his wife to join as Housesitters as they love to travel in Europe and they are obviously very experienced in the pet side of things. In fact they are housesitting in France right now thanks to your site!.
Luckily one couple was available at very short notice and all was fantastic! (Owner)
Thanks for getting in touch. When I posted last year on your site I got a lot of replies and many were very suitable. The trip we'd planned had to be cancelled, but later in August, we had an opportunity to go away again and I contacted all the potential house-sitters with whom I had been in touch. Luckily one couple was available at very short notice and all was fantastic. We made new friends and had a wonderful holiday. All this to say, I'll definitely post on your site again if we can manage to go away later this year.
The first who got in touch was perfect. (Owner)
Hi Susan, I had been meaning to email so I'm pleased you've reminded me. My experience of using Mind My House was very positive. I initially contacted 6? sitters all of whom weren't able to sit. Then I was contacted by several people. The first who got in touch was perfect. She was able to make the dates and it suited her. The house sit went really well. We were both happy with the arrangements. I found the website invaluable and have recommended it to several friends. Thanks very much.
We are both lucky to have found your site and have been very lucky with extremely wonderful house sitters. Thank you. We will be using you again. (Owner)
Hello Susan, I appreciate your e mail as I think it's good customer relations to ask if we are happy and also if we have any suggestions. I have used your site twice. I was trying to get a house sitter for my pal in Vancouver who wanted to come to Portugal with me last year, and again, this year. I have had many house sitters here in the UK as my pets grew older so had experience of using sites and also of who to 'eliminate' if you don't mind the phrase!! My friend is not computer literate so she asked me to find her a house sitter for her. so I sat in the UK and used your site both times to find her a house sitter for Vancouver. Both house sitter adverts with your site were very successful. We asked for a retired caring couple in both instances, and last year I got a wonderful couple from Arizona who did her house sit in Vancouver. This year, I did the same and the first couple who replied were hired!!! They bought their tickets that night and we all correspond now and we all look forward to their going to Vancouver from Florida (this time), Sharon gets to come to Portugal with me and everybody is happy. I found your site very easy to use and very secure. For North American House sits it is great. I have absolutely no complaints at the set up of your site and highly recommend it. In the UK I use Housecarers.com as I mainly get UK replies and that involves less expense for the house sitter. On saying that......both my recent house sitters were not from the UK but from Canada and America. I would say it's an excellent site. Well done. If I could suggest an improvement, I would. but... it is fine the way it is. We are both (my Canadian friend and I) lucky to have found your site and have been very lucky with extremely wonderful house sitters. Thank you. We will be using you again. Kind regards, Avril.
My first experience with house sitters from your website was fantastic! (Owner)
Dear mindmyhouse.com, My first experience with house sitters from your website was fantastic! I received so many qualified responses that it was hard to turn people away! I am so pleased with the experience that I have decided to make this an annual event. In fact, I have already posted for the next house sitters. I can't wait to ready all the responses! Thank you for an easy and useful website!
She was trustworthy, smart and a great house and animal sitter! (Owner)
Hi : only one person replied but she turned out to be fantastic!! She worked for us 3 weeks in Nov / Dec and the entire month of January. She was trustworthy, smart and a great house and animal sitter. We were lucky to find her and I would recommend her highly to anyone. I will definitely use your service again!
WOW (Owner)
This morning I posted our first ever offer to sit our house during this coming July – so only 8 weeks away, and have already had 11 replies – almost one an hour!! WOW. Please feel free to use this if you wish. Will let you know how we get on. Cheers and thank you.
I subscribed both as a home owner and a house sitter and both were successful. (Sitter)
Dear Susan, I subscribed both as a home owner and a house sitter and both were successful. I did a lovely house sit in Wales last summer. When I applied for a sitter at Christmas a lovely man came and sat and looked after our cats while we were away. I will certainly use your site again.
I found everything brilliant! (Owner)
Dear Susan, Thanks for your email. I found everything brilliant. I got the name of your website from my aunt and uncle who have used your site to find housesitters for their property in France. I put our ad up a couple of weeks ago, clear instructions and helpful tips on how to do it and what to put in it. I got about 18 responses within 24hrs so took the ad off as couldn't cope with that much response. The majority of the responses looked good and were informative. As it was my first time to use the website it took me a little while to navigate the responses but I got there. We interviewed someone last week who we have agreed to take on so we are all delighted. She said she thought that there were many more people looking for a house sitting job than people offering positions, which is maybe why we got such a good response. It is a brilliant idea and seems to work really well. I have downloaded the contract and the list of things to think of before you go is very useful. Thanks very much and good luck with it.
The prospect of the expense and stress of leaving our house unattended and dogs in kennels was horrific! (Owner)
We were planning a 3 month sabbatical and the prospect of the expense and stress of leaving our house unattended and dogs in kennels was horrific! I was thrilled to stumble upon mindmyhouse.com; even more so when I was inundated with responses from ideal-sounding house sitters. We got a particularly good vibe from Kathy & Doug from Vancouver and haven't regretted our choice. They survived the worst winter here in the UK since 1974 while we were enjoying the sun, and we came back in early April to find the garden immaculate with new bedding plants in the pots, and home made soup in the fridge. We will definitely use the site again if Kathy & Doug aren't available the next time we travel and have already recommended it to friends, family and strangers who would listen all over the world!
...all I can say is it worked perfectly! (Owner)
...all I can say is it worked perfectly, both advertising and direct contact, we were completely satisfied both with the method of contact and more importantly with the quality of house sitters discovered, they have both been exemplary. I wouldn't change a thing at the moment.
MindMyHouse is simply a wonderful community for partnering needs with a means to fill those needs. To me, it is also a reflection of the goodness of humanity. (Owner)
Our friends look askance and think we are nuts ... "You are going to have strangers come and sit your home and your animals?" Well, yes! (unless YOU want to volunteer, that is.) The concept and the reality of MindMyHouse is simple and superb. Humans trusting other humans to care for their homes and animals. To me, engaging a house sitter from MindMyHouse is a reflection of my belief in the goodness of people. People simply want to see another part of the world, have a comfortable place to stay, and perhaps get a little love from the animals that live there.We have now engaged two house sitters through MindMyHouse and have had outstanding experiences! Both couples who came to care for our home and our animals were mature. responsible, care-taking sitters. We could not have been happier, in either case. Some day, when I retire, my husband and I hope to be on the other end of this arrangement as well -- house sitting perhaps YOUR home in a place we would love to visit. MindMyHouse is simply a wonderful community for partnering needs with a means to fill those needs. To me, it is also a reflection of the goodness of humanity.
...without you I would never have made it all the way from Down Under to the unmissable wonders of Europe! (Sitter)
MindMyHouse is by far the most user-friendly house-sitting site on the net today. It is also one of the least expensive, and offers the best resources. Even BEFORE I secured a long-term housesit in beautiful Spain through MindMyHouse, I was recommending the site to friends. Keep up the good work, without you I would never have made it all the way from Down Under the unmissable wonders of Europe, not to mention meeting the owner of the home I'm now sitting, who I hope will be a life-long friend. Worth ten times the current fee (but you didn't hear it from me!)
Thanks again Susan, without your site, none of this would have been possible! (Sitter)
After starting out 2 years ago in at the deep end in a house on the beautiful but isolated Greek island Kythira, I have now completed another 4 housesitting assignments, two in Spain and two on another Greek island, the phenomenal Naxos in the Cyclades. The position in Naxos emerged a year ago after a home owner contacted me directly and asked to care for his cats and house over the winter period (October to April). More than happily I accepted and am currently sitting on the same assignment for the second winter. It is just nextdoor to Santorini and is a fully functional and friendly island with a life that continues beyond the summer months. The owners are great, very welcoming and I am luckily that they wish me to arrive early so that we can go over everything (the most valuable time for both housesitter and homeowner I suggest) and make sure everything is in order before they leave...something that becomes a great benefit when issues with the house and its character start to emerge. I have also been lucky to sit for 2 consecutive summer periods for a wonderful family just outside a village called Orgiva in Andalucía in Spain... a 2 month period vitally important for me because it is when I have most of my work (which demands being isolated). I care for the collective of cats, the house and look after the garden. The value of being asked to resit is that it allows me to semi plan the time ahead. As I was lucky to be able to go for a year and a half from assignment to assignment at the very beginning, what started out as a great idea has almost turned into an alternative lifestyle, especially as I prefer longer housesits. This summer I did have a 3 month break between sits but with some help from my friends in the UK, I was able to have an extended stay and although not ideal, provided the kind of support us perpetual housesitters need from time to time. Although unpredictable and difficult to guess what is around the corner, I was lucky enough to find your website and have contact with the wonderful people I have been thus far able to meet. My tenure on Naxos concludes mid-April 2010 and I am always on the lookout for my next assignment and open to any offers but until then I have a couple of cats that like being entertained (and continual stroking), a bit of sun that needs soaking up and some great food that needs exploring. Thanks again Susan, without your site, none of this would have been possible!
This is my first foray into the world of house sitting and I would highly recommend mindmyhouse! (Owner)
Excellent. This is my first foray into the world of house sitting and I would highly recommend mindmyhouse. As a home owner, I found the organization of the site, the reference material provided (for home owners and house sitters), and the technical support provided top notch. Above all, the house sitters are excellent. I certainly do appreciate, and would recommend this site and organization. Will certainly use it again. Thank you.
...our only bone of contention has been that there have been so many very good jobs that we've had to turn down through insufficient time! (Sitter)
Hi Susan, Thank you for taking us on as house/pet sitters, we had some extra ordinarily good jobs in some of the very best houses in this part of the country, including one stately home. We've never had a dull or bad experience and have enjoyed all of our sitting. Many of our sitting jobs have lead to other homes by personal recommendation. I suppose that our only bone of contention has been that there have been so many very good jobs that we've had to turn down through insufficient time. We've been well paid for every job and would continue but for the need now to slow down and retire. We could easily continue through a good part of next year with most of our contacts but have had to draw a line. Thank you once again for all your help in giving us a really good retirement job, it's been great and your help in putting work our way has been without equal.
Everyone I've corresponded with has been great. Thank you! (Owner)
Hi Susan, I've been very happy with the responses I've received to my requests for housesitters. I had a lovely woman from Brooklyn housesit for me in Queens while I was out of town for 5 weeks and she continues to look after my place and my kitties whenever I go out of town. Mind My House is a wonderful service! Everyone I've corresponded with has been great. Thank you!
...if we ever had to find more sitters, I would have great confidence in using this site! (Owner)
Hi Susan, well, I wrote out an ad, with quite a lot of information about the house & area, and posted that. Within 24 hours we'd had about a dozen responses. We chose one couple in the end, with some difficulty as there were several possible candidates. We've been in touch with them by email almost daily since. I have not hesitated to recommend your website to anyone else I've heard of who needs pet/house sitting and if we ever had to find more sitters, I would have great confidence in using this site. I'm hoping that we can build up a relationship with the sitters we've chosen and a 'back up set' and they will be able to help us out in the future.
Your service works so well that I can't think of any enhancements you could make! (Owner)
I think your service is excellent! We had, what I consider, an overwhelming response to our ad and so I suspended it after the first couple of days it ran. We ended up with a couple from Ontario, Canada who will be coming down in April but also have two other couples who expressed interest as possibilities for future house sitting. Your service works so well that I can't think of any enhancements you could make. Thanks, again, for your service. I will highly recommend it to anyone I know who needs house sitters.
The people that helped out were really good and did a great job caring for our 3 cats! (Owner)
Dear Susan, we contacted home sitters directly based on the phone numbers given in their ads on the website, we didn't place an ad ourselves. We contacted approximately 14-15 home sitters and we've had a response from minimum 10 of them, of whom there were 2 who were available during the time we needed them. Our main concern was actually cat sitting, as we weren't worried about the house... The people that helped out were really good and did a great job caring for our 3 cats. I have in the meantime recommended this site to other cat owners who face similar problems when going away on holiday for a longer period. Thank you for offering this kind of service.
It was a huge leap of faith doing it, but it all worked out really well... (Owner)
Hello Mind My House! We had great success with our housesitter and all went really well. It was a huge leap of faith doing it, but it all worked out really well that we will definitely be using your website again in the future. Thanks very much.
When we returned home the house was in excellent order! (Owner)
We found the service to be excellent. Two couples contacted us through the website. We had to choose between them, which finally we did based solely on convenience factors, which was difficult since it seemed both really wanted to mind the house. Our contacts were at first through the web site, then directly. This system worked perfectly, and we are very happy with the result. When we returned home the house was in excellent order.
She spoilt the dog completely (as we do!), and looked after the house beautifully. (Owner)
Hi Susan, I would now just like to tell you that we were sooo happy with the response we had from our ad for a housesitter to look after our Dalmation/house in Spain over a 5-week period this last Christmas/NewYear. We were so inundated by lovely replies (and I mean lovely) over a 36 hour period, that I eventually had to stop the ad online. Everyone sounded so nice/suitable that it was a very hard decision to make as to who to go with! My husband - who was very skeptical to begin with - was amazed too!! I have to say that the housesitter we chose was wonderful - and we will stay in touch as friends. She spoilt the dog completely (as we do!), and looked after the house beautifully. We will definitely use your site again - and maybe even as housesitters in the future!!! - as we would like to spend more time in both N. Zealand and Australia visiting both children who have decided to make their lives that side of the world!! Thank you very much, and our best wishes for your continued success with your website.
It's given me an entirely new way to see the world and make new friends. (Sitter)
I spent February in a small village in Cornwall, UK, housesitting for a lovely lady and caring for her cat. Even though Feb. might not be the best time to visit, it was peaceful and spring-like. I can't thank you enough for MindMyHouse.com! It's given me an entirely new way to see the world and make new friends. Love to hear all the wonderful opportunities available on MindMyHouse.com and enjoy getting the daily alerts. Thanks for your inquiry and keep up the good work!
Thank you so much for the excellent service you have offered over the past few years! (Sitter)
Thank you so much for the excellent service you have been offered over the past few years. Although I have only undertaken one sit (in the UK), I have thoroughly enjoyed escaping in my imagination to any number of wonderful places as I've read your regular emails. Last year I travelled for 12 months and wish I had been able to do more house sitting. I will have to take a break from the site this year as my travels are curtailed until I pay for my previous adventures! Nevertheless, I will return. Thankyou again and good luck with the marketing; I, for one, will continue to spread the word.
Our experience has been 100% positive in every way & we cannot praise or thank the Mind My House.com team enough! (Owner)
Hi again Susan & Mind my House, (we thought you may like an update on our experience?) I wanted to let you know that our house-sit went ahead wonderfully, we had so many replies that it was hard to choose but our final choice was brilliant. Couldn't have gone better! Mark & Jeannie turned out to be THE most delightful couple. They looked after our "fur-kids" as if they were their own, honest, trustworthy, reliable, capable & caring. They kept us updated over the two months we were away nothing was a hassle or too much trouble for them for them, even when we needed a jump start on the car, when we left after our portable fridge had drained the battery! We were able to enjoy our time away knowing that our pets were cosseted & cared for & our home was in safe hands. We even came home to a brilliant home-cooked meal & wine, the high spot of which was Mark's fabulous home-made olive bread! Everything went so well that we were sorry to say goodbye to our new found friends & the "fur-kids" missed them too so much so that we have arranged to have a repeat performance in the Autumn, when they come back to us after their current six month plus house-sit in France! Our experience has been 100% positive in every way & we cannot praise or thank the Mind My House.com team (& Mark & Jeannie) enough!
...we have arranged a house-sit for this winter! (Owner)
Dear Susan, I have only used your service once, but I was very pleased with the responses of the housesitters. All were polite when declining, and we have arranged a house-sit for this winter! I will have to get back to you about how it works out, but so far arrangements have been easy and cordial. I would definitely use your service again.
i for sure will go straight to your site before i try hitting up friends and neighbors again! (Owner)
i signed up for MMH just before we took off for a two week vacation. i didn't get any house sitters (didn't expect to on such short notice), however all the people i wrote to responoded really quickly and were very positive about my listing and all wanted to house sit another time if we needed it. some day we probably WILL need it and i for sure will go straight to your site before i try hitting up friends and neighbors again. i wish i'd known about it sooner, so we could have gotten a good sitter! lol. i know two people here in costa rica who've used MMH and they were very positive about the experience. i really like that it's free to the home owners. have a good day, and i look forward to using MMH in the future!!!
They are excited about the possibilities this opens up in their lives! (Owner)
Hi Susan, A quick reply to your letter. Yes, I am very happy with your service. I received tons of responses to my ad and found the perfect person to fill the position. I have lots of backups too in case something doesn´t work out. I have told my friends about your site and some of them are going to use it to find housesitting positions around the world. They are excited about the possibilities this opens up in their lives. So, thank you for everything. I will be updating my ad soon to reflect the fact that the position is filled as soon as I am completely sure that I have a committment. Thanks again.
We are thrilled to have found you! Many, many thanks! (Owner)
Hello Susan & Mind My House, The thanks are all ours... as far as we are concerned the site is amazing we have had the most fantastic response with well over fifty replies ...at least 50% of those replies have been real possibilities. Our only problem has been the sheer number of replies has been so overwhelming that we have taken so long deciding... & we are still trying to respond to everyone individually. We have made a decision but the house sit is yet to happen... but we feel confident it will all go well. Other than that I have to say the site & service was EXCELLENT! I once, in haste, clicked reply rather than copy & pasting the email address & I immediately got a very helpful email explaining what I should do. Great idea! Great site! (Have already recommended to friends...) We are thrilled to have found you! Many, many thanks.
The communication with everyone was positive. (Owner)
Dear Susan, Yes, we are very happy with the services you provide thru your website. We had many responses to our advert, around 40, and many of them were quite interesting. The communication with everyone was positive. We actually were lucky to find the right couple to housesit for us. So thank you very much for your services!
Our first house sitter is coming next week and we are thrilled! (Owner)
I am really enjoying the service so far. Our first house sitter is coming next week and we are thrilled, a bit nervous for our pets but mostly pleased at finding someone we trust and who will enjoy our home while we are away. I have had more responses than expected (since we live in Oklahoma and I did not think that many people would line up to come here, but we live on a lake and it is quite lovely). But mostly, thank you for the service... it was a Godsend!
I think we and they are all looking forward to the vacation! (Owner)
Dear Susan, We just met our house sitters yesterday, and they will be staying in our house and tending to our pets and plants for five weeks beginning July 25. Theirs was the first ad we responded to. We had several contacts via e-mail and then a couple of phone conversations, leading up to yesterday's preliminary visit. I think we and they are all looking forward to the vacation, and I am very pleased so far with your service. I will certainly use it in the future if all works out.
Can't really see how to improve it! (Owner)
Hi Susan, Yes. I was very happy about the responses that I got from many house sitters. I think your site works very well as it is. Can't really see how to improve it. Thanks for your interest. Best regards.
I would have been happy to have any of them housesit from the initial contact. (Owner)
Hi Susan I was very surprised at the response considering it was ruin sitting, it looks like we have one chap who is certain to take up residency in September. I can't say much more beyond that until the actual experience. All the responses were civil and I would have been happy to have any of them housesit from the initial contact.
It will be such a relief if we can organize a sitter because holidays are quite difficult given that we have quite a few pets. (Owner)
Hi just to let you know that your service has been very useful. I did not put an ad on the web site, but have contacted three sitters who were listed. One did not reply, but two did. One of the replies is already booked for the dates I need, but the other one looks most promising - we are due to meet up in a couple of weeks, well before the sitting dates. It will be such a relief if we can organize a sitter because holidays are quite difficult given that we have quite a few pets.
Just 1/3 through my 3 months assignment caring for a house and a dog and loving very minute of it! (Sitter)
Hi, Just 1/3 through my 3 months assignment caring for a house and a dog and loving very minute of it! I love your idea & your site!
Having signed up to one or two other sites, I was knocked out by the quality and quantity of sitters who replied through your site! (Owner)
Having signed up to one or two other sites, I was knocked out by the quality and quantity of sitters who replied through your site. I found a lovely australian lady and her daughter, who was the right mix for me of fab person and get on and doer. My house is lovely but likes to surpise you with what its not going to do today - but tomorrow it will be OK. It is spanish after all. I know that we will remain friends long after the house sit finishes.
Again, I'd go straight to MindMyHouse! (Owner)
Dear Susan, This is a great website! I'm very impressed and found it most helpful with lots of useful information and tips. The format for the advert is excellent, the choices for contacting directly or through the website also excellent with copies of emails sent to us, the organization of the site and clear ways of keeping one's own contacts organized, etc. All very good! I had about 7 responses over a period of about four weeks, and many of them seemed like good possibilities. I also contacted four house sitters directly and heard back from three. Nothing was settled though, until I heard from a couple at the end of those four weeks and knew they were the ones! We have just signed an agreement (based on the suggested MindMyHouse agreement). The final test, of course, will be that they come and all works out well, but I feel fully confident. I would certainly use MindMyHouse another time and would recommend it to others, and perhaps will house sit myself sometime. Again, I'd go straight to MindMyHouse. I can't think of any suggestions right now. It seems to be working extremely well. Thanks so much, and I appreciate the follow up.
All went well and I had a great time! (Sitter)
Dear Susan, I am getting back to you about my first international house and dog sitting assignment. I spent 12 days in Monaco this Christmas and New Years taking care of a 10 month old Pug and a 12 year old Dachshund. All went well and I had a great time. The dogs and the owner were happy with my care of the dogs and the apartment. I am looking forward to finding another assignment through your website later in the year when I have some vacation time. Atlanta, Georgia USA
The person I chose was fantastic! (Owner)
Your site is excellent. I had a lot of responses and only one person was clearly crazy. The person I chose was fantastic and would highly recommend your site. The sample agreement was also very useful for both parties. Thank you.
I...had a number of sitters who all sounded to be what I was looking for. (Owner)
Hi Susan, I have my first house sitters due to arrive on the 21st October and am looking forward to meeting them. I have talked on Skype to the sitters that I chose and all seems to be very good. If at all possible I recommend that sitters try and use Skype to contact possible owners as it is always good to see who you are talking to. I was well pleased with the response that I received re my advert, and had a number of sitters who all sounded to be what I was looking for. I do not expect to have any problems with my choosen sitters, and will most certainly be looking to use your service next year when I shall once again be off on my travels. Keep up the good work. Best regards
The mutual trust exchanged by all parties has restored our faith in humanity! (Sitter)
Hello, My husband and I wish to provide some comments because we are delighted with the successful results that we have achieved as members of your website. Following a three month sit in England from May to August, we did two smaller sits in the Loire Valley in France (both English couples). All of these sits were initiated from your website and we feel very comfortable in saying that they have been win-win situations for all parties concerned. Into the bargain, we have made three new sets of friends and can now provide three new references from owners who have already suggested that they will offer us house sits in the future and refer us to their friends and family. The mutual trust exchanged by all parties has restored our faith in humanity and the experiences have been so good, that we find ourselves looking forward to many more house sits during the years ahead. Thank you for providing this service at such a minimal charge.
I am on my second housesit for MMH and it is as wonderful as the first! (Sitter)
Hi Susan, I am on my second housesit for MMH and it is as wonderful as the first. Once people realized that I housesit I started to get requests from local people who have homes in other parts of the US. I have no pets of my own and enjoy vicarious pet ownership. Both homes that I have sat have lovely gardens and beautiful owners. It's a very restful experience and allows me to write and paint in great locations. Your site is lovely. Simple, clean and easy to use. Thank you for planning it all so well. Oct 2008
I am now on my 5th housesit found through MMH, and I can say without the slightest qualification that it is like having a fairy godmother. I can stay in beautiful homes in wonderful locations, meet amazing people with affectionate pets and - escape winter! Each of my sits has produced new friends and referrals to other sits. I have lost count of the number of houses I have stayed and the pets that I have cared for. I remember the pets most of all. The people who need sitters on this site are , in my experience, people who dearly love their pets and are responsible and commited owners. That makes a big difference in the behaviour of the pets, thereby making them much easier to care for. My life has certainly been improved by including MMH. The quality of the sits and people here is exceptional. I am caring for two very affectionate long haired cats right now and moving next week down the street to look after another sweet little gal. I miss all the pets when I leave, but there is always the thought that one day I will return! And this is a lovely site to use. No ads, no unclear menus, no popups and no confusion. It is the easiest site to navigate that I have ever used. Thank you Susan! Oct 2009
My housesitter seems to have enjoyed herself very much and I was very pleased with the meticulous way she cared for the house! (Owner)
I was delighted with your services. As you will be aware, my notice attracted about eight responses although in fact only two of these were for the dates I specified. These were at rather short notice, being only three weeks ahead. Of the two, I selected one and the arrangement proved extremely successful. My housesitter seems to have enjoyed herself very much and I was very pleased with the meticulous way she cared for the house. She has expressed interest in coming again in the future. I have made note of the people who replied with interest at housesitting at some future date. Thank you again for your excellent service and I shall certainly be using you in the future.
We were actually inundated with replies - more than 30 in 3 days! (Owner)
Dear Susan, we are very happy with the results we received from Mind My House and I have already recommended the site to friends. We were actually inundated with replies - more than 30 in 3 days! My only difficulty was keeping up with replying to everyone. I am sure we will use your site again. However, all in all I think it is an excellent site and a fabulous service. Many many thanks!
We had a wonderful 6 week housesit in Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island, Canada, in a fabulous house! (Sitter)
We had a wonderful 6 week housesit in Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island, Canada, in a fabulous house. Thank you for the opportunity engendered to do that through your website. Good work! Thanks again for allowing us the privilege of housesitting via your website.
I have had continual sitting assignments since becoming a member! (Sitter)
My experience of the Mind My House website has been great. I have had continual sitting assignments since becoming a member and the support from Susan and her team has been fantastic. Great people to work with and my House Owners have been wonderful. John Campbell - Author and Public Speaker.
Well done! (Sitter)
I think the site is simplicity itself in a POSITIVE way; it does what it needs to do easily and quickly and I think it's great! Well done!
The best thing about MMH is the fact that the site is constantly updated and has a real sense of community. (Sitter)
We’re professional house sitters and we’ve been registered with Mind My House for nearly two years now. It’s definitely the most useful website on the internet for matching house sitters’ requirements with those of the house owners; but we find it more difficult to find assignments than many other house sitters because we charge for our services. We’re sort of a cottage industry, running our website and house sitting services as a cottage industry. We’re like a ‘halfway house’ between the commercial pet sitting agencies and the free sitters who exchange their house sitting skills for budget travel or free accommodation.
The best thing about MMH is the fact that the site is constantly updated and has a real sense of community. There are excellent facilities for members, such as the house sit agreement forms and integration with Google maps. The message centre and European e-mail alert service make the site a definite winner as far as we’re concerned, well worth the nominal subscription fee. It’s a delight that the site’s owners have seen fit not to sprinkle their pages with Google ads, links and banners. The regular updates warning members of scammers or just encouraging plain house sitting good practice are testament to the fact that the site is a dynamic, living entity, not just a bunch of database files floating somewhere in cyberspace.
We receive daily e-mail alerts from the MMH site as well as from our own website (www.housem8.com) but because there’s just the two of us, we have to find home owners whose holiday dates coincide with our availability.
After receiving around a hundred requests to house sit over our time as MMH members, we eventually managed one short ten-day assignment in June 2008 for a family in rural Gloucestershire, UK. The house was a delightful three storey seven-bedroomed grade II listed building, which dated back over 400 years. It was set in nearly seven acres of lawns, which we had to cut using the super-hi tech ride-on mower. As well as the bowling-green perfect turf, there were carefully tended vegetable gardens, a large ornamental pond and a very large greenhouse to keep in good order. Many people don’t realise the value of carefully kept lawns, potted plants and shrubs; allowing such vegetation to die or become damaged through lack of water would have been unthinkable. Then there were the two gorgeous dogs, Sarah and Lucy, five and six year old Golden Retrievers, who were a delight to fuss and exercise.
The house sit was such a success that we’re booked in for another week this autumn. Mrs P.B. said: “Finding Tom & Lin through MindMyHouse.com worked really well for us. An initial introductory meeting gave us absolute confidence that they would be able to look after our house well and that our animals would be safe and happy while we were away. We were able to go away knowing that everything back home was in good hands. It worked so well that they will be coming back to sit our house and animals again next time we go away”.
We had a very successful house sit in London! (Sitter)
Hi, We had a very successful House Sit and full marks for making such a wonderful site. It was great, we communicated before we left for London with the home owners and sent photos etc and then looked after their house and cats while they were away for 4 weeks. Thoroughly recommend this great idea to all.
Thank you once again for giving us the opportunity to live such a privileged lifestyle, we have truly been bitten by house sitting! (Sitter)
Dear Susan, thank you for asking us to send a Testimonial for mindmyhouse and we write in full admiration on the ease of use and lay out. We are currently sitting in Hertford in a beautiful Manor House looking after a young Labrador. This is our 2nd house sit from mindmyhouse, the first being equally as lovely a Grade II listed Thatched Cottage, so we are extremely grateful that your site has allowed us to live such an idyllic lifestyle. I had been looking for a lifestyle change and came across your site whilst looking for an opportunity to work from home. This far outweighs any thoughts of home working and my hubby is now looking to sell his business so we can continue to house sit and hopefully be lucky enough to spread our wings further afield. We are hoping our next port of call for 2009 will be Australia. We have met some wonderful people and truly amazed at their hospitality, allowing us to live in such wonderful surroundings.
We only starting house sitting early part of 2008 and already secured repeat house sits. We have even been brave enough to attempt our own website to link from mindmyhouse. This way home owners can get a little more information about us. Our site is being tweaked daily and is a new experience for us, why not visit and offer some feedback, it would be gratefully received. We have also been approached by home owners direct, one from Hong Kong and one from Portugal, unfortunately we were already booked but have asked they keep our details for future reference. Finally, we have just secured another house sit in a Grade II listed Toll House, again from mindmyhouse, so the subscription is worth every penny and I highly recommend your site. Thank you once again for giving us the opportunity to live such a privileged lifestyle, we have truly been bitten by house sitting. Regards Debbie and Terry Home Sitters www.homenpetsitters.co.uk
I feel confident to leave our home and animals with the minder, and go away for 6 months. (Owner)
Dear Susan, I am very happy with replies that we had with our ad. We had a lot of suitable people contact us, and eventually we arranged a minder who is ideal, with references, and a love of animals. I feel confident to leave our home and animals with the minder, and go away for 6 months. We have kept regular contact and discussed all issues until she arrives here on 20th june. I think your service is top class and can't see any improvements that need to be made. The site is interesting, easy to navigate, and plenty to read. I will use Mindmyhouse again, as we go away for a few months every year.
Will use your service again and will recommend! (Owner)
Hi there, just to say very pleased with your online service - excellent in fact. We have found a lovely sounding person for our holiday to housesit so very pleased. Will use your service again and will recommend! Many thanks.
Your service enabling us to hide our email address is an excellent idea for our security and peace of mind! (Owner)
Dear Susan, the response we received was excellent, we immediatley received five or six applicants for the house sit all of which would have been suitable. We have chosen a house sitter and have now contacted them direct, but your service enabling us to hide our email address is an excellent idea for our security and peace of mind. If the house sit in July is successful, we will certainly use your web site again.
Thank you for our very positive introduction to housesitting! (Owner)
I found your website one day in March 2008. The following day I submitted a request for house sitters and within 12 hours I had twelve enquiries. Within another day we had confirmed our sitters. They were super people, very friendly and professional. They took good care of our three dogs and two cats, not to mention the house and garden! Thank you for our very positive introduction to housesitting.
We've had our first experience with house sitters from your web, and everything went fine! (Owner)
Hello Susan, My husband and I are very happy that we found mindmyhouse. We have a couple coming in July and a lady coming in August. For both ads I have quite a few
replies and they were all very nice and very willing to give me information about themselves. I also contacted a few sitters and in this case some never replied and some
replied too late so finally it was better the placing the ad than contacting them directly.
Hope this helps. (June 2008)
Dear Susan, just to let you know that we've had our first experience with house sitters from your web, and everything went fine, they were a very nice couple and we all got on very well, they got on very well with our cats and took good care of our home.
So when I left for our trip I was very relaxed and confident that everything was under control. In August I'm off again so I will have another house sitter from your web to take care of things. (July 2008)
I am in love with your service! (Owner)
I am in love with your service. You guys are doing a great job, I have found a lot of interesting people to housesit for me. Keep up the Good Work!
I only wish I had found out about it before!! (Owner)
Hello. I was very happy with the service provided by your website. I mailed a lot of people (more than 20) and almost all responded very soon after I mailed them. Unfortunately, mine was a last-minute need and no one was able to help, but I would recommend (in fact, already have!) your site to people seeking house-sitters. I only wish I had found out about it before!! - it's a great site.
We were inundated with responses to our ad! (Owner)
Hello, we were inundated with responses to our ad, and were very pleased with your site. We have made an arrangement with one of the applicants. Many thanks for your services.
Last summer Jim and I got a good house sit job in Oregon. (Sitter)
I like your site very much. Last summer Jim and I got a good house sit job in Oregon (one of our favorite destinations to travel). We had four different house-sitting jobs last summer and everyone was very pleased and happy with the job that we did. Thank you and all the best to you.
I am a fast worker - booked next winter's getaway in Mexico and have already chosen a house sitter! (Owner)
Hello Sue, I am a fast worker - booked next winter's getaway (Jan/Feb, even March now) in Mexico and have already chosen a house sitter, currently sitting in south of France. Like others, I never expected so much response, especially to come to Montreal in the dead of winter! Had replys from Australia, the UK, the USA, Canada and France. What a wonderful service you provide for travellers both ways, and their pets. I LOVE your website and maybe it would work out for next winter ('10). I detest winter though Taj, my husky, LOVES it. What a match we are! I am keeping your website address for future contact.
This is our third time to use the site and once again we have been successful! (Owner)
This is our third time to use the site and once again we have been successful in getting a suitable person. Thanks again.
Better then leaving the poor dogs in kennels and poor cat with no company! (Owner)
Hi Susan, I think it's marvellous site and it will give us that extra freedom to go away, better then leaving the poor dogs in kennels and poor cat with no company! Also it's a great opportunity to meet other people from countries, as our first sitter is from new Zealand, and is staying on a few days when we get back. So many thanks for a great idea! Have had many responses and I've narrowed the advert down to a couple, as I didn't want some sole person having an accident and not being able to call for help! April 2008
Fortunately, we seem to have found a delightful couple from the Lot area, so fingers crossed. Last year's house sitters were super, so we have been very lucky! Seasonal greetings. December 2009
The response to our ad is beyond expectation and of excellent quality. (Owner)
Thank you for your message. The response to our ad is beyond expectation and of excellent quality. We have engaged a couple of members and we have been in contact with them by e-mail and telephone. They will housesit for three weeks in May. Overall, we have been impressed by your service and look forward to future housesittings!
I applied for my first assignment on the beautiful Greek island of Kythira...and to my great suprise, received a phone call asking for a meeting! (Sitter)
Upon joining MindMyHouse, I applied for my first assignment on the beautiful Greek island of Kythira to house sit a traditional house over the winter period...and to my great suprise, received a phone call asking for a meeting, which I was happy to oblige. Upon meeting the owner and agreeing the sit, I have nothing but praise for the owner, this site (and of course, Susan's dedication!) and the resulting experiences. Once again being in contact with the countryside and looking after the cats and the wonderful dog has allowed me the experiences that city living has taken away. Originally intended as a sit from October until February, this was extended due to the owner's commitments and my flexibility. Indeed, due to our trusting relations it will continue throughout most of this year and continue again from October throughout winter next year. Not only do I thoroughly recommend housesitting, which to someone who hasn't sat before may seem a strange concept, but the experiences, different ways of life, locations etc that you experience make it a potentially life changing experience. I cannot thank MindMyHouse enough for allowing me the opportunity to connect with the owner, as well as providing me with an alternative way of life that would have been difficult to have established on my own. Here's to many more new experiences. Cheers Susan!
In fact it's so good we haven't bothered to use any other housesitting websites! Well done :)) (Owner)
Lovely to hear from you. I have found your service to be excellent, fast and effective. It balances the need to communicate with the need for privacy and confidentiality very well. As you can probably see I have made quite some use of the anonymous email address function to reply to sitters the first time round. I really appreciated this, as you never really know to whom you are responding. Once I feel comfortable that there's a genuine interest am then happy to switch to email using personal addresses. The housesitter agreement template and checklists are really good. I downloaded them some time ago and have worked through them steadily. It made me really think carefully about some aspects of sharing or loaning equipment and facilities that I hadn't previously even thought about. This means a reduced risk of miscommunication, a chance for us to think about what we find acceptable before a housesitter arrives and generally help to ensure a better start for all parties. Even if we don't actually have the document signed, just thinking things through makes a big improvement. I dont know how you manage to make this site pay, but I do know it's an essential and much appreciated service for us. In fact it's so good we haven't bothered to use any other housesitting websites! Well done :)) With thanks and best wishes.
This is the first time we have searched for a house sitter on-line and we are very impressed by your website! (Owner)
This is the first time we have searched for a house sitter on-line and we are very impressed by your website. We had numerous inquiries about our home and have chosen, what we think, will be a lovely couple to care for our home and cats. Your website is very easy to negotiate and was very helpful to a first time homeowner. I will definitely use this site in the future, maybe even as a housesitter. What a way to see the world!
My husband and I have done just under 10 housesits in Australia, the USA and the UK since December, 2006 (Sitter)
This site is excellent and between mindmyhouse.com and housecarers.com my husband and I have done just under 10 housesits in Australia, the USA and the UK since December, 2006. This time we left Australia in November, 2007 and will not be home until the end of October, 2008. Over 8 months of this time involves house sitting - way to go !! Once we finish this 4 month house sit in Chipping Norton, UK we are off to Toronto, Canada for two months then down to Minnesota, USA for another month. One suggestion I would make for house sitter is to have business cards made up with their detail plus the house sitting sites. So many people ask us about house sitting we now find it great to hand over a card rather than scribble all the details on a piece of paper. Before we leave the UK we are catching up with a couple of our prior house sitting families - you can meet some wonderful people through house sitting!
Fantastic! (Owner)
Fantastic! I made a 17-day trip to the southwest while a home/petsitter recruited here took care of things at home in the southeast for me. She did a fantastic job, kept a daily log of my doggies' doings. Just wish she lived closer by...but true friends are not very far away.
Carry on!!! (Owner)
Hi Susan. We wrote to about 10 sitters asking if they wanted to come and mind our house in April. Everyone replied and we have found a lovely couple. No probs with navigating the site, getting in, reading anything - it's all good. Carry on!!!
I have told several friends about your service and the website as I would thoroughly recommend you. (Owner)
Dear Susan, I have found your service excellent. The website was easy to find my way around and everything seemed to work as you said it should! Having advertised for a house sitter I immediately received about a dozen replies. At this stage I chose to mask my advert so that I wouldn't receive any more until I had dealt with those that I had. They all seemed to be extremely pleasant people and I felt I was spoiled for choice! However, we have now chosen a Canadian couple who will be coming here in July. We've exchanged emails and photos and spoken on the phone. I have also taken up references from people for whom they house sat in the UK last year. I wrote to everyone who had applied, thanking them for doing so. There is one woman in particular, in the UK, who was keen to remain on our list, so to speak, in case the Canadians had to pull out - or for future use. I have told several friends about your service and the website as I would thoroughly recommend you. We are now looking forward to receiving our house sitters in July and feel sure that all will go well. I don't really have any suggestions to make about ways to improve your service.
...the one I picked proved to be excellent! (Owner)
Excellent and easy to use. I found a sitter very quickly to take care of my house & cat whilst on holiday for a month. I had ten possible sitters within a few days and the one I picked proved to be excellent.
...I have nothing but positive things to say about the service! (Owner)
Susan; I must say we were very pleasantly surprised by the number and quality of responses we had to our advert for sitters – we had 15 or 16 responses, (to me that was much more than I anticipated) and hope to get a sitter in place early next month having shortlisted 3 very good candidates. This has been our first attempt at getting sitters into the property and the web site was great to use – so right now I have nothing but positive things to say about the service.
We had a lovely 'sit' in Devon in january with 3 delightful cats, and have been asked back! (Sitter)
We are extremely satisfied with the mmhouse service. We had a lovely 'sit' in Devon in january with 3 delightful cats, and have been asked back. And now we have accepted 2 young folk from Oz to sit for us x 2 weeks next month. So well done all of you at mmhouse. This is potentially an excellent service. How do you benefit from setting up the site?
I would use your service again in a heartbeat! (Owner)
Your service was overwhelmingly positive - far more helpful than I thought, with an incredible caliber of people willing to house sit. I would use your service again in a heartbeat and appreciate your following up.
We have through your website secured a housesit in Spain for a period of 2 years. (Sitter)
Hello to everyone at Mind my House. Just thought we would write and let you know of our experiance with you. We have through your website secured a housesit in Spain for a period of 2 years. We are 1 year in to that 2 years and have really enjoyed our time. The homeowners are a really nice couple that we have come to view as friends now and I must say the sun in Spain is just the job on cold dark days in England. Keep up the good work we will be looking again next year.
I can confirm that I have had a very positive experience with mindmyhouse (Owner)
Hello Susan, In reply to your email I can confirm that I have had a very positive experience with mindmyhouse and will be using it again in the near future. The majority of responses I received were all from serious, reliable people and I was very satisfied with the replies I got. I found a couple who are there at the moment and will be looking again for later in the year. Can’t think of anything at the moment on how it might be improved. Great idea, very useful and I’m sure it will grow.
Great response! (Owner)
Great response. Didn't contact anyone direct other than through your site, which is excellent. Have still to finalise my decision but will certainly use you again. Thank you.
I was so much more at ease knowing she was here with my pets. (Owner)
Thank you so much for your site. I was very happy with the gal who house sat for me for 18 days. I contacted a number of people who were in my general area. I did find that many were not available. Some were surprised by my contact as if they had forgotten that they had signed up on your sight. Thankfully, the person I got was my first choice. I liked her ad. She was very well spoken, responsible and reliable. I feel we have a friendship now too. I was so much more at ease knowing she was here with my pets. All was in order when I returned.
I found your service better then some other sites. (Owner)
Dear Susan, your site is excellent and has provided good people for house sitting. I found your service better then some other sites. Thank you and do keep up this excellent site for next time. Thank you very much once again.
The first time we looked through your house sitters listing and found a couple who were truly excellent! (Owner)
We have now used MindMyHouse twice. The first time we looked through your house sitters listing and found a couple who were truly excellent. During their stays they have now spent more than seven weeks in our house and we have become friends. This time, as they will not then be available, we posted our sitting opportunity advert and received a gratifying number of replies. We have selected a couple who seem ideally suited and we have of course replied to all the other applicants. We shall certainly use your site again whenever we need house sitters. With our best wishes for a good New Year!
Many thanks to you service, which I shall be using again soon... (Owner)
Dear Susan, Thank you for your e-mail. I am happy to tell you that two of your registered house sitters have been house-sitting for us from 30th October to 7th December and I cannot paise them highly enough. We have not only made two new good friends but there is a possibility that they may be helping us again in the very near future. Many thanks to you service, which I shall be using again soon, as I have another requirement for mid-end January for a period of about 2 weeks.
It was simple and straightforward and I started getting answers from people within 24 hours. (Owner)
Dear Susan, I think your website is very good and clear, I was looking for a house sitter for a house over the winter and received many viable contacts. I started looking through the list of house sitters first but soon realised that placing my own notice was by far the better route. It was simple and straightforward and I started getting answers from people within 24 hours. I have someone house sitting for me who was registered with you and thus far all is fine. Great service.
We are now on our 4th international sit in under a year! (Sitter)
In just the couple of months since we signed up, we have procured two international house sitting assignments. We love the way your website is laid out and how easy it is to use. We are particularly impressed with the map feature that enables us to see the exact location of listings. Keep up the good work. (Nov 2007)
Hi Susan, First of all, let me thank you again for the fine housesitting opportunities we have enjoyed through your website. We are now on our 4th international sit in under a year. Thank you again, we love what you are doing. Keep it up! (April 2008)
The first one I contacted came for an interview and proved eminently suitable! (Owner)
Hi, Susan, I was very pleased by the results of my use of your service! You listed a number of people in my area who were available to house-sit. The first one I contacted came for an interview and proved eminently suitable. We left her in charge of our house and pets for a weekend and we were very happy with her performance. We will use her again whenever we have a need for a housesitter, if she is available at that time. If she isn't, I am sure we will use your service to see if we can locate another sitter. Thanks for your service, and thanks for caring enough to follow up.
I had to narrow my search to only local housesitters the response was so great! (Owner)
Hi Susan, I have been VERY impressed with the quality and number of responses I have received. I had to narrow my search to only local housesitters the response was so great! I only now need to convince my husband that this will be a great thing and hope that we have a good first experience.
I've had around 100 replies in a few weeks! (Owner)
It's a great sight, from the point of view of homeowners. I've had around 100 replies in a few weeks, most being lovely singles and couples with amazing backgrounds. Most of them did not have their own advert, which gave me limited info until we did an email exchange. Thanks!
I have so far had a much more interesting and suitable age group of people wishing to visit here...to fill in time between their housesits. (Owner)
Hi there I am already a fully paid member of helpx and to be honest mind my house has been absolutely brilliant I already have one couple here through your site and others due to visit...it has been absolutely brilliant the response and I have so far had a much more interesting and suitable age group of people wishing to visit here...to fill in time between their housesits...So thank you very much for this and your service..
...matching me up with a housesitter, mind my house worked perfectly!! (Owner)
Hi Susan, in terms of matching me up with a housesitter, mind my house worked perfectly!! I was looking for a housesitter for two months from November till the end of December and actually found the perfect match. They will start housesitting this weekend so let's see if the housesitting itself will work out as well as the matching up. I didn't put an ad but went to search the housesitters available for my area and found the match like that. The service worked well for me the way it is set up at the moment. I also liked that you gave a downloadable version of the housesitting agreement which we use/used. I hope this works out well and I will be sure to look for housesitters with you again in the future!
Once again, congratulations to all at mindmyhouse on a superb idea that has been flawlessly executed! (Sitter)
We've just registered as potential home sitters and wanted to express our appreciation to all concerned with this site for its clarity and comprehensiveness -- it really is exceptionally well thought-out. Although I am a writer and thus not shackled to an employer's clock, my wife isn't retiring until next Spring, after which we'll at last (!) have much more free time together to travel elsewhere in the UK and overseas. As we're both pet lovers and, by virtue of my wife's career experience in animal rescue, knowledgable / passionate about their welfare, it's especially gratifying to encounter a site such as this where so many attach so much justifiable importance to these co-equal family members. Once again, congratulations to all at mindmyhouse on a superb idea that has been flawlessly executed: we very much look forward to making new friends, on new horizons, in 2008. Best wishes.
...you seem to be the only folks who don't charge for this service! (Sitter)
Hi there, I was very drawn to your site and love the way you have arranged not only the site but the thoughts behind it. I've done a rather quick overview of what's available out there in the field of house sitting and you seem to be the only folks who don't charge for this service. Just wondering how you manage that. There are some sites that get people coming in and going out, ie. they charge the folks with the homes and the folks who want to house sit them. Either way I'm touched and just wanted to say hello to people doing a great job. With love and blessings.
I depend on your site now without a doubt - it is part of my holiday plans automatically! (Owner)
Mind My House is great - I have someone I found through that site watching over my kitties and home right now! (I am in Laos at present!) And I found great and interesting people last summer, too. I live in Japan and am always looking for people who might like to spend a few weeks in a nice house outside of Tokyo...anyone interested for next summer?? Really - I depend on your site now without a doubt - it is part of my holiday plans automatically! Thanks again.
Our dogs... had obviously become so attached to Bill and Marsha, it was touching to see how they easily went to them for affection. (Owner)
Susan, We just arrived home last night and though I’m fighting jetlag, I had to email you right away to tell you of our wonderful experience with our housesitters. We were in Rome the first part of this week and as I looked at the frescos in the Sistene Chapel I was almost expecting to see Bill and Marsha’s (our housesitters) faces among the angels, they were so incredible. I told my husband this morning they were the type of housesitters we would be, conscienentious, careful, honest, trustworthy. Not only was the house in great shape when we came home, Bill had actually done yard work and repaired the dryer himself when it broke. And our dogs (our major reason for wanting housesitters… to avoid a long kennel stay for them) had obviously become so attached to Bill and Marsha, it was touching to see how they easily went to them for affection. Dogs don’t fake affection and we could see their’s was genuine. And on top of everything, Bill and Marsha had a great time discovering New Jersey and New York City for the first time. They were even on “Good Morning America” and were interviewed on national TV by the host. Of course all this wouldn’t have happened without your wonderful website. You provided the means and the support to make this endeavor tremendously successful. We were able to relax and enjoy ourselves, our dogs avoided the long kennel stay and Bill and Marsha got to know a section of the country they had never experienced. Many, many thanks. We are already starting to plan our next trip and we’ll put getting our listing for a housesitter on “Mindyourhouse.com” at the top of our list of planning steps.
This is certainly my preferred site to use. (Sitter)
Your website is great. Very complete and easy to use. Although I am not looking for a housesitting position until I return from India in March, this is certainly my preferred site to use. Hopefully, in March there will be many opportunites. Thanks for such a great site!!! Good work.
Delighted to say we have just made a match! (Sitter)
It's great. I reviewed every assigment offered for six months and am delighted to say we have just made a match. We got the time slot we wanted and met our other main requirements: a place where we won't have to shovel snow (at least not likely!) and a location we would not ordinarily think of visiting. Our assignment starts in 2 1/2 months, which works well for us. Here's looking forward to an interesting winter.
Our animals were in jeopardy of being kennelized, when we were referred to you. (Owner)
Can I tell you that I will tell the world about your service. With only 2 weeks to our trip, we thought our animals were in jeopardy of being kennelized when we were referred to you. We have never opened our home to strangers and were reluctant. Desperation prompted our use of the service but oh my Gosh! We not only had tons of qualified responses, our house-sitters ended up being so amazing and perfect. I told Ed, our house-sitter I wanted to marry him and replace my husband, since he is handier around the house. I believe the sitters had a great time "the most relaxing 3 weeks ever" and we had peace of mind. Thank you... I will be writing a blog about your service with my business www.retreatscostarica.com
I definitely plan to use your service again! (Owner)
Hi Susan-I found the perfect house sitter using mindmyhouse within a couple days, and there were plenty of other good people who responded. I definitely plan to use your service again. Thanks!
Thank you so much for an easy to use, confidential and efficient service. (Owner)
I was totally impressed with your service! this is the first time i have considered or needed a sitter and your service was outstanding. although I did not choose one of 5 potential candidates I have their data and will reconnect with you next year. thank you so much for an easy to use, confidential and efficient service.
Your house sitting service is amazing! (Owner)
Hello, Your house sitting service is amazing. In no time at all I was inundated with replies and am in the process of writing to all of them as I will need people in the future although I think one of those who replied will be really suitable for my immediate needs. Thank you for providing the site and I will be a regular visitor. Actually I am quite keen on house sitting myself sometime so might well be on the other side so to speak in the future.
What a tremendous site! (Sitter)
Thank you to MindMyHouse for a wonderful house sitting experience. This year we answered a request to take care of a family dog for a month in Copenhagen. Although we are well travelled we had never been to Denmark. For several months we emailed each other, explaining about ourselves and hearing about Happy (a gorgeous labrador who we came to like enormously) and his routine. Anette also gave us loads of information about places to see, where to shop, how to use the public transport, where the special landmarks were, and so much more, all of which was incredibly helpful. We arrived in Copenhagen to be met at the airport and had a day together with the family to familiarize ourselves with ‘Happy’ and their home. We had the most wonderful month, saw and travelled to lots of places in Denmark, often taking Happy walking with us on marathon walks through the most exquisite forests which surround Copenhagen. We realised how much house sitting depends on trust and we believe our correspondence before arriving in Denmark helped us to all feel we knew each other. For us, this has been a great experience thanks to MindMyHouse and we really hope to use the site regularly and of course we will recommend it to friends. Thanks again.
Your site gave us a wonderful housesit in England (Sitter)
Your site gave us a wonderful housesit in Suffolk during our 3 month holiday in England. The home we looked after and the delightful dog, Barney that we cared for were just fantastic. Of course it goes without saying the home owners were lovely too. We felt very comfortable although we didn't meet the man of the house until after they returned from their holiday abroad. The market town of Beccles was so interesting and picturesque with the Waveney River alsmost at our doorstep. Housesitting allows you to visit places you may not otherwise hear about. Thank you again, we wouldn't hesitate in using your site for our next holiday.
We had a great experience! (Sitter)
Recently, we undertook a ten week house and pet sitting assignment through Mindmyhouse, in a village near Colchester, Essex, England. In spite of this summer being the wettest on record, we had a great experience.
The village consisted of a pub, church, village hall, a few houses and a bus shelter – no bus service, just the shelter that was used for the posting of notices and delivery of newspapers. The house was an extended cottage, comfortable and reasonably easy to care for, with a large garden literally sitting in a field of barley. (One morning we awoke to find a tractor parked outside the kitchen window and a combine harvester churning along perilously close to the fence). There were the usual, functioning home appliances and a well appointed kitchen. The home owners had asked us, early in spring, if we’d like them to plant a vegetable garden, and this we enjoyed tending, especially when it came time to gather the resulting abundant produce.
Puddles and Tiddles, sibling, silky, tortoiseshell cats, were the friendliest in our pet sitting experience, and a trouble free pleasure to care for. The pond full of huge, colorful koi needed weekly maintenance of the pump system and periodic clearing away of pond weed. In return, it provided us with some periods of restful contemplation.
The use of a car was made available in return for a reasonable insurance coverage charge, (this was essential as the home was remote from public transportation) together with a pair of bicycles that we enjoyed riding along the winding lanes to surrounding villages and places of interest. This part of the country is very well provided with public footpaths and we took the opportunity of dry days to explore through walks in fields and woods.
The home owners had arranged for a friend to collect and deal with personal mail which relieved us of this responsibility. We noted all telephone messages and, if they appeared important, communicated with the home owners via email.
This was another positive house and pet sitting experience for us and, we know, also from the home owners’ point of view. The home owners and we, the home carers, found Mind My House to be a great resource, full of useful information and guidance, easy to access and use.
We have been offered numerous housesits as a result of your website! (Sitter)
Hello Susan, We have been offered numerous housesits as a result of your website, and will be housesitting in Ireland this winter.
During our month in the States, we communicated often...and knew that both house and dog were in the best of hands. (Owner)
I needed housesitters for the whole month of July, so I placed an ad on MindMyHouse earlier this year. I'd read about the site in a Danish newspaper. I got over 10 replies in 24 hours, so I removed the ad again and concentrated on selecting my house sitters. I decided on a british couple living in Australia. Heather and Fred took great care of Happy, our dog, and our house in Denmark. We had one day together prior to my vacation, and this was really good considering all the practical things there is to talk about. During our month in the States, we communicated often with Heather and Fred and knew that both house and dog were in the best of hands. This we also saw when we returned from our vacation - the house was spotless, the garden kept lovely, and our dog was just as his name: Happy. I think that MindMyHouse is a brilliant idea, and I have often recommended the site to other Danes who were in need of pet and house sitters. I would not hesitate to use it again. Good luck with MindMyHouse.
I just love you guys! (Sitter)
I just love you guys, love your service that allows me to dream about all the locations that I can go visit and give a hand to some people who would like to travel and have a vacation, while the pets and the house are looked after. Keep up the good work! (Aug 2007)
By the way, I am in glorious Hawaii thanks to you, and will be in Australia in February, also thanks to you. (Dec 2008)
This site of yours has been a God-send for me as it has allowed me to have a pen-pal with the lady in Australia that I will be sitting for. We have been in contact with each other for the past two years and at last I will go meet her and her family. Spending 4 months in Australia is a dream come true. Two 1/2 months of that will be sitting for this lady and the rest will be to go on my own walkabout. As a retired little old lady with a small pension, house/pet sitting is a great way to visit a country and not spend a fortune in hotels. I actually can save some of my pension to allow me to pay for flying here and there. I love my life. Next winter I am planning a trip to Asia and have been in touch with people in Singapore (thanks to you). I believe it is a go. As for the people in Hawaii, I have sat three times for them in a period of three months. In between, I was able to just visit the islands and meet new friends and swim in the ocean with wild dolphins and manta rays. Life does not get any better than that. Thanks again. (Jan 2009)
By allowing our us to advertise our slightly different arrangement on your site, you have saved us a huge headache! (Owner)
Dear Susan, my family is very grateful to you for allowing us to use your wonderful site. We have had an increasing problem about our family 'holiday home' in France, which has great sentimental value and we all love, but is becoming increasingly difficult to afford to maintain. We started to let it out for short term holiday lets to help towards costs, but as it is in a rather shabby state it was difficult to market. We were starting to think that, as we could not afford the time or money to carry out the redecoration needed, we were in a catch 22 situation and would have to consider selling. Browsing on the internet, I came across your site and wondered if people may be interested in doing some decorating, instead of looking after pets and plants, in return for staying at the house (which is in a beautiful area). Seems that people were! We had many applications from some truly wonderful people. The person we have offerred the assignment to is just perfect, a lovely person we were all taken by, who we hope gets as much out of the experience as we will! A couple of other applicants we warmed to so much from the information they gave, that we hope they will still be available for a similar arrangement in the future. It seems that by allowing our us to advertise our slightly different arrangement on your site, you have saved us a huge headache. Thank you, from the whole family. Your site is easy to use and full of fantastic information. I will let you know how the assignment goes!
I am thrilled to think that my husband and I actually have the opportunity now to go on holiday! (Owner)
Hi Susan, I think your service is quite fantastic! I found it whilst I was searching online for a pet-sitting service and was struggling to find anyone willing to look after my parrot. Then I bumped into you! I put an ad on your website without much hope in my heart and within days had four very strong candidates whom I knew would all do a fantastic job. I had to send emails to them all saying that my dates had been purely speculative, I just wanted to see if there was anyone out there at all. I was able to liaise with them and took up references with one couple, being told in no uncertain terms how wonderful they were and that I should grab them with both hands before anyone else pinches them! I am thrilled to think that my husband and I actually have the opportunity now to go on holiday confident in knowing that Fergus our parrot will be in good hands (the house was a secondary consideration!) I think your questions on the site for both house-sitters and home owners are well constructed and astutely selected. It is possible to learn quite a lot about the individuals before you even contact them direct. My only small criticism is that I felt unable to be completely vague about dates in my ad: my strategy was always going to be - find a sitter then work out dates rather than the other way around. So - many thanks! We look forward to a future with holidays.
Talk about an embarrassment of riches!! (Owner)
This is a great site and service. I only listed a couple of days ago and I already have a great sitter. In fact a second great candidate has just contacted me. Talk about an embarrassment of riches!! Anyway, thank you very much for the service. While my holiday is not until March 2008 you have to work ahead to make sure you have a good sitter. Now I can go ahead and make plans and pay deposits. Thanks again.
It was a bit difficult deciding who to choose but that is a good problem to have! (Owner)
I was very satisfied with MindMyHouse. I had 11 or 12 people interested in house sitting within two days of listing my house. And I was looking for a five week assignment which is much harder to find than the standard two week period most people prefer. I started sending e-mails to people listed and found 5-6 of the people interested that way. But it was almost immediately evident that I did not need to be so pro-active as inquiries started to come in from my listing. It was a bit difficult deciding who to chose but that is a good problem to have. I will use the site again next time I need someone to mind my house.
I have recommended your site to all my friends and family! (Owner)
Dear Susan, I had many replies to my ad and picked a terrific Australian couple to house sit for a week. They have just left. The whole process was a great success and I have recommended your site to all my friends and family. Is there a place on the site where I could post my comments about them? If not there should be!
We...are very pleased to have been offered more 'sits' than we can attend!! (Sitter)
We are new to homesitting, but are very pleased to have been offered more 'sits' than we can attend!! The layout of your site and the friendly way questions are answered by Susan make you a unique and pleasant company to deal with. We look forward to more sits supplied by you and a long and happy association. With thanks.
The people who use your site are...exactly the kind of individuals we are looking for. (Owner)
Hello!! First of all I would like to say I am very happy with your service.This is my first time using it and the response has been good. So far, since I placed the ad a week or so ago I have had about 10 responses.Out of the 10 about 4-5 are still interested after I got in touch with them and gave them more information. The people who use your site are evidently interesting people, non-traditional and exactly the kind of individuals we are looking for. It is going to be difficult to find the right person to house sit for us as we are looking for a long term (6 + months) sitter and in a very different type of place in the interior of Brazil. But I feel confident we will find the right person.I imagine it is important for you as the administrator that the persons offering a house for sitting respond quickly to the respondents to the ad. I can assure you I am quick to respond and to give out further information to those interested and am giving a clear picture of what house sitting in Brazil will be like.... Thank you for the service!!
I used several sites to post my housesitting. Yours is the best organized. (Owner)
Susan, I think your site is wonderful. I used several sites to post my housesitting. Yours is the best organized. Thanks for asking. P.S. The persons sitting for me now were found through your site. Keep up the good work.
We left the next morning, very happy and entirely carefree. (Owner)
We have just taken our first holiday in 3 years, leaving our home and animals (dogs, poultry and G. Pig) in the care of a lovely sitter we found on your site. He was the first and only sitter I contacted and who responded with a glowing reference within a few hours. We emailed for a few weeks, with me sending photos etc of his charges before his arrival at Easter. The dogs took 2 mins before landing in his lap and snuggling down. We left the next morning, very happy and entirely carefree. A fantastic experience that we will be repeating next month: the sitter's mother will be doing this shift! A nicer family we could not have hoped to meet. Thank you for a great site, it has given us our freedom back.
I've used your site with success for a housesit in NZ this year. (Sitter)
I've used your site with success for a housesit in NZ this year. I've enjoyed the peace and quiet of the area and enjoyed the companionship of some fun pets. I'm hoping the homeowners will feel the same about the care of the pets and house as they are enjoyed their holiday in Europe. I like your site, and I've been contacted by two homeowners (US and NZ) but as I'm currently in NZ I'm expecting that the US would be difficult at this time!! Keep up the lovely work; as long as I'm housesitting I'll continue to use you, of course.
...my gut feeling about it is just great. (Owner)
Dear Susan,Well using MindMyHouse has really been a great experience. I am surprised that there is so few people using your service. (I mean house owners - as far as I can see there are a lot of house sitters using MMH). I put my ad online a few months ago. I got about ten requests from people all over the world who would love to sit my house, and our wonderful dog Happy. I ended up choosing an australian couple, who will take care of house and dog for the month of July. So up to now it has been a really good experience for me. I used your "answering service" until I finally decided on the australian couple - then I started communicating directly with them. I think I had my ad online for two days. Then I had sufficient responses to make a desicion on who to choose. I would like to get back to you regarding the actual house sitting experience. But my gut feeling about it is just great. My boyfriend and I have actually talked about trying to travel for a year or so by using MMH to sit people's houses or pets. We will see what the future brings. Thanks and good luck with MindMyHouse.
...the tenor of the replies I received convinced me that you attract the best sort of person for this activity. (Owner)
Dear Susan, I used your service for an emergency which left very little notice and so I was not expecting to be successful, just hopeful. My expectations were justified in that I did not manage to find anyone who was free at such short notice, but I was very gratified by the almost identical responses I got from a quite large number of the people I wrote to. A typical response was this one: "I am unable to assist you for these dates unfortunately as I'm already committed to looking after a dog and 3 cats in Ireland for most of those days you require to the middle of April. I would however love to assist you in the future if you require someone to look after your cat. I hope that you find someone who will be able to assist you at this time." The result is that I have a core of respondents to whom I can turn at a future date when I next need their services. I was, of course, apprehensive about the sort of person who might want to stay in my house, but the tenor of the replies I received convinced me that you attract the best sort of person for this activity. Well done. Happily, I was able to find an excellent house-sitter locally at the last moment, so all was well.
I look forward to getting to know them when they arrive a few days before our vacation dates. (Owner)
Susan, I must say I was overwhelmed by the number of responses I received to my posting - within 48 hours I had received about 60 responses with the earliest ones coming in within 3 hours! The responses were creative, wonderful and I had a difficult time narrowing it down - I felt bad that I could not respond to all! I have arranged two house/pet sitting dates for August and October with two members. They both responded immediately to my calls and we have corresponded several times since. I look forward to getting to know them when they arrive a few days before our vacation dates. I am using your suggested contract and things are falling into place very well. Overall, I am very excited about the website and have recommended it to several friends.
I'm registered on several housesitting sites and find your site, by far, the easiest to use. (Owner)
Dear Susan, I'm registered on several housesitting sites and find your site, by far, the easiest to use. I like the "short list" function, which is a great time saver. I have not yet used a housesitter from your site, but I have one that I am going to contact later in the week. I have used sitters from caretaker gazette and housecarers.com.I also like the fact that you can see if people charge for their services or not--that's a big help! I've recommended your site to others & I hope it will continue to grow!
You should get some awards soon I am sure! (Sitter)
By the way, congratulations for the most easy to understand website out there on this subject! You should get some awards soon I am sure! Greetings from Paris.
...we need to remember that 'google' wasn't built in a few days. (Sitter)
Hi, I love your site! It is very user friendly, has great information, and is well organized. I wish it had more listings for house sitters but we need to remember that 'google' wasn't built in a few days. Keep up your good work. I know that it will happen for you. This website is needed and unique from others. I wish you the best.
Had to tell you how much fun I have simply living vicariously... (Sitter)
Hello! I finally got around (tax time crunches ended!) to reading this newsy letter... and find myself EVEN MORE IMPRESSED with your site! I'm trying to get up the nerve to 'give it a go' yet had to tell you how much fun I have simply living vicariously... AND you provide that! SO thanx much... and continued success!
I felt much better knowing that my sweeties were with someone who appeared to be even more of an animal person than I was! (Owner)
I only used the mindmyhouse site, and initially didn’t write an ad. Without an ad I got no responses, but with my ad I was deluged. My other person was happy to come, and now, to stay the whole time that I would be in the states. We had been e-mailing back and forth. We were able to meet before I left, which was great and I felt much better knowing that my sweeties were with someone who appeared to be even more of an animal person than I was. I had a small dinner party for her prior to my departure so she could meet my friends and would have help if she needed it. The house sit went well. Dali and Sam were fine and my house was cleaner than it has ever been. She stayed on a week longer after my return and then moved up the hill to stay with one of my friends until she could find another house sit. Thanks to mindmyhouse, I was able to return to New Orleans to make arrangements to repair and to rent my home and apartment with as much peace of mind as is possible under traumatic circumstances.
I can't think of anything you might need to improve! (Owner)
Hi Susan. We were delighted with the response. The service was easy to use and everything seemed very straightforward. I can't think of anything you might need to improve. Thankyou.
The first sitters contacted me within half an hour of me placing my ad. (Owner)
I was very impressed with the site. The first sitters contacted me within half an hour of me placing my ad. They sounded excellent, we exchanged a few emails and I checked one of their references, which was good. Within two days we had agreed terms and they have booked their flights to come to us this summer. By the next day I had about half a dozen replies any of which could have been a possibility. If I hadn't already started communication with the first couple I really think I would have been spoilt for choice! I think I would then have had a problem, as I don't know how I would have chosen between them! An excellent service, thank you.
PS. I found your site from a recommendation from someone who had previously been with you, as a sitter.
PPS. I am also very impressed that you are taking the trouble to canvass opinions!
...it's been a great success as far as I'm concerned! (Owner)
Dear Susan, I've been very impressed by the number of responses I received, and so quickly as well. I needed a house-sitter at quite short notice, so a lot of the responses were asking me to keep them in mind for future assignments, so I've got a good short-list of people who sound suitable ready for next time. I found a really good sitter for this time though - all our dogs loved him and everything was just as we left it when we got home. So thanks, it's been a great success as far as I'm concerned.
...it may be me some day jetting off to some exotic location! (Sitter)
Thank you so much for this information. I love getting the new listings even though I have not yet responded to any. It's just fun to see who is looking for house sitters and, who knows, it may be me some day jetting off to some exotic location!
Thank you so very much for executing a good idea so well! (Owner)
Dear Susan, I wish I did have some useful suggestions for you, but our experience with your website was entirely satisfactory. Your service provided us with so many possible house sitters that I had to stop publishing the notice in less than a day! Initially, I used your website to correspond with everyone who answered or inquired and then went into direct phone or email discussions with several of the most likely candidates. As it happened, one of them was a woman who lives very close-by whose daughter had just returned from several years abroad and was looking for a place nearby where she could live independently. This young woman seems a perfect fit for our somewhat unusual situation and we're very pleased at the series of coincidences that led us all to meet on your website. I'm holding on to the contact information for several of the other people who contacted us, since they might be good fits in future. Almost all of the respondents sound like delightful, charming and adventurous people with whom it would be a pleasure to become better acquainted. We also appreciated having suggestions for an agreement handy. We're using your guidelines. Thank you so very much for executing a good idea so well!
...life would be very dull if everything were risk free! (Owner)
Dear Susan, I can give a very positive report on the service offered by MindMyHouse as a result of using it. Firstly, I found the web pages very straightforward to use. The site was visually uncluttered and intuitive to use. This is not the case with many of the commercial sites, particularly those related to the leisure industry.
I began by looking at the people who were offering a sitting service and selected someone to respond to who I thought might match our needs. However, I was anxious about security and the manner of response that you have set up on the site appeared to be very careful about not allowing direct access between the two parties until they chose to initiate that.
Almost at the same time, because the responding had been quite easy and secure, I placed an advert. This process was very simple and I downloaded a picture too. The exemplars and advice were helpful in designing my advert. Within hours I had received several responses and by the end of 36 hours I had received plenty to choose from, so I removed the advert, which again was very easy to do.
I felt it good etiquette to respond to all the people who had enquired and let them know that the first people who had offered were going to be used. However, I have also kept on file a contact that lives not far away from here who would come for a weekend, should that be necessary. We have been in contact with our proposed sitters by email and I will have a phone conversation soon to keep the communication open.
Of course, it is still a concern that we are taking a risk in having strangers in our home, but life would be very dull if everything were
risk free. I am not at all sure if there is anymore that you at MindMyHouse could
do to ensure security.
Overall the site was very helpful, easy to use and gave me a sense of confidence in the transaction. In fact, I have mentioned it to several people and also included it as an exemplar of a good website in an online
training course that I am currently taking.
You provide a very good service, specially compared to the price! (Owner)
Dear Susan, well, I should thank you for putting up this wonderful service! I'm absolutely satisfied with the replies I got from house-sitters to my ad. Whether I will be satisfied with the house-sitters themselves is another matter, and I'm crossing my fingers. You provide a very good service, specially compared to the price! I think the only way to improve the website would be to add the possibility of posting comments on each user, like on Ebay or Hospitality Club.
...it's been great! (Owner)
I've had no problems with your service/website it's been great! I've had over 40 replys and at least 10 are perfect for us. We will be talking to house sitters in more depth in June and July and hopefully then we will book it all in. Thanks.
The support given by the team was valuable. (Owner)
Ours was possibly a difficult ask. We needed a housesitter during the depths of winter and also I asked that we would prefer a gay friendly housesitter. However, we were besieged with applicants. Making a choice was difficult, but in the end it boiled down to the one who was 'first cab off the rank' and made a firm commitment. We are happy with the service offered by mind my house. The support given by the team was valuable.
You are fantastic! (Owner)
Dear Susan, You are fantastic! I will keep the ad there but invisible for a while and have copied it so that if we need a housesitter again in future (very possible), I can come to your website. And have started communication with a couple of people on the list who would be great possibilities in the future. I am just totally impressed with your website, I wish all websites were so well-organized, easy to get around, informative and just plain fun to use! I have turned others onto your website...I have a housesitter 10 months of the year in New Mexico until I sell my house. I have given her your website so she can consider her future "gigs" after my house sells. Thanks again and all best to you, Michelle.
...it was a wonderful experience for both of us! (Owner)
Hi, yes I have used your service and am very pleased. The first time I ran an advert and got replies immediately. I picked a woman from New Zealand and it was a wonderful experience for both of us.The next time I needed a sitter I was going through the listings and found one that specifically wanted Alb at the time I was going to be gone so hooked up. She was OK. I have 2 sitters lined up for this year that I picked from a list I made one day when I was bored. I sent about 7 requests and am happy to say they all responded. Two wanted to come so I have a couple from Arizona coming in March and a woman for three weeks in late June. So I guess you could say that I am making very good use of your service and am glad I found the site. Thank you.
You have given me freedom - to choose to stay, or go... (Sitter)
Thank you for setting up such a wonderful web-site. It would be difficult for me to be a member of expensive sites as I am a single person on a small pension. I both need to get away occassionally, and also need for someone to take care of my elderly cat, so both your options are fantastic for me. You have given me freedom - to choose to stay, or go, and as I cannot afford holidays, this is a splendid help to me. Also my elderly mother, (99) has recently had two strokes, I now have the chance of being able to visit and stay with her, not easy at the moment as she lives in a different part of the country. Once again, thank you, you are in the position of changing lives, for the better, and the world is a better place for it. Best wishes and regards to all the team.
Thank you - we have once again found someone! (Owner)
Thank you - we are in India now and succesfully found someone to look after our animals and home. Hopefully they are enjoying the experience. Thank you for an excellent site.
(March 2007)
Thank you - we have once again found someone and received lots of replies. Excellent site!
(Sept 2007)
Just to let you know that our animals and house were really well looked after. Michael was also a really interesting guy (from Australia) and I enjoyed chatting to him after we returned. During the holiday we had occasional contact via email which is always reassuring. I have recommended Mind My House to lots of other people and I would have no hesitation in recommending Michael to anyone in the future - although I think he is returning to Australia for at least a couple of years! As before we had lots of replies and I have kept in touch with some of them - many of them sounded more than suitable and I think it is good to build up an email relationship with people before one departs. Thanks again for excellent service.
(Nov 2007)
MindMyHouse is a fantastic resource! (Sitter)
Mindmyhouse is a fantastic resource with a sleek, user-friendly design. I can easily see it being the number one website for house sitting once more listings are available. What can be done to advertise more widely? I will try and help if an opporutunity comes up in the Sydney area.
...all were people who I would have happily considered to mind my house! (Owner)
Hi Susan, I put up an ad for a housesitter and within a few days had about twenty responses, which was about twenty more than I anticipated! Apart from one response, all were (just going on their initial email) people who I would have happily considered to mind my house. I contacted one lady as a result of the ad and got to know her a little better. I met up with her, and all seems well. She arrives next week to housesit. So I'm very happy with the service! I emailed the others to thank them for their interest, of course. Best of luck with your site. I look forward to using it again in the future.
The site...has given us ideas of some fun ways to travel in our own retirement! (Owner)
Hi Susan, just to say that we are delighted - even overwhelmed by the responses we have had - over 40, almost all sounded eminently suitable - and so hard to choose. Finally selected a UK based couple as we thought that meant less potential for things to screw up at the last minute, however many of the others sounded fascinating and at least we feel fairly sure that we could find a backup at short notice if necessary. We never imagined that summer in Scotland would be so attractive! We think the site is brilliant and it has given us ideas of some fun ways to travel in our own retirement! Keep it up.
We love MindMyHouse! (Owner)
Hello Susan, I was totally surprised to find mindmyhouse to be so actively participatory! Yes; I have had lots of responses from our posting from all over the world! We are zeroing in right now on one in particular -- will know Wednesday if it's a go with them -- and there's a few in the backup position too! Thanks for the inquiry! We love mindmyhouse.
As to the site, it was idiot proof! (Owner)
Dear Susan, yes thanks we are currently negotiating with a chap who we think sounds ideal for a short house/pet sit for us in Cornwall this Easter and hopefully again for longer in the summer. As to the site, it was idiot proof and I managed to make it work for us. Templates look fully comprehensive but I will need to write out a full care manual for all our animals. The concept is great and will work beautifully if everyone remains 100% honest.
Thank you again, I am a big fan! (Owner)
The service is great. Thank you so much for having this up. Since my two children are now in college, finding house/pet sitters is hard during the school year. Hopefully this will help relieve some of that challenge. I am away fairly often so it would be cool to find a few dependable people who could take advantage of my location (D.C./Philadelphia/Baltimore) whom I can contact when I need them. Thank you again, I am a big fan!
I do like the anonymous feature a lot! (Owner)
This was a positive experience. Easy to use site and we got positive responses. I am sure that if we wanted, we would be able to find a good sitting solution through your site. I do like the anonymous feature a lot! I feel that by using your site, I have not broadcasted to the world when our home will be empty. This is valuable to us. I have a feeling though that the house sitter idea will grow on us and by keeping in touch with what's happening on your site, we may get more comforatble with the idea. I think we will use your site again in the future.
Simply overwhelmed with the number and quality of responders! (Owner)
Hello Susan. Nice to hear from you. Yes, I'll be happy to comment on your system. Fantastic! I had so many immediate responses to my request that I was forced to hide my ad. Simply overwhelmed with the number and quality of responders. Each one seemed better than the previous. I contacted several, exchanged emails, and feel that each was high quality and the kind of person I'd like to have in my home. We haven't made a decision yet and are not sure that we will utilize the services of a sitter but your system has certainly provided everything we could ask for.
This house sitting is quite addictive! (My husband was smitten with the kitten.) (Sitter)
We find your site very user friendly although sometimes we have had glitches opening the details of some house sits. Currently we are in Ireland which we took the opportunity to visit since we were over this side of the World (another plus of house sitting). We finished our London house-sit earlier this month (January) and we had an absolutely wonderful time. The cat we 'babysat' was adorable - she was just one big ball of love and the home had everything that opened and shut. As our current living arrangements do not allow for pets it was lovely to spend time with a pet, my husband was quite smitten with the kitten. We also believe that she now has an Australian accent after three weeks exposure to two Australians (lol). Jennie, the home owner, was superbly organized and we arranged to arrive a few days early and stay in a B and B nearby. This enabled us to get to spend time with the cat as well as let the home owners feel more comfortable with us. I would recommend that anyone considering house sitting do the same. While in London we met up with Heather from Liverpool, our next house sitting job. Once again, it was good to meet the person who we are going to house sit for and we were able to ask questions and give details. Yes folks, we will be back in the UK in July/August, this house sitting is quite addictive!
We have reflected on how much support and useful information the site provides! (Sitter)
We first contacted the very helpful people at MindMyHouse shortly after arriving at our first assignment to express our thanks for facilitating this wonderful arrangement. Coming to the end of our tenure we have reflected on how very easy the website is to use and how much support and useful information the site provides. Upon arrival we were presented with a folder containing all the information we could possibly need about the house, the services, the area and most importantly the family pet dog. Nearly all of the templates had been directly printed from your website. The handover went seamlessly. We look forward to browsing the MindMyHouse site - it's so easy, and hope we can secure another assignment through it again very soon. Once again Thanks!
Brilliant! (Owner)
Dear Susan, I was overwhelmed with the quality and quantity of response. A brilliant service you have there. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) my sister is going to do the house sit but I would always use your site in the future - and have recommended it to other friends in a similar position. Brilliant~!
Really pleasantly surprised how well this worked... (Owner)
I posted a 'housesitter wanted' ad on your site a couple of weeks ago. It was really easy to use, thankfully, and I got loads of great replies really quickly - about 10 I think, maybe more. I have selected one of the respondents to house and cat sit for me over the Xmas period. So thanks - I was really pleasantly surprised how well this worked and by the outcome. I will use you again and recommend you.
We will use your service every winter when we go away... (Owner)
We were most happy with your service. Received several replies in a very short time. We had a long-term need, but our home is not in a city I would consider a 'hot housesitting zone.' We found several very well qualified people and were able to choose from them. We finally chose a woman who is working on her university studies and needed a quiet place for the winter. We are looking forward to meeting her and are preparing our home to be her home for three months. We will use your service every winter when we go away for two to three months. We found it interesting to meet people and find out their needs and chat with them online. Thanks for this service.
Thanks to the team at MindMyHouse (Sitter)
Dear MindMyHouse, thanks to the team, we are currently house and pet sitting in Sitges, Spain. We are here until January but will continue to checkout your website and lookout for your e-mail alerts for further assignments in 2007. Once again thanks.
Your service doesn't need any changes! (Owner)
Hi... I received maybe 8 responses or so and most don't want to do any work at all... looking for a free retreat... but one person now sounds truly wonderful and we are communicating right now a lot... So if one person is successful here it would be a great success for both of us... and you are really the only web site for this purpose which is effective... Keep on... and thankyou. Ps... your service doesn't need any changes, it works better than any of the others and I can bring it up without long delays!
The house sitter process went extremely well. (Owner)
The house sitter process went extremely well. We had loads of really good and interesting replies from people; far more than we imagined we would have.The geographical location of the sitters was also good. Because we were looking for a sitter quite quickly and for around 6 to 12 months it meant we needed someone located in Europe (Americans can only get French visas for 3 months max and quite understandably need a fair amount of time to get prepared to move to France). We got a good number of replies from people already in France and also from the UK. We eventually chose an American, who has lived in France most of her life, and who was looking for somewhere that gave her the flexibility to search at leisure for a new apartment in Paris. It's an ideal fit. Overall the process worked exceptionally well, so many thanks for a great site.
Keep up the good work! (Sitter)
Hello Susan, I think your site is just wonderful! I wanted to Thank You for doing such a fantastic job. I look forward to the E-Mails of New House Sitting Assignments. I also want to Thank You for getting back to me so quickly. Keep Up The Good Work!! Sincerely, Breeze*
The whole situation felt as a mutual gift, a real win-win situation. (Sitter)
Instead of going to China this year we preferred to do intercontinental catsitting close to Tokyo in Japan,offered by mindmyhouse from July 17 until August 30. We appreciated the honest advertisement of the owners mentioning also the less positive side like small housing and hot temperature combined with humidity. We exchanged emails and photos. After contacting us by phone the owners decided to accept our application for catsitting.They awaited our arrival at the airport in Tokyo where we greeted as family with hugs and kisses. For the occasion they had rented a car to bring us 'home'. During our stay cleaning was done by the person, normally in charge of. We were allowed to make calls for free and could make use of the computer,internet, DVD and DVD collection.The whole situation felt as a mutual gift, a real feel-good win-win situation, enjoyed by all involved. We intend to travel to China next year but in 2008 we would like to catsit again at the same place because we like the people, Lala and Nuyei the two cats, and the place.
What a wonderful experience it was! (Sitter)
Tales from Wales: Though we've been housesitting for over a year, this is the first assignment we were able to accept from your site - and what a wonderful experience it was! Our hosts in Wales were warm and made us feel right at home; when we asked for permission for family to visit, the response was immediate and welcoming. It was such fun having my grandchildren there to gather eggs and pick green beans with us. Owner's family members and local villagers were friendly and helpful, and the 2 weeks passed all too quickly. We do hope they will have us back...even though we got lost on a hike with the dogs, and had to take them home in a taxi !
Very grateful to MindMyHouse. (Owner)
Hello Susan. I have to say, I am really pleasantly surprised so far to a) have found a website offering this service that was so easy to use and b) to find such interesting people getting in touch with us who are interested in the house sit. There wasn't really anyone that applied that I dismissed immediately or wouldn't have considered. We had 5 people apply within about 36 hours and another 5 in the 3 days following that, which is why hid the advert as we already had our shortlist. I did contact people directly and found they generally responded quickly with what I had asked for. I have downloaded all the information on the website about house sitters manuals / pet care info and am currently wading through that and the suggested contract. Daunting as it seems, it all makes perfect sense to do it once properly so that it is there for house sitters to come. It is a very helpful, comprehensive checklist and I am very grateful to mindmyhouse for that as there are masses of things on there I wouldn't have thought of. Many thanks!
We will definitely use this service again! (Owner)
Hi Susan, we have been very happy with the responses we have received from our house sitter wanted ad that we placed with you! In fact, we probably had too many to get through... (probably about 30 in all). In the main, the responses to direct contact with sitters has been very good - we have had no problems and in fact even though some have not worked out this time, we have established e-mail friendships which are really positive. Overall we are extremely happy and have found a suitable match that we agreed on today. We will definitely use this service again if necessary.
We had an excellent response! (Owner)
Susan, thanks for your email. It was the first time that we have ever advertised for house sitters and we found your site on the search engines. The search we did on your site produced over a 100 possibilities. We emailed about 15 (keeping it to European based) and the response we had was excellent. Probably over half replied and of that number six or seven were keen. We have chosen a couple, they seem really good, and we will keep our fingers crossed. You have an excellent site and we will certainly use it again. Many thanks.
Thanks for making continuing creative experiences possible! (Sitter)
MindMyHouse has worked better than I'd ever dreamed possible. The day after I posted my ad I was in touch with people so perfectly matched it was spooky. Two weeks later I drove cross country (US) for a loose-ended 4-6 month caretaking assignment for two dogs, one cat, and a huge yard and home. Five months into this adventure I can attest that the neighbors are friendly, that the place is rife with people eager to keep the lawn looking great, and that the pets are tolerant of my singing and my treat baking experiements. Doggie love is very sweet, and if "mine" don't exactly hug me back, their passion for me is far less demanding of me than a man's. Works for me, and thanks to MindMyHouse, this opportunity to explore a new place and people was a breeze.
(Sept 2006)
Hi Susan, Another great newsletter! I'm currently on a 4-1/2 cat sitting adventure in steamy Houston, Texas. I seem to have things mixed up... I froze my butt off in Quebec during the winter (while the owners sunbathed on Mexican beaches), and now I'm broiling under the Gulf Coast summer sun (while the owner is relishing the sensible cool of the Pacific NW). But hey, I'm having a great time anyway, especially as one of my only two cousins lives just a few miles away. I don't plan on sending you a picture to post, but I do plan on house sitting for two more years, thanks to MindMyHouse. Keep up the good work. Take care, you and everyone else in your household.
Thanks for making continuing creative experiences possible.
(July 2007)
A great mutually beneficial relationship! (Owner)
I found your site very user friendly and had a lot of replies very quickly. Having spoken to a number of people I settled on an early-retired couple who weren't really looking for somewhere to house-sit in Scotland, but saw my ad and thought 10 days of golf would be good. They did an excellent job, looking after three dogs, mowing and watering the garden and painting a steading wall for us. They are keen to come again and we are very happy to have them. Looks like the start of a great mutually beneficial relationship - thanks!
Got sitters with the first reply. (Owner)
Hi Susan, your site was great. I got sitters with the first reply, and many more I had to disappoint. I would use it again. Thanks.
The help I received from the Support section, the human response to my call for help, was refreshing and appreciated! (Owner)
Dear Susan, The service has worked for me, my sitters are all set to arrive here on the 13th. With the information available to me, and the first contact with the possible sitters, it does not take long to narrow down the field. I was happy with the number of applicants, and at least two would have been suitable for me. When I made contact with them, replies were prompt. Yes I am happy with the service, would certainly use it again. The help I received from the Support section, the human response to my call for help, was refreshing and appreciated (instead of an electronic response). Thank you for your help.
(Sept 2006)
Hi Susan, in reply to your follow up letter, yes I found a satisfactory house sitter, it all worked out quite well. I have learned that one has to stipulate exactly what is expected from the house sitter, we have had email contact while I was away, and also it's important to stipulate the dates the house sitter will be needed, as I tried to extend the time by a couple of days and was not able to this, due to their commitments. Overall it was satisfactory, all went well.
(Feb 2007)
Dear Susan, once again a search for house sitter completed successfully. This time I went to the 'house sitters' page as well, to make sure I was able to contact more people, quicker, and not just wait for people to contact me. I needed to have this organized sooner rather then later. The result is my house sitter is arriving on the 5th April, for a longer period this time. So thank you again for all your help and support, you have been great, and it's appreciated. If you need to contact me again for any reason, do not hesitate, your email is always welcome. I will endeavour to contact you in June. All the best.
(April 2007)
We did not want to put our kitten in a cattery! (Owner)
A brief summary of my usage of your site - we are going away for a month in December to spend Christmas with my partners' parents. We have a kitten (who will be nine months' old in December) and we do not want to put her in a cattery or get someone to come in daily to feed her. She is very loving and needs lots of attention so we decided to look for a housesitter. A search on google.co.uk returned your website and I placed an advert for our 'flat and cat'. I received three responses very quickly, all from lovely people who provided me with details, references, photos, etc. We settled on an Australian couple who we have been speaking to since, over email and we also telephoned them this morning. We have downloaded the contract from your website and will modify it to meet our needs (we do not expect them to pay for any utility costs, telephone/TV costs, etc) - the contract is very comprehensive so I'd like to thank you for that, and for all the tips and advice that you provide on the website! Overall I found the process of finding our housesitters very simple and very quick; the website is easy to use and we definitely appreciate the service that you have offered! Many thanks for your help, keep up the good work :)
Thank you from Wales (Owner)
I was delighted with the responses to my ad and I will definitely use this website again in the future when I need house-sitters. Thank you very much.
Pets really make it worthwhile! (Sitter)
Hi Susan! Thank you so much for your super-quick reply!!! Unusual in these days! :o) I really enjoy the emails with the locations all the time. We are saving them up for future reference as the years go by. My wife, Sheila, and I are looking forward to doing this housesitting full time in 18 months. It will be our way of seeing the world for years to come!!! Our references are stacking up too. Just finished up two stays in Hawaii last month and this month. Right on the beach on the Big Island of Hawaii for 10 days! And then in the mountains in a town called Waimea. Lovely dogs and cats at both places. The pets really make it worthwhile. If the owners are nice, the pets are too! Looking forward to your next location email!!!
Just returned from my housesit in New Mexico. (Sitter)
Dear Susan, I have just returned from my housesit in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was a wonderful experience and something I would be happy to repeat because New Mexico is truly the 'Land of Enchantment'. The weather was fabulous - very HOT but I would rather have hot than cold. It was great having the opportunity to spend time browsing the museums and art galleries and seeing the beautiful Indian arts and crafts that are unique to each different pueblo. My sister and niece (who live in Texas) visited me and we all went up to Santa Fe and had a great time visiting the markets and seeing the beautiful silver and turquoise jewellery made by the Indian artisans. We enjoyed a colourful fiesta as well celebratimg the 300 year anniversary of the city. All in all it was a fabulous trip and I took the opportunity to see more of the U.S. while I was there by taking a couple of bus tours and saw the most magnificent scenery around the Canyonlands and then around Florida all the way down to the Keys so I'm finding it hard to come down to earth. Great work Susan and many thanks for your efforts in keeping us all in the loop.
Thanks for your human-to-human site content. (Sitter)
I really am keen to at least try it. It is very friendly, comprehensible and easily navigated. Your information is also very cogent and refreshingly straightforward. I don't feel it is overly marketing/commercial or pressure sales oriented and being so human-to-human, I get a familiar, stress-free and honest impression of the web site's main intent.
In short it was a huge success! (Owner)
Hi Susan,
We didn't advertise as such, we just found what looked like an ideal match. I am impressed thus far with the site and with the quality of people who advertise. (July 2006)
We’ve recently returned from two weeks in Turkey and used an Australian couple to mind our big house and our horses, dogs, chickens and cat. The house is cleaner than we left it, they stocked up the fridge and the dogs are missing the long walks very badly. In short, it was a huge success. (November 2007)
Surprised at the amount of responses! (Owner)
I actually was surprised at the amount of responses I received through placing the ad.There was a lot of interest and am trying to respond to most people on an individual basis. As a medium for putting home owners in contact with house sitters it works really well. I received at least twenty responses and am trying to get through them. Thanks for the great site.
Love hearing about latest house sitting opportunities. (Sitter)
Just wanted to say thank you for providing such a great site. I haven't yet had the chance to either housesit or search for a housesitter but look forward to it. I love getting your emails advising of the latest housesitting ops. Thanks again, Camille
What nice people! (Owner)
The site worked really well. We found the perfect people to house sit and also look after our cat for 7 months. My home looked better on our return than it has ever looked. It absolutly sparkled! Everything moved smoothly. What nice people. Thank You.
Site looks great (Sitter)
Looks great; very unique way to allow house sitters to meet home owners. Opportunity to travel, meet new people, help someone with a need. Gene
Your website is FABULOUS!!! (Sitter)
Hi Susan, belated congratulations on your one year anniversary. Your website is FABULOUS!!! All the best to you for continued success in the future.
I was overwhelmed by replies from potential house sitters just moments after the advert went up. (Owner)
Hi Susan, Thanks for getting in touch. I was overwhelmed by replies from potential housesitters just moments after the advert went up. The advert was easy to set up, and there was a wide-range of people to choose from. I confess I actually went for a sitter who contacted me via another house sitting website, but our backup is from Mind My House in case things go wrong. I did reply to all messages, and got some very good feedback from many members, asking to be kept in mind in case they're needed in the future. I have been recommending your site to many friends as a great alternative to catteries/annoying the neighbours etc.. so I hope a few contact you.
I immediately got a great house sit for a couple in Ireland. (Sitter)
Hi I think your site is fantastic, I am originally Australian & used to housesit a lot when I lived there 5 years ago. I have been living in Ireland & signed up on your site a few months ago. I immediately got a great housesit for a couple in Ireland who had been let down by someone else theyhad got from your site. It was all agreed within a week, they were wonderful & I looked after their house & 2 labrador dogs for almost a month for which they were very grateful. I have housesat many houses & animals in Australia, US, Canada, France & Ireland over the last 7 years. Thanx again for your efforts in producing a great site, I have been spreading the word! Good luck with it.
We would use your site again, as we had good success. (Owner)
Liked your web site. We would use it again, as we had good success. In fact will probably use it next Feb, 2007, for a trip we plan. We had a lot of responses. We were very happy with the kind of people that responded. Thanks for keeping up such a good web site.
'Astonished' from Ireland. In the future I may become a house sitter as well. (Owner)
Thanks for the opportunity of placing the ad on your website. As this was the first time I had sought a housesitter, I was astonished at the response from the various websites I used. I had no idea that there was this "industry" out there and my friends and family now think that they too could avail of this in the future.
I know that your service is still new, but technically it all seemed to work well and I found the alerts and responses from people very easy to manage as there was a direct link to their more detailed profile from the email initially sent.
I think it's a good idea to have these facilities and they should be
advertised more. There are obviously hordes of USA folks interested in Ireland so getting Irish homeowners on your books would, I think, be a great way to service the housesitters who register for your service.
But, thanks for your help and I'll certainly tell people about it - in
the future I may become a housesitter as well.
We had a successful house sitter situation in February. (Owner)
Just a note to let you know that we had a successful house sitter situation in February while we were off on our first ever cruise to the Panama Canal. We enjoyed sun and warm water, and they had a warm house and very cold Colorado weather. We just needed someone to make the house look occupied, not to do a lot of chores and no pets, and this worked out great on both sides. Our sitters had friends in the area to visit, so they got a good deal also. Thanks so much for being here.
I appreciate the considerable effort you make to keep everything ticking along nicely for members. (Sitter)
Dear Susan,
I enjoy receiving the Newsletters and 'alerts' to listings and
appreciate the considerable effort you take to keep everything ticking along nicely for members.
I have been fortunate in securing a housesit in the USA from the posted listings, which came about by chance but I am really pleased that the houseowner accepted my enquiry. She belongs to the home swap agency that has a connection with MindMyHouse so it has worked out really well for both of us as she is off to London on a houseswap and I plan to visit my sister in Houston afterwards. It's a great opportunity as it’s been an ambition of mine to visit the Southwest region for many years.
It's great to see the evergrowing list of available 'sits'. I hope you
go from strength to strength because you certainly fill a niche in the
market.
Kindest regards and many thanks for your great service.
Your service worked very well for me. (Owner)
Yes - your service worked very well for me. We found housesitters amazingly easily who have agreed to come for the two weeks we requested in May. We had loads of replies. The people we have asked to housesit are used to dogs and live in France. We contacted them first, so MindMyHouse so far has worked really well. We'd definitely use you again. Thanks and best wishes.
Thanks from Ireland (Owner)
Found the site helpful and easy to use, i.e. launch an ad. Got many replies, I managed to get a sitter who is a very nice person and could take up the position quickly. I will use the site again and will tell people about it.
I can now go away without begging family to look after my 4-legged children! (Owner)
I cannot thank you enough for your super website and services offered! I got three very good and positive responses and in fact, had a battle as to which one to choose! I chose a young lady – a 'varsity student living in Randpark Ridge as she particularly loves animals, and my chief concern was not so much looking after the house but rather someone who was a real pet-lover! She proved to be very responsible – upon our return, it was evident the animals were well looked after and very happy – and the house was neat and tidy (even though I did not expect the housesitter to pay too much attention to this!).
Once again, my sincere thanks to the service you provide as I can now go away without spending weeks beforehand begging family and friends to come and look after my beautiful and much-loved four 4-legged children! I have already – and will continue – to tell all my friends and family about your website!
Such a GREAT website! (Sitter)
First, as an alliteration lover, MindMyHouse is great. Second, it is such a GREAT website! Great looking, simple to use and always seems so inviting and friendly ;-D
Successful house sit in Spain (Sitter)
Thanks from Spain. My first 'official' house sitting appointment was through my advertisement on the mindmyhouse website and has proved to be a success with a return request. I was planning to travel around south east Spain in my motorhome for the winter months and was looking for some house and/or pet sitting to help me get to know various areas and to help keep the costs down. My first house-sit was for a period of 3 weeks for both security and to let the builders in on a daily basis. It was considered a success on both sides as I have been asked to return in 3 months for another 2 week sit. Thank you to mindymyhouse.com.
Thank you so much. (Sitter)
Just wanted to THANK YOU for the upgrade – email alerts and profile photos. I love it! Thank you so much.
Success in the USA (Owner)
In response to your inquiry, yes I did successfully locate a housesitter on your web site. I am also so far happy with the individual's reliability and character. I was interested in using your site because it did not have associated costs and was easy to use.
So pleased someone gave me your URL! (Owner)
I received three responses from potential sitters and chose one couple. They will be arriving here within a week to mind the house for two months. I feel that they are going to be friends as well as minders! We seem to have established a great rapport over the phone and the email. I am so pleased that someone gave me your name and URL.
Keep up the good work! (Sitter)
I like the format used on your site, of the three that I subscribe to this is perhaps the most pleasing...Best of luck to you and keep up the good work.
We had the cheapest holiday in London ever! (Sitter)
Dear MindMyHouse, I just wanted to say thanks for your great free service. I stumbled upon your site by accident but found an advert for a house sitting job in London that sounded very promising. House sitting for this nice Aussie family for three weeks in the summer worked out really well for me and my daughter. The cheapest holiday in London ever - and our own flat as well! We felt really like home and like natives for those three weeks.
I look forward to developments... (Sitter)
This is an amazing website you have developed and I wish you the very best of luck with it. I have joined too – so look forward to developments.
One of the best sites we have ever come across... (Sitter)
We think it is one of the best sites we have ever come across and find it very easy and quick to operate for researching the options. May we wish you all the best with your new venture.