Bringing home owners and house sitters together
Sitter available
Mature Responsible and Handy Retired Couple
Canada
Testimonials
They have 4 testimonials (view below)
Pet experience
Dog(s), Cat(s), Chicken(s), Bird(s), Fish, Rabbit(s), Guinea pig(s), Reptile(s) – Example of a reference from Home Owner Bill (Hawaii House Sit 2023): If you are searching for someone to care for your valuable home and have found Ken and Leslie’s site, congratulations—you need not search any further. One could not find a more reliable
Police check
They have a police check
Availability
From: 1 July 2024
Until: 30 September 2025
(see their busy times below)
Occupation
Retired Educators
References
They have referees/references (view below)
About this sitter
We are a reliable, active couple who have both recently retired from careers in education. We are community and family orientated and have raised our three (now adult) sons to be caring decent people.
We are open to new opportunities and would be willing to try a variety of house sitting experiences in many parts of the world. Being retired gives us the flexibility to go places on short notice and for extended periods of time.
Why they want to house sit
House sitting is an option for us to visit a variety of places on a budget (we are now on a fixed income). House sitting would give us the opportunity to live as the locals do. We love the idea of becoming part of the community where we house sit and not just doing the same old tourist stuff.
Their experience
We have quite a bit of experience travelling to different parts of the world (Australia, Costa Rica, South Africa, Vitenam, USA etc.) so are comfortable with different cultures and climates.
We have lots of experience with owning, maintaining houses.
We have rented through Airbnb etc. before so have stayed in other peoples homes before and have always taken care to leave the places nicer than when we got there. We have also rented our own home out before so know the stress it can put on people; this has strengthened our respect for others' property.
Review from Bill (Hawaii House Sit 2023):
"If you are searching for someone to care for your valuable home and have found Ken and Leslie’s site, congratulations—you need not search any further.
One could not find a more reliable, competent, honest, do-it-yourself handy, sincere and dependable couple anywhere. They are also kind, thoughtful, friendly and ambitious creative caretakers. The kind of people you’d hope you could make long term friends with.
They actually made my home and acreage look better when I returned, than when I left,(and I spend most of my time maintaining both!)”
What can they bring to the assignment
We are a recently retired couple who are very reliable. We have owned and renovated several houses so are very comfortable with general home care as well as performing basic plumbing, electrical and other construction maintenace.
We are pet friendly and have taken care of a variety of pets (lizards, dogs, snakes, rabbits etc.) as part of our family.If required your pets would be in caring hands.
We are an active couple and love the outdoors. We have experience with gardening and lawn care and would be willing and happy to take care of all outdoor household needs.
Last updated:
24 February 2024
Available to house sit
Africa, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burma, Cambodia, Canada, Caribbean, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Laos, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Middle East, Monaco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, North East Asia, Norway, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South East Asia, South Korea, South Pacific, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam
Availability dates
From: 1 July 2024
Until: 30 September 2025
They have indicated that they are busy at the following times:
14 January 2024 to 30 September 2024
Do they charge?
They don't charge for house sitting services
Membership
MindMyHouse member since 2022
Personal details
Age: 56-65 years old
Family status:
Couple
Total sits
Total completed house sits: 3
References
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About this house sitter
MindMyHouse member since March 2024
Sitemap
MindMyHouse.com – https://www.mindmyhouse.com/owners/sitter_listing/51360
Testimonials
Leslie and Ken
I can thoroughly recommend Leslie and Ken as excellent housesitters. They communicated well. Despite a few unavoidable issues we were able to give a good handover before we departed feeling confident our home and birds were in safe hands. They kept in touch as required and we returned to a spotless home and a meal ready for us. We would love to have them back.
Elizabeth, United Kingdom, 16 April, 2024
A Fantastic Experience!
It is our great pleasure to give a 5 STAR review for Leslie and Ken Blackwood! We enjoyed their communications and sending photos to us while they were caring for our pet (a cat), and looking after our condo. They took the time to attend to our vehicle when the oil change light suddenly came on by having the oil changed for us, which is far beyond anything we would have expected! There were many other special considerations and ways that Leslie and Ken showed up which is uniquely their own (we won't spoil that for you by telling too much). ;-) We felt completely at ease having them in our home and would gladly have them housesit again if the need arises. We highly recommend this couple for your housesitting. Aloha and Mahalos!
Sonja, United States, 24 July, 2023
Wonderful, Caring Couple!
I couldn't recommend Leslie and Ken more. They house sat and looked after my cat and dog for 1 week in February 2023. They sent me pictures and updates daily. I felt completely comfortable and at ease with them taking care of my pets and home. When I returned, my home was cleaner than it has ever been! I highly recommend them for any house sitting/pet sitting. Truly wonderful people!
Mallory, United States, 13 February, 2023
We couldn't be more pleased!
It's difficult to say in a few words just how wonderful Leslie and Ken are. They are intelligent, physically fit, talented , caring and creative people. Over the years we have had many house sitters and Ken and Leslie are by far the best people to grace our home. They have cared for our home beautifully, alerted us to any problems that developed (due to severe rains) and taken on , through their own initiative repairing the screens and fixing all of our windows. We never asked....they just noticed and went to work. That's how they are. They notice every detail and , if they see something that needs work, they just go right to it! Amazing!! We are so very grateful As well, they have kept the grounds groomed and looking great. No simple task.in the midst of so much rain. They have cleaned and cared for our pool as well. And our dog.....well let's just say he is totally in LOVE with them. Again, we are so grateful! We know that we will be returning to an improved home. They have also become active within the community, volunteering in a turtle preserve. They've studied Spanish and have been able to communicate with and supervise workers when needed. They just fit in with our home and the community.! Our only regret is that we haven't been there while they are...as we'd very much enjoy being their friends. We feel so fortunate to have had them watch over our home and our beloved dog. They are welcome any time they would care to return! Thank you Ken and Leslie! You are the best.
Paula, Costa Rica, 21 September, 2022