Having a house sitter to look after your home while you travel is the best thing to do, whether you are traveling for business or leisure. It keeps you stress-free as you know that your home, pets and plants are being well looked after by trustworthy and qualified people. But you cannot just entrust the job to anyone, unless you know that they are really worthy and capable of taking care of things at your place while you are away. Even after you have chosen the right agency or professional house sitter for the job, there are a few things that you need to ensure. Let us list a few pointers about all that you need to do when you leave a house sitter at your place while you travel.
1. Make a checklist for the house sitter
Even a professional would need your help to look after your home as it is your place after all. The first thing to do is to communicate clearly all that you expect from them. The best way to do so is by preparing a checklist that has all the required information and instructions for them while you are away. Have a few copies of the list so that you can share it with house sitters in future too. The list should have a contact information (phone number or email id), so that they can get in touch with you in case of emergency. Also, share a local contact number of a friend or a neighbor who can be contacted when there is a need. In case you live in a rental property, include the rental agreement rules to be followed. The checklist should also have information about the rooms that you would not want to be used while you are not at home.
2. Prepare your home
Another thing that you need to do before leaving your home under a house sitter’s supervision is to get it ready for the same. Assess various areas of the home and make sure that all your appliances are working as they should, as you don’t want to come across any problems when you’re away. For example, if you have a water heater, you should enlist the help of somewhere like Summers Plumbing Heating & Cooling (summersphc.com/bloomington/services/plumbing/tankless-water-heater/) to come and inspect it for you, as well as checking your HVAC system and other household appliances that could potentially cause problems. Once done, you can determine the things that you would want them to look after as well as those you do not want them to access. Lock the rooms that you would not want them to use. Pack away the things that you want to be out of sight. Store the valuables securely in a closet or safe. Consume all the perishable items that you have in stock and inform the house sitter if you want them to consume these things in your absence. If you have pets or houseplants with special needs, list them down carefully along with instructions for the house sitter. For example, your pet might be on a strict diet comprising of nutrition boosters or skin allergy support. In such scenarios, it would be prudent for you to first stock up the required dog necessities from online stores (for which you can check out Nutra Complete offer, which happens to provide pet nutrition products at discounts). Next, you need to let your babysitter know that your canine friend needs to be given more attention. Save a copy of the list (of special needs) on your mobile and pass one to your babysitter. Lastly, ensure to double-check on the babysitter (to know whether they have taken care of all the needs of your pet).
3. Prepare your vehicles too
Your vehicles will not be used when you are out of town for a few weeks. Therefore, you need to prepare them for this period so that they stay in optimal condition until you return. If you keep your car in a garage, make sure that the doors are secure. Head to a site like garagedoorrepairconcordnc.com to get faulty doors repaired and ensure that they lock properly before you go. Instruct your house sitter to run the engine for a few minutes once in a while so that the battery remains operational. Have clear instructions penned down for the house sitter to follow.
4. Give instructions related to utility bills
If you are planning to be away for a few months, you need to ensure that the utility bills are paid in time. Inform the house sitter about the due dates and share the bills as and when you get them. Give them sufficient money to pay these bills on a timely basis and ask them to share the receipts with you at your contact email id.
5. Inform your neighbors
Even if you are availing the services of a reputed house-sitting agency, informing your neighbors is something that you must do. This is important because the neighbor may call the cops about someone being at your place if they are not aware that you have engaged a house sitter for the job. You can even introduce the neighbor to your house-sitting professional before leaving. You might also want to leave keys with your neighbors if you’re good friends with them. Just be aware that if your keys get lost, you might need to contact locksmiths near me in dallas tx or near you where you live. Replacing your locks is a must if your keys get lost as you never know who might find thm.
6. Tell them about your home security systems
Another important thing to do is to let your house sitter know about your home security systems. Tell them about using the system and you can even give them a demo to make them understand it better. Inform your security agency and arrange a password or access control code for the house sitter to gain entry into the house without raising an alarm.
Besides looking after these points, you should ensure that the agency you engage for the estate sitting job has an excellent reputation. After all, you are going to trust them to look after your home and you should settle for only the best.