House Swapping - any recommended sites or experience?

[tgh]

Gee this house sitting is an interesting little exercise, it is a massive activity , I had no idea.
Swmbo listed on one site and received many many offers, all of which I rejected.
Perceived high quality sitters we contacted are all booked up and our late timing is proving to be challenging.. the search continues..
SWMBO has now quit and left me to sort it out...

 

[Disco]

Gee this house sitting is an interesting little exercise, it is a massive activity , I had no idea.
Swmbo listed on one site and received many many offers, all of which I rejected.
Perceived high quality sitters we contacted are all booked up and our late timing is proving to be challenging.. the search continues..
SWMBO has now quit and left me to sort it out...

Been thinking of this for a while and interested to hear how it works, or doesn't, for you. And, what is your criteria for rejection - in polite terms

 

[tgh]

what is your criteria for rejection
I have hired and fired a lot (both ways ) through life and have some insight into picking candidates.
In the case of house sitters it is challenging because it is really a hire and hope proposition.
For us the obvious candidates are an older couple with lots of experience in garden maintenance and pet care.
The lack of any warts and all reporting vehicle like trip advisors good average bad means that the endless glowing 5* reviews
have limited usefulness.

 

[Disco]

what is your criteria for rejection
I have hired and fired a lot (both ways ) through life and have some insight into picking candidates.
In the case of house sitters it is challenging because it is really a hire and hope proposition.
For us the obvious candidates are an older couple with lots of experience in garden maintenance and pet care.
The lack of any warts and all reporting vehicle like trip advisors good average bad means that the endless glowing 5* reviews
have limited usefulness.

Thank you

 

[clifford]

We (my partner and I) get around this problem by not travelling OS together. One stays home while the other gallivants.

I'm sure it wouldn't work for everyone, but there's no way I'd do a house swap. Had too many imperfect paying tenants in the past...

 

[dxwell]

Here was the site that we used for our various sitters who all turned out very fab:

Aussie House Sitters

Australia's largest House Sitting site. Aussie House Sitters helps to facilitate hundreds of house sits every month. We've been around a long time, and we reckon we're still the best in terms of effectiveness and value for money.

www.aussiehousesitters.com.au

 

[pagingjoan]

Here was the site that we used for our various sitters who all turned out very fab:

Aussie House Sitters

Australia's largest House Sitting site. Aussie House Sitters helps to facilitate hundreds of house sits every month. We've been around a long time, and we reckon we're still the best in terms of effectiveness and value for money.

www.aussiehousesitters.com.au

That was the second of the sites recommended for you by my friend, tgh.
Not the one that she has been using for a decade or more but it is used, with success, by several of her friends, I believe.