Housesitting in New Zealand (Once tried you’ll never look back!)

Housesitting in New Zealand. I honestly can’t think of a better way to see the country.

Regular followers of my newsletter and podcast will know that we (my husband, Brian and our kids, Sonny and Tessa) are no strangers to housesitting.

As well as trotting around New Zealand, staying in beautiful kiwi houses, we have spent months housesitting around Europe when we travelled the world with the kids for a year.

In the last seven years, Brian and I have clocked up twenty-seven house-sits worldwide. 

It’s official.

We are now professional house-sitters. At last. An accolade.

 

 

 

 

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Housesitting in New Zealand. Experience the country for FREE

 

 

 

 

Why Housesitting?

 

Housesitting is (without a doubt) one of our secrets to how we afford to travel the world. We LOVE it.

As I said earlier, we started to house-sit when we travelled the world with our teenagers for a year.

We were on a very tight budget – you can read about our hilarious adventures in my latest book, The Travel Bog Diaries (cheeky plug!), and housesitting was a fabulous way to see the world without breaking the bank.

When we returned to New Zealand, we continued housesitting and have never looked back. Because of my love for the company, Trusted Housesitters, I reached out and asked if we could become partners. They said yes and offered me a very generous discount (25%)  to pass on to you, my wonderful fellow adventurers.

And so the love affair with housesitting continues…

 

 

 

 

Want to try Housesitting? Use This Link For Housesitting Discount: 

 

Sign up for Trusted Housesitters, and you can use my exclusive discount code to save yourself 25% by clicking here. There’s no bigger discount than this!

 

 

Why Housesitting in New Zealand is the BEST! 

 

Of all the countries we have housesat around the world, New Zealand is BY FAR the easiest.

The houses are plentiful, the competition is low and best of all? The hosts are easygoing. 

It seems that because the kiwis are of “pioneering stock”, they are all for saving money and making things work.

“She’ll be ‘right”.

Remember, you may not be paying for your accommodation, but the owner also doesn’t have to fork out for expensive kennels or batteries!) It’s a win-win on both ends.

 

 

 

 

 

Are there any Downsides to Housesitting?

 

Of course.

Caring for people’s homes and pets isn’t all a bed of roses.

Far from it.

There are many housesitting pros and cons, and you MUST do your homework before committing. 

But.

If you are willing to step out of the box and long to see New Zealand  (and many other of the most beautiful places in the world),  then housesitting may be perfect for you.

 

Would you like to do the same? Would you like to know the inside secrets of Housesitting? Keep reading!

 

 

 

 

Want to try Housesitting? Use This Link For Housesitting Discount: 

 

Sign up for Trusted Housesitters, and you can use my exclusive discount code to save yourself 25% by clicking here. There’s no bigger discount than this!

 

 

Housesitting in New Zealand 

 

Watch our vlog on YouTube called “housesitting in New Zealand”.

We made it while we were housesitting on the North Island, in Paraparaumu, just outside Wellington.

A gorgeous cat, a beautiful home, fabulous, easy-going owners. How much would a similar experience cost on Airbnb? About 750 NZD.

I know…

 

 

 

 

Housesitting Companies

 

The first thing we get asked when we tell people about our housesitting addiction is, ‘Which company do you use?’.

 

You only have to type into Google housesitting companies, and a ton of names will appear.

However, there is only one company we use, love and trust: TrustedHousesitters.

Those serious about knowing more can read my trustedHousesitters review, and you’ll never ask another question again!

 

 

Want to try Housesitting? Use This Link For Housesitting Discount: 

 

Sign up for Trusted Housesitters, and you can use my exclusive discount code to save yourself 25% by clicking here.

 

 

Housesitting in New Zealand so Far…

 

So far, thanks to TrustedHousesitters, we have housesat all over New Zealand. Including, 

Five weeks in a hilltop villa, a 1930s villa overlooking Napier, feeding two cats.

Ten days in a penthouse villa (also in Napier) with my daughter, Tess, where we stayed for a week and explored the region with Rufus, a sweet Schnauzer.

 

 

 

 

A cat and a hilltop house in Wellington (a number of times).

Took the family to the South Island for a ten-day break in winter (see pic below!)

We spent New Year as a family at a small farm in Warkworth, just outside of Auckland (with one outside cat that we hardly ever saw).

The list goes on…

 

 

 

 

 

How Housesitting Works

 

While there are a few definitions of housesitting, my explanation will hopefully be simple:

House sitters provide pet and home care in exchange for accommodation. Neither house sitter nor pet owner pays for this exchange. 

Both sitter and homeowner use a company (in our case, TrustedHousesitters).

Homeowners travel worry-free, and sitters experience some of the world’s most unique travel destinations without breaking the bank. 

TrustedHousesitters gathers pet and home sitting assignments from owners around the world and presents them to YOU (the pet and home sitter).

 

Below is a screenshot of the daily updates I get on my phone, sharing the houses in New Zealand. Click the image for more houses in NZ, and then, if you are ready, sign up using my 25% discount code here

 

Want to try Housesitting? Use This Link For a 25% Housesitting Discount: 

 

Sign up for TrustedHousesitters and use my exclusive discount code to save yourself a WHOPPING 25% on HOUSESITTING membership by clicking here.

 

 

 

 

 

Sign up For TrustedHousesitters (FREE!)

 

You hear about TrustedHousesitters through a friend or on a website. You go to the site and sign up using your email.

This part is completely free.

Once you are signed up, TrustedHousesitters will send you lists of new houses looking for pets/housesitters each week.

You can narrow your search down to each country.

So, for example, if you are only looking to do housesitting in Italy, then you will ask only to be sent houses in Italy.

Easy peasy.

 

Below is a typical screenshot of the housesits in New Zealand! Click the image to see more like this!

 

 

 

 

Becoming a Member of TrustedHousesitters (Get ready to see NZ like a local!) 

 

Once you get into the swing of looking at houses, you decide that you would like to go all in and become a member of TrustedHousesitters.

Being a member allows you to apply for housesits (or if you are on the other side of the housesit, look for wonderful people to come and look after your house and pets while you go on vacation).

Want to visit New Zealand?  You chose the “houses available in New Zealand”. You check your dates, put in any filters (ie, only would like cats, your dates, etc), apply to the owner and wait to see if you are chosen. 

 

 

Special 25% Discount For My Lovely Readers! Yay!

 

The basic membership (which is the one we use) will cost you approximately $120 a year.

Think about that.

You’ll make that fee back on your first night’s free accommodation.

Even better than that, you can join by using my exclusive discount code to save yourself 25% by Clicking here.

Remember what I said earlier? Housesitting isn’t the golden ticket to travel.

Nothing in life is perfect, including housesitting. BUT if you have read my full Trustedhousesitters review, and know what is expected of you (and them), housesitting will reward you with the most amazing travel experiences you can imagine.

I promise.

 

 

 

 

 

FAQ: What if I don’t like Animals?

 

A: All is not lost.  Some house-sits do not have any pets. Use the filter to say “no pets” if you prefer not to look after animals.

Your choices will be reduced, but it is still possible. 

 

Q: What if I’m not a Kiwi?

 

A: This is the beauty of Housesitting. There are no laws, rules, or regulations regarding visas, etc. You don’t have to be a resident of the country where you are housesitting.

As long as you are legally allowed into New Zealand (ie, you have a valid tourist Visa or not, depending on which country you are from), then you are good to go.

 

Q: What if I don’t have any references?

 

A: Nor did we (or anyone else) when we first started housesitting.

I recommend taking a few house sits in your own region to begin with (as we did in New Zealand before we left for our world trip) or, start by applying for the housesits that say “low applications”.

Take these house sits and build up your reviews from there.

Housesits with the badge “low applications”, as shown in the screenshot below, means that not many people have applied.

Don’t take this as meaning the house is a duffer. That would be rare. It’s usually the case that the dates are not in school holidays or the house is remote (even more blissful in my opinion…).

  

 

 

 

 

Lastly…How To Housesit in NZ like a Pro

 

(Make Sure Your Profile Rocks!)

 

This is one of the reasons I preferred Trusted Housesitters to the other housesitting websites. You can do so much with your profile.

Your profile is everything on any housesitting website; it’s your one chance to shine. Make sure you cram it with as much information as possible.

As well as putting lots of lovely photos up of yourself (preferably with animals), make sure you write your description with personality, meaning let your voice come through.

You are far more likely to appeal to a homeowner if they can tell that you are a real person and not just someone with a pocket thesaurus.

 

 

Make a Video!

 

Not essential, but I’m telling you because this is what we did, and I honestly believe this is why we get so many housesitting gigs.

The video doesn’t have to be anything flash, our’s wasn’t. I simply stood in front of Brian’s phone and walked around our home (which, hands up, I had spent five hours tidying beforehand) while he filmed me showing the viewer where we lived and that we were a genuine, friendly family.

I got the kids to talk to the camera while they were with our pets (we own a dog, four cats and five sheep) so that people could see we were animal lovers.

It sounds like a big effort, but honestly, it’s worth it. And it’s fun to make the video!!

Our video was about five minutes long, but remember, it doesn’t have to be anything flash, just as long as it gives the potential house owner a chance to see who you are and what you are about.

I guarantee that by going this extra mile, you will have more chances of getting the housesit that you want.

 

 

 

 

Ready to try Housesitting? Use This Link For Housesitting Discount: 

 

Sign up to Trusted Housesitters, and you can use my exclusive discount code to save yourself 25% by Clicking here. It doesn’t get better than this!! x

 

 

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Listen to The PODCAST Brian and I made from our Magnificent housesit in Italy:

“How We Are Staying in Tuscany for Six Weeks for FREE (And You Can TOO!)”