House Sitters America is an online platform that lists house-sitting jobs across the United States.
For owners, these free listings let you easily (and cheaply) review profiles and establish contact with different sitters in your area.
For people looking to get a free house to stay in, the appeal of a website like this should be obvious.
In this article we’ll look at House Sitters America, and explain how it works for both owners and sitters.
Then we’ll compare the site to other house-sitting websites and see how they stack up.
By the end, you should have a good sense of what’s available and choose the best platform for your needs.
What Is House Sitters America?
House Sitters America is an online platform connecting homeowners and house or pet sitters.
Focused entirely on homes within the United States, the website acts as a go-between for people looking for house care or pet care.
The site has listings for house-sitting opportunities, which are entirely free to post.
House sitters and pet sitters can then reach out to homeowners and share their profile if they’re interested in a potential opportunity.
Unlike some other sites, which we’ll cover in more detail later, sitters pay a $30 annual fee to list their profile on the site and connect with potential house or pet sitting opportunities.
For sitters, this cost can be quickly justified if they negotiate a free place to stay for an extended period of time, or even a small fee for pet sitting along with a home to stay in.
With the ever-rising cost of rent, House Sitters of America can be an effective way to find affordable lodging.
And for homeowners, it can be a great way to travel comfortably, knowing that a trustworthy person is taking care of your home or pet.
How Does House Sitters America Work?
House Sitters America has a continuously updated list of house-sitting assignments across the country.
Let’s delve into the process for listing potential assignments, and how to become a registered house sitter on the site.
For Homeowners
If you’re looking for a sitter for your home or pet, listing on House Sitters America is totally free.
It’s as simple as placing your ad, connecting with a sitter, signing an agreement, and getting them set up in your house.
To place a free house ad, you first go to the House Sitters America site.
In the top menu, you’ll see a link to “Place a House Ad (Free).”
Click on that.
On the next page, you’ll provide the basic information for your listing including your contact information, the location of your home, and the period of time that you’ll be gone.
At the bottom, you’ll include the main text of your advertisement, where you can go into more detail about all the requirements of the job.
This can include information about any pets you may have, if there is a garden you would like taken care of, any visitors who can be expected, or anything else you want to include.
(You don’t need to include everything here, as you can provide more information when someone agrees to the job, but it’s good to be as upfront as possible.)
It’s a simple form that looks like this:
Click submit, and you’ve done it.
The site will send you an email to confirm your posting, and then it will go live.
After a listing is published, House Sitters America lets both homeowners and potential sitters reach out to initiate contact.
Owners will be provided a list of local sitters who may be available, and they can review profiles, and reach out to see about availability.
They can also get messages directly from sitters who are interested in the opportunity as well.
For Sitters
Sitters looking for free accommodations can register with the site and instantly start browsing possible house-sitting opportunities within their area.
It costs $30 a year to register for the site, but for the chance to stay in a great house — rent free — that cost can quickly be made up, often with just one job.
To start, you’ll need to create a house sitter profile.
To do so, head to the homepage, and then in the top menu you’ll see a link to “Become a Sitter.”
Click that.
You’ll need to provide some basic information about yourself, as well as contact info.
The form looks like this:
After that, you’ll provide your payment info.
Once you’ve paid the $30 annual fee, you’ll be able to craft a more complete profile.
Remember to take your time doing so.
This is your opportunity to show off who you are, and illustrate why people should trust you with their home or pet.
Once your profile is created, you’ll be able to see a listing of available houses, choose the best house you see, and then reach out to the owner about possibly taking the job.
Once a Match Is Made
As soon as an owner and a sitter are connected, they will sign a sitting agreement that stipulates the terms of their deal.
The site has templates to build this agreement, which are customizable to each individual job.
Owners can denote responsibilities of the house sitter, mark off certain parts of the home that should not be entered, set ground rules for visitors, and more.
There should be a clearly defined length of time for the stay.
Owners and sitters can also include any information about additional payment that might be included as part of the agreement.
After the contract is agreed to and signed, all that’s left to do is schedule a meet-up to let the sitter see the house, meet any pets, get keys, etc.
Once everyone is squared away, the owner is all set to travel.
House Sitters America vs. the Competition
House Sitters America is just one of several house-sitting sites currently operating, all with the goal of connecting qualified caretakers with homeowners who will be away for a short or long period of time.
Here is a quick rundown of some of the sites online in 2019.
MindMyHouse
MindMyHouse is a global house-sitting platform that keeps a running tally of open assignments on its homepage at all times.
Sitters pay a $20 annual fee to join, while homeowners join for free.
HouseCarers
HouseCarers promises confidential, secure matching and has been in the business of matching sitters and owners since 2000.
The site allows sitters to create a profile for free, then start browsing listings, and show up in searches.
To respond to messages or accept a job, however, you must pay a $50 annual fee.
TrustedHouseSitters
TrustedHouseSitters.com is a site that focuses on people who need pet sitters while traveling.
Both owners and sitters pay a $119 annual fee, but you get identity verification as well as insurance coverage.
The service also includes unlimited sitting postings and jobs for both owners and sitters.
Nomador
Nomador is a house-sitting platform with an international flair.
If you’re looking for an experience in Canada, New Zealand, Costa Rica, or anywhere in the world, Nomador may be for you.
House sitters pay a $7.41 monthly membership fee, while owners can post listings for free.
HouseSitMatch
HouseSitMatch is a UK-based site that connects trusted house sitters and pet sitters with homeowners who want to travel with peace of mind.
They offer suggested guidelines and agreement documents to set up an easy connection.
They offer sitter profiles starting at £69 annually.
Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve gone over House Sitters America, how it works, and how to get started using the platform.
We’ve also looked at a bunch of the competition.
Let’s get to some FAQs.
1. Where are House Sitters America opportunities listed?
House Sitters America jobs are listed in locations throughout the country.
There are usually multiple postings in major cities like New York and Washington D.C. — places where people tend to want to get away during the holiday season.
Likewise, you can also find house-sitting opportunities in vacation spots like Arizona or Florida — places where people might have a second home and want someone to keep it safe while they’re at their primary residence.
2. How often are new house-sitting opportunities posted?
While we can’t guarantee that a luxury house will be posted in your area daily, the site does have frequent listings.
Plus, the fact that it’s free to list means the site is often popular for people to post opportunities on.
If you’re a sitter, it’s smart to check the site regularly to see if anything has popped up in your area.
3. Will I get paid for house sitting?
The site lets the sitter and homeowner negotiate a sitting agreement.
Many people are content to have a free place to live, though sometimes if the sitting job requires pet care, as well as garden care, the homeowner might offer some financial incentive to do a good job.
House Sitting With House Sitters America
For homeowners looking to travel with peace of mind, or house sitters looking for a rent-free place to stay, House Sitters America can be a great platform.
For owners, free listings and contacts make the choice an easy one, even if the listing is only part of your search for a qualified sitter.
Likewise, for sitters, the $30 annual fee can be recouped with just one house-sitting job.
And if you take several house sitting jobs in a year, that can be major savings on rent.
If you’re out house sitting, you can also bring in additional income by renting your place on a site like AirBNB or VRBO.
It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
If you’re traveling, or looking for a place to stay for free, it’s worth looking into House Sitters America.
