House sitter winter duration?
 

This may be a shot in the dark, but was wondering if there is any need for house sitting (vs. winterization) for homeowners? Reason being, we have closed on land in Tuftonboro & will be in the building process throughout winter. We are an hour away & thinking that could be a win/win (if need be)for homeowner, as well as ourselves by having ability to watch both homes. Really don't know if there is even a market for house sitting, but thought I would ask. Thank in advance for reply.

Seems to be a very small market. I have a friend that lives in a caretakers cottage on Squam. I have tried to place ads for this service before. Seems like people either shut down, or there are Property Maintenance people around the lake that will do weekly home inspections. If there is anyone looking for a live in caretaker. Meredith Ctr Harbor, Weirs area, I am interested also.

Give Jeffrey Lynn, who runs Camp Patrol, a call at 569-2675. He checks our house when we travel and does a good job.

Tina, that is one way to go, I assume you mean someone who lives at the house. I would make sure it is someone you trust, especially with a new house.

I have a winterized house here. I leave the heat running set to 50 or 55. I also installed outside video cams so that I can check on the plowing, dock, etc. via the internet. Finally I have a system that can turn on and off selected electrical circuits and heat over the internet. I can see the temp inside and outside the house from 100 miles away and can turn up the heat before I drive up. It is much easier to install the wiring for these things while the house is being built vs after, but either way it can be done.

ITD & Lakepilot:
 

Thanks for replies. My post may be confusing in that I was intending to ask if homeowners on the lake choose housesitting in general (over winterization). Suspect most do as you have suggested & go w/ a service to monitor property or have nifty gadgets allowing for instant access. But intention was to be "sitter" for homeowner (if market exists) while being able to monitor our building project & avoid commute. It's a half-selfish question. Another option could be to inquire about local 4 season rentals but from what I saw for results from search online, that would consume the kitchen cabinet budget.

I got what you meant
 

I think property services are the way most people go unless their place is a rental in the summer, then they offer a winter rental lease at an enormously reduced rate. If I were you, I'd put an ad in the local rags and offer a winter house sitting service - it can't hurt to try, right? If it doesn't pan out, look for 'winter rental' ads - short term leases at mucho reduced rates, you don't want to look at 4 season rental ads.

I got what you meant also. We don't winterize the house, but we do have camp patrol stop by and make sure everything is OK. We turn the heat way down. As an example, last year we had the roof shoveled and the snow covered the vents for one of the heaters. I do dial into the house daily (we have an Home Automation system (HAI) and I noticed the day after the shoveling the heat in one zone was not working. We called Jeff and the issue was resolved immediately.

No I don't think you have to winterize, but I also don't think you need a full time house sitter.

Try an ad in the local paper "House sitter. Available Dec 01 - Apr 15. References and security check available. Contact 603-555-1234 em: reliable@anymail.com "

Security and background checks are available through your local police for a fee. The cheapest is a "Pistol Permit" but if you show that, your prospective clients may take it the wrong way.

Alternatively... If you know somebody with a larger camper you might be able to borrow it for the off-season. If your town permits this, you could rig power and temporary sanitation connections on your home patch. Your heat expense will be higher than usual but it would still be less than renting.

Pity I didnt see this last week, Craigslist had two 60' mobile homes in the free listing!


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Found these on Craigslist. Not mine. Don't know who owns them. Don't care... They're examples of what you might use for temporary quarters. http://nh.craigslist.org/rvs/1295419037.html http://nh.craigslist.org/rvs/1294786711.html

Hope this helps. Good luck!

I don't think you understand her.She wants to BE the house sitter while her house is being built.

Are you willing/looking to do this for nothing in exchange for the use of the home while your building? If you are (for nothing) I'd suspect that might make a difference and you may want to make note of that. If not I'd guess, don't really know that "monitoring" is much less than someone actually living in your home. Also, who pays the heat and utilities while your there?

I would check with some local real estate offices. As an agent I had some houses vacant last winter and considering the weather my clients would have rather had someone there.
Just an option. Good luck!

We did the same thing but Hampton Beach for the winter (it was actually a lot of fun). Our house came out great! Good Luck with your build!