House sitter winter duration?

Lakepilot · 07-29-2009, 07:19 AM

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.

Kamper · 07-29-2009, 08:06 AM

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!

--

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!

SIKSUKR · 07-29-2009, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lakepilot

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

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

dpg · 07-29-2009, 11:01 AM

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?

jr616 · 07-29-2009, 02:40 PM

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!

07-29-2009, 08:06 AM	#2
Kamper Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Thornton's Ferry Posts: 1,306 Thanks: 67 Thanked 171 Times in 127 Posts	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! -- 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! Last edited by Kamper; 07-29-2009 at 07:51 PM.

07-29-2009, 07:19 AM	#1
Lakepilot Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 446 Thanks: 70 Thanked 57 Times in 40 Posts	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.

07-29-2009, 11:01 AM	#4
dpg Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 2,597 Thanks: 153 Thanked 229 Times in 166 Posts	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?

07-29-2009, 02:40 PM	#5
jr616 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 87 Thanks: 19 Thanked 18 Times in 11 Posts	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!