We’ve told the HOs that this sit isn’t for us due to
- Not being able to travel around eg Tasmania and East coast where we like to visit our friends whilst we are using Perth as a Base to see our son.
- We think we’d get bored in one location for 6 mths as we’re no longer tourists in Perth. We’d prefer to do several sits over a 6 mth period and trips in between.
- We think it’s a far better fit for a digital nomad wfh.
We’ve said we’re very happy to sit for them in the future for 1-2 weeks if dates match and plan to meet up next time we’re in Perth. This is a 10/10 sit in all other ways than the length of time…
They were very happy with our explanation.
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Hi BonnyinBrighton, we did a 2 month sit in Australia, and a shorter one on the West coast. A fab place to sit! Sounds like a lovely sit too. Our HO asked what we were doing about a car & offered us theirs to use, which saved us a lot of money. Worth noting cars in Australia are insured by the vehicle not the person, so it’s much easier to allow someone else to drive your car. So worth asking them. We weren’t expected to pay bills either. As it’s a longer sit check what they intend to do re pet food. Will they stock up enough or leave money for you? I would also ask about their expectations re household items such as toilet roll, cleaning products. I go on the basis of replacing like for like if something runs out & ensure they have enough on their return.
Worth having a back up plan if anything should happen to stop the sit, after you have purchased your flights. We are doing a 4 month trip to visit family later this year in Melbourne & doing sits. Both times we have visited Australia we purchased flexible tickets, so we can change dates for minimum cost if needed. Hopefully if you have family near by that wouldn’t be problem anyway. Also as it’s a long sit, it’s worth checking what, if any maintenance to the house/grounds/pool might be required. They may have gardeners or expect you to keep lawns mowed etc. If they provide a list of contacts they might use in emergencies e.g plumbers that’s also useful. As long as they are good at communicating with you during the sit, most situations can be sorted out. Hope it works out for you and have a fabulous time. 
We have not done a sit this long HOWEVER when we first joined THS we were HOs and had sitters for a couple of 3 month sits. We lived in Mexico at the time, in a very hot climate. We left cash for the sitters for expenses. We paid bills in advance but at the time Mexico wasn’t set up for that very much so we couldn’t pay them all. We left them a document with photos of the electric company payment kiosk, with step by step instructions and photos of how to pay. Instructions on the kiosk were in Spanish and they did not understand it so they just needed my photos to complete the job. We left the name and number of our plumber, electrician, house builder in case of house repairs, and our friends. We introduced them personally to a few friends. We left money for them to pay the cleaning lady. They had detailed instructions with photos, of how to clean the pool and had hands on lessons from us. They had money to buy more cat food either from the local grocery store or from Amazon.
In turn they kept a spreadsheet of expenses, left copies of receipts, and an accounting of finances. Some friends had extra cash to give them if needed. Our sitters did not pay any of the utilities. We let them use our car after checking with our insurance agent and getting copies of their passports and drivers licenses for the agent.
The sitters were absolutely wonderful! They sat for us several times and now that we have returned to live in Canada we still keep in touch. They regularly contact to ask after our cat, she loved them and they loved her. They have house and pet sit for a number of our friends in Mexico and have an upcoming sit in August - September in Puerto Vallarta for some other friends of ours, which I connected them on.
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@BonnyinBrighton, we recently completed a three-month housesit in Western Canada. Was personal connection rather than THS. No pets. Fun. We’ve also completed multiple other housesits in the four to six week duration range.
For longer duration housesits then there’s a change in perspective from temporary pet/house care to everyday living.
Homeowner was keen and proactively offered that we could leave premises for a few days provided notice given - they’d arrange for someone to pop-by periodically to check on place. We didn’t end up using this but it seemed a thoughtful idea for a long sit. Clearly presence of pets may add a complication but, even still, it seems reasonable that a housesitter can briefly leave premises during a multi-month housesit.
Otherwise topics such as pet requirements (walking, duration left) and house attributes (bed, storage) become more important.
I recall one THS Forum thread on long-term sit on topic of air conditioning. Can be expensive. Was not an issue for our long-term sit in Western Canada 
I’ve seen some threads and multiple listings ask for contribution (or full payment) towards utility bills. This seems grey area. We have never done this. For many homeowners then they’re so delighted to have someone look after their house/pet(s) that utility bills are a rounding error. But I recall one thread, for budget-conscious homeowner and/or air conditioning, proposing a basis of normal utilities covered by homeowner and excess covered by housesitter. Make no comment but worth an open, honest conversation.
International adventure sounds exciting. End of 2026 is certainly an early booking! We’re keeping eyes peeled for longer housesits in Australia/NZ/South America from early 2026 - great to see that opportunities are afoot.
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