I am Emma, a 47 year old Aussie, taking a little time out here in the beautiful Correze region of France, to change directions in life.
I had great success with my first sit a couple of months ago and now need someone for a 4+ week sit starting 7th June and I haven’t been able to find anyone yet. I am wondering if you might be able to have a peek at my listing and tell me if you think I need to change anything? Also, I currently have not included the use of my car due to it being complicated with insurance and generally worried about possible damage and the headache that would ensue from that…but perhaps it’s worth including? Thoughts?
Hi Emma, g’day from Sydney. How I wish I could apply! Your sit sounds perfect! While I am a newbie myself I think your listing is great, you’ve had a few applicants by the looks of it. There’s no doubt that including the use of your car would help, it seems that car rental atm is very expensive and possibly not a lot of stock around?
Good luck! (I wish you were going February!)
Hi @Emsy - it looks like you have 4-7 applicants so maybe you have a sitter now? If none of those applicants are suitable, then I’d suggest declining them to bring the number down.
What a gorgeous spot you live in! (And your cats are adorable too.) Just some questions about your listing:
you have two bedrooms. If your cats are OK with children (older if not younger) then you could indicate that it’s ‘family friendly’?
you say it’s centrally-located for several places that are 2-3 hours away but realistically these arent day trips are they (and presumably you dont want the cats to be left overnight?) so maybe you should say that Saint-Mexant is ‘accessible from’ XYZ (as this will help international sitters work out airports etc)
I’d make up the bed so it looks enticing
The car’s a tricky one. It does look as if a sitter would benefit from one. Lots of sitters on here have said how much more expensive car hire is now, making it quite prohibitive. Many are willing to pay the extra costs of being added to your insurance though. You could say you are willing to discuss use of your car - that way it’s not absolutely a given and you can be sure you’re comfortable with them driving it.
Thanks for all of your points. I do have 2 bedrooms but I ideally would prefer to leave the master bedroom free and they just use the downstairs bedroom.
I have amended the wording about being centrally located as it is, but not for day trips really unless people are happy to drive 4-6 hours in a day.
I will def make up the bed too and replace the photo very soon. I also have some outdoor furniture that I will take a photo of as it’s so lovely sitting in the garden relaxing at the moment!
I have also amended my listing to include my car. As per my message to Von above, it is just a car and the main thing is to have a responsible and kind sitter.
Thanks so much Von! I changed the listing to include the use of my car. It’s just a car after all and I would hope that the sitter would be responsible enough with its use (o:
Please save my listing and you never know if I will travel again in Feb! ((((o: Thanks again!
Hi @Emsy and welcome to the forum. I think you’ve had some good advice so far. I would suggest you also cover who will cut the grass for the whole property. You mention the enclosure but also that it’s a big yard, which also shows in your photos. Do you have someone who takes care of the yard? If so, I would add that detail as your sit is long enough that it will need to be done.
As for the car, I suggest you check details with your insurance. Also, make sure the sitters have experience with driving on your side of the road, and with manual transmission, if your car is manual shift.
You also have one previous sitter, but they have not posted feedback (review) to your profile/listing. I would suggest you contact them and ask that they do that as many sitters rely on feedback from other sitters as part of their assessment of the sit.
Thanks so much for very helpful advice too! I will add that about the grass (it’s a botmower) but in general the landlord takes care of the garden entirely so there is nothing but the enclosure to look after (o:
I will make sure to ask about experience with RHS driving and the manual gear box (which it is). I didn’t know that sitters can also review a housesit. So I will get my previous sitters to make a review ASAP. They were lovely and we are still in touch so I am sure they will write something lovely.
Wow! J’aimerais beaucoup visiter avec vos chats! I’m planning on coming for the longest stay I can possibly manage in 2023, so I favorited your listing and look forward to the possibility of a visit to care for your cats!
