Children visiting during house sitting

It has been quite a journey for you, this process.

For me personally, I totally get where you’re coming from. As you have described it they might also have been able to offer you the main home regardless of children, which was the expectation from start and from the listing (?). Or at least give you the choice. That would be the hospitable thing to do. They didn’t.

As it has evolved - if one was cynical, one could perceive it as bargaining for the best option. Child doesn’t want to look after pet during their holiday or should be relieved of the responsibility (and might not be as good as a sitter cleaning :wink: ) If it had been my kid, I would have said sure you can come home for summer - we need you to look after :pet: and you will have the house to yourself. Or - we’re having guests, but we’ll ask if it is ok that you stay in the granny flat if you stay out of the way.

And why not get the top sitter for the «price» of the runner up. I often give the impression bartering that I have other options, even if I don’t really. So who knows if they have other sitters they are happy with.

I get why you are not comfortable. :worried:

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Stick with your decision @Mokina as they are really trying to play on your emotions. Have you actually withdrawn your application on the site? I hope so. If you wished to reply to them again, I would be saying “That’s great your other applicants are happy with the arrangement of staying in the granny flat and being flexible should your son come home. Enjoy your time away.”

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If they really wanted to treat you well and recognize your worth they would tell the two adult kids to be the ones to stay in the separate and smaller flat or they’d tell the two adults to find alternative accomodation so as not to disturb you.

But either way, that kind of a sit isn’t for me.

I also believe a sit that starts out complicated by all this “to’ing and fro’ing” would have other hiccups once the sit started.

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How about if you put your foot down and said only if you stay in the main house for the duration of the full sit with the pet will you consider it. If child 1 returns they stay in the granny flat with no access to main house or garden so there can be no confusion over pet escaping etc. Then you take back control and assert your importance and if the teenager is working they really shouldn’t care. They also become the “tenant or “visitor” not you. Make yourself the priority and if they decline then you’ve been strong. That all must be agreed now and not a month pre sit too. Out of interest it’s not on the outskirts of Bath by any chance? #standyourground

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@Cuttlefish I agree, but in the back of my mind, I can just see the child coming into the main house from time to time for a ‘forgotten item’ or who knows what. They will feel entitled because it’s ‘their home’ and don’t have filters/experience yet to realise these intricate boundaries. And by the sounds of it, they may not have learned it from the parents :joy:

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:100: you’re right @botvot #amevertheoptimist :rofl:

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@monika

If PP is pressuring you to accept now , likely other things not mentioned in the listing that they want you to agree to during the sit.

One or maybe two adult children home for the summer …shared garden….
What could happen ?

It’s possible they will to have friends over in the evenings , or to stay over, BBQs in the garden / parties in the house …. Who will be responsible for tidying up / who will get blamed for breakages ?

This is why the third party rules are there in the T&Cs to protect the sitter.

There may be other sitters who would not have a problem with this set up , but if so why is the owner pressuring you to accept ?

Ask yourself this , if all of this information had been disclosed in the listing at the start would I have applied ? - If your answer is NO then withdraw your application and look for other sits where your privacy is respected.

Two sits where you have privacy is better than one long one with a lot of hassle .

All the best.

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A straight up No for me. Too many issues could arise. Not worth the headache. Breaches the 3rd party rule.

Thank you @Garfield
It is possible that child doesn’t want to look after pet :grinning: but I am aware that the pet cannot stay alone for longer than 3-4 hours and child might not be able to look after anyway because of the job.
I guess that the main reasons why they mostly want to go ahead with my application is because I lived in this Country for many years that I’m not that much into sightseeing, while most applicants usually are. The pet is lazy, doesn’t walk a lot :slightly_smiling_face: and this might not be ideal for people who want to travel and bring the pet with them. While I would spend a good amount of time in the house.
Also, I have a car as this is needed for this location, while sometimes sitters who apply don’t.

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Hi @Mokina
It sounded from your earlier posts that you had made your mind up to ask to cancel.
However, your last post indicates that there is still uncertainty.
You have had great responses and most of us would not go ahead.
As @temba asks, have you actually cancelled/withdrawn?
The longer this goes on, the more complicated it is becoming

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Thank you @Cuttlefish It is in UK, but not on that part.
Sorry I can’t be more precise, but I’m aware of the policy of not disclosing data related to the sitting.

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I might sound judgemental, but thinking that the granny house has 3 bedrooms and despite this if child 2 would have come home I should have moved out, to me it sounds like the children are spoilt and their needs come before anybody else. Same for child 1 who wouldn’t know if going home or not until the start of the sitting.

Also my other thought is that having a sitter staying in somebody’s home is like renting a property to a tenant. It might be my property, but there is an agreement and I would make sure that this is respected.

The host came back saying that they were going to re-list the sitting as a couple of applicants were not suitable, but that I would still have time to think about it.

This sounds like despite the applicants were flexible in staying, after all something is not working out.

I had a look at the post, there is still no mention of child coming home.

I know the choice is mine, but I want to thank you for your support, for your messages and for sharing certain aspects that perhaps I might not have thought of.

Usually I don’t decline the offer and I just let things fade by themselves. I sent another message, thanked the hosts and this time I declined the offer.

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It’s all very individual. How do YOU feel? I know it’s against the rules but I think every single one o& us has done something that’s against THS rules and regulations. This is a very personal request and it’s up to the potential sitter to say yes or no.
If it was I, and it isn’t but this would be my thinking in this position, if a child lived independently in the Granny Flat and needed no access to the main house I’d say ok, I’m fine with that. If the person needed constant access, no thank you. I’d feel obliged to talk, make sure the place is clean and tidy at all times and it’s an invasion of my privacy. And, why do they need a sitter if a member of their family is there?

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