Does anyone ever send a follow up message to the HO if you are very interested in a specific sit and they have not responded? If so, how long do you wait and what do you say?
I have several times. How long we wait depends on a lot of things - the more anxious we are to secure a sit, the sooner we might nudge them. We’ve waited a week before sending a 2nd message for a couple of sits, and then recently, we waited about 36 hours. it also depends on whether they’ve read our initial application or not.
Sometimes I follow up to add some new/additional information I think might help them decide.
Sometimes, I let them know we are anxious to secure a sit so we can book our flights and are wondering if we are in the running at all because we may need to apply for additional sits in the time frame.
We always try to be polite and honest, and we would never send a 3rd message.
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Thank you! I am anxious and thinking of sending a followup message to someone after only 24 hours. I am going to try to hold off a bit longer- but the HO has read my original message and I have been offered another (less desirable) housesit that conflicts.
I guess in that case, I’d probably message them right away. I wouldn’t want to keep another home owner wondering/waiting. Although TBH, in that situation, I would either accept the first offer or be very up front with them and tell them you are in conversation with one other home owner right now as well and will need a day or two to decide. Then they can make the decision to wait, or offer it to another sitter.
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We don’t write to them or nudge them if they haven’t replied, it’s their choice to ignore us and after 24-48 hours we move on. We would also be transparent with the other HO, as has been suggested.
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We never do - but nor would I be concerned after 24 hours. There are many reasons a home host would want to wait a short while before responding - discuss with partner/find time to compare all applicants/ give it a short while to see if they get any more applicants etc
It’s a tricky one to call in your case but remember you could end up with neither if you hesitate on the offer you have had. . A bird in the hand…
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We usually don’t nudge. Personally I think it clogs up their inbox even more - they may already be overwhelmed if there are several applications, so there’s no point (in my opinion) to add another message to their stress. Like Timmy, we usually just move on after 48 hours.
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I just looked back on a house sit that I ended up securing after following up with the homeowner three weeks after my initial application. It was a local sit and they had a lot of applicants and then closed the listing but I decided to follow up to see if they had found someone. The sitter they decided on ended up getting COVID so they were delighted that I followed up and it ended up being a great sit so definitely worth following up!
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They were lucky you weren’t booked by then. Yes, I agree, always worth following up as we don’t always know the reason for delay
A few years ago we applied for a housesit in Kuala Lumpur which we were really keen to secure. It was our 3rd Sit. The HO replied initially to thank us and told us she was reviewing applications- we were one of the first. Two weeks and 25+ applications later she still hadn’t made a decision. So we wrote again- apologising for being a bit cheeky- but suggesting that if she was feeling overwhelmed and indecisive then why not just choose us! She would not regret it and we’d all be sorted!
We got the sit and it was great! 
That’s a great strategy and worked out well for both parties! You got a great sit, she solved a dilemma and got some great (and very enthusiastic) sitters!
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