As a sitter I am now on my 101st sit and a very high percentage (I haven’t counted but wish I had) of the homes I’ve sat in have had at least one door that doesn’t shut properly/is difficult to open/is broken etc. At one sit the owner went into great detail how to lock the front door and where to ‘hide’ the key. After she’d left I discovered that the conservatory door didn’t lock at all. I messaged her to be told it hadn’t been working for some time! I did feel rather vulnerable and had a few sleepless nights.
So here I am again at a house with a broken handle on the back door, making it difficult to lock, and a front door that takes me ages to open (I’ve been told to give it a few wiggles). Fortunately there is a third door which does work.
As a home owner myself I couldn’t bear to have a dodgy door or lock and would immediately get it mended.
So, calling all home owners: If you have such a door, please get it fixed! Thank you 
+1
That really seems to be a British phenomenon. I always have to laugh because my dad would absolutely lose his mind if a door in his house didn’t close properly. To be fair, he built his entire house himself, without a single contractor – laid every brick by hand – and he’s a total perfectionist. I always joke that if the world ever goes up in flames, my parents’ house will definitely still be standing.
@Smiley
Congratulations on your 101st sit 
Thank you. Not sure I’ll make 200 as will be slowing down soon
@Smiley happy 101 sits. If only you could get inside them 
So true! 
Your experience reminded me of a sit with new hosts in a lovely big home in Cornwall . On our video call when discussing where we would pick up the key from - they turned to each other and said oh yes good point - we’d better look for a key - we never lock the door !
On arrival the key was in the specified location and front door was locked . We entered and settled in . Throughout the day discovered that all of the other doors to the property were unlocked ( patio doors , back door , side door ) They all had keys in them but clearly were never locked by the owners …
Congratulations on 101 sits, @Smiley - that’s an incredible number!
@Smiley 101 sits ! There’s many more pets still waiting for your love and care. Not to mention dogs who love all the exercise you give them 
I think most homes have their own idiosyncrasies, that the homeowners have lived with for years.
It is only when doing a listing for something like THS that that we realise all the explaining that is required when introducing a sitter to our home.
Not everyone has the finances to have things repaired immediately, nor is it always easy to get someone to do the repairs, so we just live with it and we become so accustomed to it that we don’t notice anymore.
Maybe, if it is something that particularly causes you concern, you could ask before you accept a sit. We all have specifics that are important to us.
My biggest bugbear with this is when the doors/locks aren’t actually broken, but when turning the key requires a… 
KNACK. The HOs, of course, have the KNACK without thinking about it. But I will wrestle to acquire the KNACK, probably for the whole of the sit. So that every time I have to go in or out, I will have at least a few seconds of pure panic, lest the KNACK elude me..
KNACKS can’t really be taught. But HOs, please, have a think if you’re employing one and mention it to the sitter, before they find themselves KNACKLESS on your doorstep and wondering at what point they should consider breaking a window…
I know that feeling but so far I’ve always managed, eventually.
Yes, I’ve sat quite a few large houses were they don’t seem to lock the doors and a few leave keys in the ignition of expensive cars in an unlocked garage.
On the last sit I did, the key got stuck in the door within 2 hours of the host leaving. I managed to fix it with the help of a neighbour, the lock had dropped. It took at least 2 or 3 hours out of my day. He warned me it could happen again and the key was also worn. Another neighbour who had cat sat for them had similar issues. The long and short of it was the HO said to leave the door unlocked if it happened again, they rarely lock it. This was on day 1 of a 2 week sit on my own. And the owner took a star off me for self-sufficiency! First time in over 20 sits that I’ve lost a star.
Lesson learned. I should have realised when the welcome guide said under the trusted trade section (can’t remember the proper title) “we sort things ourselves.” err- no you don’t!
@smiley that first HO sounds like a sit I did in Somerset. The exact same issue.
If only we could leave our doors unlocked, what a wonderful world that would be!
I’ll never catch you up @temba
Looks like I’ve touched upon a nerve……I don’t want to ever risk not getting into a house because the owner hasn’t mended the lock that has been lived with for years. I usually check door locks with owners on handover in case there are idiosyncrasies.
Yes, exactly, you get my point.
What a cheek, docking you a star! I honestly don’t see the point of putting up with things that don’t work properly, whether it’s door locks, plumbing, electricity etc.
Indeed, I’m not too bothered about doors that don’t lock. Likely these properties are in locations that generally are very safe. I remember how my parents would never lock the door of the house or the car sitting in the driveway by day either. Around midnight my father would lock them up for the night and then early morning unlock them again.
But I am bothered by locks that are indeed difficult to open, and where you need to know the wriggle, knack, to successfully open (or close) them. That gives me the nerves each time… standing there and then not managing to open/close the door…