Today we arrived at our housesit. We’ve been really looking forward to it. The owners had already left and left the key. On arrival we have never been so disappointed. The house is not tidy, light clutter everywhere, literally to the ceiling. There is dried vomit from the cats, dirty floors and an unmaintained kitchen. The bathroom is unusable due to the amount of junk. Our bedroom stinks and is full of mousetraps. There is mouse droppings in the rest of the house and there are also rat traps. It feels like we’re on tv show “help, my house is dirty”. We have just spent 3 hours cleaning and tidying ourselves, but the end is not in sight. How do you deal with this situation as a housesitter? We feel uncomfortable and could use some advice. Maybe good to know: It’s our holiday, we spent a lot of money on petrol, ferry, toll roads and a covid test.
That is awful. I’m sorry. Take lots of date/time-stamped photos as evidence. In a case like this, I would hope that THS will deal with it (let you leave, ensure the HO cannot trash you, communicate with them, and remove their listing) as it’s sooo uncomfortable and unpleasant to deal with as a sitter.
FWIW, when I was in this situation, it was only a two-night sit, and I had a place to go. I took care of the poor dog but I didn’t sleep there. (She had not even changed the sheets–she sprayed Febreze on them (which I’m allergic to). I still recall the dirty dish towel that was so encrusted that it could stand up on its own. Big German Shepherd in a tiny, filthy apartment. No grass or parks ("don’t take him to the dog park–he doesn’t like other dogs). Ugh. (Her listing is not active in case THS is reading this.) And yes, I told her I was disappointed with how she left the apartment. So disrespectful.
i’m so sorry this happend to you! that is awful. Thank you so much for the advice, We still need to contact the owner. It just feels so akward because we know she cannot change the situation at the moment. Our housesit is for 2/3 weeks and i case of leaving we have to go back home i think :-(.
Hi. Send a direct message to @Vanessa_A and @Katie_Mc . This allows you to have a private message with them. They will then deal with this in private with you.
@Misty i would suggest you take photos of everything you have described and document everything also including when you started cleaning and how long it took. You should contact the HO and raise the issue with them (after all this is what THS tells you to do) and then you should contact THS and make a formal complaint. In my personal opinion and from what you describe it would be more than reasonable to walk away from a sit like that but thats up to you. At the end of the day sitters enter into these arrangements in good faith and with no pay involved. If THS does not support you having contacted the HO to raise your concerns, documented everything and provide photographic evidence of the situation, then that is not a good and fair outcome. THS should be contacting the HO and if what you say is as bad as it seems the HO should be suspended. Thats my view anyway.
Hi everyone and thank - you for the support and feedback you have given @Misty. We are in contact with her both here by direct message and membership services have been notified and will be looking into this. As we’ve said a number of times no-one should have to deal with a situation like this on arrival at a house sit, and we do take these situations seriously. While we are looking into this as an individual support case, we will close this topic off. Thank again to everyone for your constructive advice and support.