At one particular sit, it was mentioned in the listing that potted plants in the garden needed watering. We found there were over 150, some almost as tall as me. We now clarify the number of pots before agreeing. 
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Maggie I’ve read enough of this forum to know you like to have the last word on just about every post. Trying to see other angles or perspectives will be way more fruitful than bullying force of your opinion. You didnt have to water the plants, but you did it, why? Because it was a logical thing to do. You didnt have to maintain whole gardens. Why Because it was communicated to you by the hosts it wasn’t necessary. And if it was needed, they would communicate it to you BEFORE the sit is agreed to. We all agree on this. No need to be combative all the time.
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Differing opinions make life more interesting. Let’s play nice…
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I’m not sure why the need to make things personal. I try to stick with pragmatics, like hosts needing to be explicit since they know what they need or not. Again, no need for assumptions. Personally, I’ve long had homes and never did yard work or mowing, and have never expected guests or sitters to do that, either.
And I haven’t discussed yards with hosts. If they don’t explicitly ask, I don’t bother.
Agree. I had a sit in Hawaii and the owner didn’t really disclose that their property needed 15-20 hours per week of work when including the mowing and watering of their massive garden on top of their FOUR pets. They also promised a car which ended up with no central rear view mirror (illegal) in a rural area and at the beginning demanded that I arrive from Australia and then drive another pet sitter to the airport for free in my own rental (a 1.5 hr trip). Then, they didn’t even bother to do a review after I did all of that, plus drive to collect their mail and also had to deal with their dog who had an undisclosed issue with his leg as he was attacked by another dog before I arrived. They offered no welcome food, told me I could have access to condiments. Their own neighbour said the job of mowing by itself is a full time job and the last owner had two mowers going at once. I believe this is happening because @THS is not being clear about what is okay and what is not to HO’s and they are taking advantage big time. Its also illegal to have people do free work in the US if you’re not from the US… paid or not.
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They sound pretty hideous all round. Not enough choice of suitable emojis on here @Lovepets so went for a hug as the best appreciation for you grizzing your way through it! Yes, parameters need to be clearer no question. Am sure there’s a clause somewhere about not asking sitters to do any tasks classed as “work” @Silversitters is our source of all useful things like this usually so might have it to hand. #takingtheproverbial
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would that include housesitting?
Not disclosing what is expected is the whole point, we need a clear way to address this at the profile stage for sure.
The headline of this thread is “homeowners’ expectations” and, considering this is a matching platform, I think the key point here is clear communication, IMO, the sooner, the better. All relevant tasks should be listed, clarified at the chat stage before confirmation and specific details should be included in the WG. Nothing except pointing where things are and such should be left for handover.
Whether something is reasonable or unreasonable is arguable so it’s better not to make assumptions I don’t want to read minds to know about a host’s expectations I just need the listings to be clear so that I can filter out the sits that are not a good match for me. When there’s not enough information I don’t usually apply.
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Totally agree. I skip many sits. Seems straightforward, unless hosts unnecessarily complicate things by not being explicit.
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Hello everyone!
This is a super interesting discussion, but I just wanted to leave a reminder about the Community Guidelines around being kind and respectful even if we disagree with someone.
@Happypets said it best: Differing opinions make life more interesting, and while it’s perfectly fine to disagree, not everyone wants to discuss their particular views in depth, and may wish to draw a line under a deeper conversation.
@Cuttlefish I had a quick look at the helpdesk, is this what you’re thinking of?
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@Lovepets As @Cuttlefish has said , THS says this about a sitters responsibilities:
“ Please note that sitters are not expected to complete any tasks that are considered ‘work’. This may include helping a pet parent maintain any business they have or completing tasks like home renovation work where it would be better for them to bring in paid employment to complete those tasks. ”
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I think the key here is “open up to discussion”. If it’s a requirement, it should be listed. Disclosing all requirements upfront is good to help both parties make the best possible match.
Other tasks may not be required and different options can be discussed before confirming the sit. Sometimes, I see listings where they include options. I think that’s also helpful because if none of the options suits a sitter then they won’t apply. For example, there’s no point in applying if you don’t want to do any gardening or cleaning and are not willing to let the professional workers in either.
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I have pots in the garden. I have no clue as to how msny. Who counts their pots? I wouldn’t be happy asking this question to an HO.
I also wouldn’t sit watching a garden die for the want of a good watering.
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Well, I think most of us have a fair idea of whether we have, say, 20 (ish) pots or 150 (ish).
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Yes id kniw if i had 150 as id be watering them iin our shopping centre where theyd stretch to. To my self amazement i took a guess thrn actually counted i have 12. So now if anybody asked…ill be able to amaze them with my home awareness. As long as they dont ask for colours . Then im finished
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would that include housesitting?
Apparently yes. Theres a dispute over needing work visas for u.s. other places too.
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Moving quickly past these listings is the thing. It has red flags all over it. Move on. I am sorry THS does not review listings and coach hosts or reminds them of the purpose of the sit is not to run the house or clean it like Merry Maids. I wish we could flag them so THS is aware.
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I have only sat where there were landscapers that came and took care of the yard, or I wasn’t expected to. Water indoor plants, but that is it. I just applied for a sit where you have to cook the dog’s food daily. But I don’t think that is a big deal.
@Pawzzle in your example, there is a requirement for your cat to have access to specially prepared cat food. This should be in the listing. Everything else you have said, follows on from that requirement.
I would recommend also adding to the listing the fact that you currently only have freezer capacity for cat food to last xx days / weeks - while ensuring that there is still freezer space available for the sitter.
If the sit is longer than this period of time, you can add that you are happy to discuss options for cat food beyond xx days / weeks with prospective sitters.
Nobody wants be presented with entirely new information at the video call stage. Putting sitters on the spot to make a decision between spending a day preparing cat food or having a freezer in the living room may result in sitters withdrawing after the call (wasting everyone’s time) or being disgruntled at feeling they have to take on undisclosed tasks / the home not being as presented in the listing. This could lead to you being marked down in Accuracy of listing.
Clear communication is key, and that starts with the accuracy of the listing.
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Most sitters don’t run into things they can’t deal with — they say so on the forum and on Facebook. The exceptions are people who repeatedly have trouble on sits — something is off.
I’ve had 19 successful sits and have more booked. To me, sitting via THS has been pretty straightforward. It helps to screen out the sits and hosts who give off warning signals.
I haven’t had any sits where I couldn’t easily communicate with my hosts. Even when I knocked down stars in a review and said why, the host responded rationally and politely.
Personally, if I repeatedly had trouble on sits, I just wouldn’t sit. To me, who needs to pay a fee and repeatedly encounter problems when doing something voluntarily? I’m not a mas*chist or a martyr. 
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