New to this, and lots of questions!

[Therese]

A warm Welcome to the forum. You really will find members very helpful here.
There is a comprehensive thread around the untilities question, so do have a look at that…

Paying To Sit - Contributions to Utilities

I am intrigued and disappointed to see that Trusted Housesitters allows owners to advertise a sit and ask for money to stay at the property and look after the pets. This is a real turn off for me, that’s for sure. And such a shame. Surely looking after pets and the property is recompense enough to the owners peace of mind. It is unlikely any sitter would use excessive utilities. Shouldn’t this type of sit be advertised elsewhere? It makes me uncomfortable and sad. I would be interested to hear …

Kind regards
Therese