hello! i am new to THS and will be listing my house for a long sit (2.5 months) soon.
i am still working out how long it will take me to drive to Alaska so I have not set my dates.
how long does it usually take to find a sitter? my house is not fancy, but has all of the basics. i don’t have any pets, so the sitter would just keep the house and yard up.
any advice for finding a great sitter would be appreciated 
The fact that it is a longer sit, and minimal responsibility I would think you would have a ton of applicants, even if your house is as you consider “basic”.
I would think the trouble would be deciphering who is a really good fit for you as you may likely get quite a few applications. When is your sit going to be?
I’m a sitter and HO, and the answer depends on a lot of factors. As @thejohnsfam says, a long sit without pets will appeal to a lot of people. Your location will also determine the interest - sits in popular locations (Paris, New York, near beaches, etc) get lots of applicants.
My house is in a city, but not one of the popular ones, and I have one easy cat. I’ve been able to find a good sitter within a week or two. I usually have multiple applicants, but some sent such cursory applications that I eliminate them.
Good luck.
thank you both! the sit will be all summer in Northern California
my place is 1.7 miles from the ocean and 0.25 miles from the bay so a great place for an outdoorsy person, especially if they like whitewater, surf, flat water paddling, cycling, and hiking.
Sounds like a fab sit! I have no doubt you will have many applicants to choose from!
@molky - Your listing sounds great and I am guessing your house sit will get a lot of response from full time sitters. If we were not booked we would definitely be applying! - Good Luck
Wow! Wish I could be available for this but will be ‘downunder’ for some time…good luck!
Wowzer! Cancelling my trip ‘downunder’! 
Hi @molky Given your sit will not include pets, your photos will be important, to give the sitter a sense of where they will be living - inside and outside. You may also find this blog post helpful.
Cursery applications what does that mean. I’m thinking I don’t sell myself enough maybe that’s why I get turned down. I don’t want to gush about myself either
By “cursory”, I mean an application that is very boilerplate, with no personalization. One that doesn’t mention my pet’s name, doesn’t explain why they want to be in my city, maybe even gets the sit dates or other details wrong.
I don’t want a thesis, but I want someone to have paid attention to the details in my listing and mentions some of them in their application. For example, I might say that I am near the Fitzgerald Museum so an applicant could say that the Fitzgerald Museum sounds interesting - along with mentioning my animal names, of course.
Hey there! I’m sure you will get some great applicants! I drove from Alaska back in 2003 to Texas and boy what a trip! We drove from Fairbanks into Yukon Territory, down thru BC and AB, then entered the US in Montana and drove across to Chicago where we stayed with family for 30 days, then took 2 days to drive down to Texas where I have been (for the most part) ever since! It was a beautiful drive but it felt like I was in that truck FOREVER! But I made it and we never once had to use our spare gas we had packed with us just in case (since we left when it wasn’t tourist season and this was definitely before Google maps)! Safe travels and may you find a great housesitter!
do i need to include a photo of the laundry room. it is honestly not very photogenic, but it gets the job done
thank you i have never been to Alaska before and am very excited
@molky I see from the length of your sit that sitters will want to know about laundry. However, you show in your listing that there is a washer and dryer, and that would be sufficient information for me. Many people don’t have the prettiest laundry areas, but if it gets the job done, that’s what relevant.
I personally wouldn’t care about seeing the laundry area. Just mention you have a washer and dryer. More important to me would be bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. You may also mention if it’s ok with you if they go away for a long weekend or something to explore the area during the sit or if you really prefer they’re there the whole time.