I may need a sitter to look after my home/cats starting in April. However I don’t know how long I’ll need this for. I’m going to be in Portugal and my flat is for sale - completion date highly uncertain.
Also at some point during the sit I may need to return home to take care of packing, getting rid of furniture, signing paperwork, etc. and I think this is a bit of a no-no too.
Does anyone have any advice please? Not sure how to proceed.
Thank you.
Post edited by the Forum team to comply with the Community Rules).
Is the sit in Portugal or another location, what’s your estimate of sit length? I can’t really understand what you’re asking tbc you can’t invade the privacy of a sit by returning so you’d need to agree an end date and give fair notice that you’d both agree on. Also would the sitter have to tolerate people viewing the place (I’m not clear which location is for sale?)
Ah ok yes I could have been clearer. The sit would be at my flat in London, which is currently for sale while I’ll be in Portugal. So there could be viewings, surveyors, etc. during the sit - as well as needing to end the sit at some unknown point (when the flat sale completes).
As a sitter, I’m not sure that it’s a reasonable expectation for a sitter to make themselves and the property available for viewings or any other associated visits (eg surveys). I would think, more importantly, that it goes against THS terms and conditions about 3rd parties being present.
Yeah this seems very intrusive. If you have a pet to look after I would try to find boarding for them away from the flat as it would be stressful for them as well, to have strangers in and out for viewings.
Ah ok this is clearer. Well a sitter who already lives in London and who could go home anytime could work…. the making of the place available to estate agents/surveyors/viewings is the bigger issue here. Somebody wfh ‘might’ be willing to do this for you as agreed 3rd parties like cleaners are allowed. But and it’s a big but there’d need to be a very detailed agreement about what is reasonable access and what is not. If it was me I’d specify one time slot pw… but of course this doesn’t help optimise marketing the property. This is sounding like a paid sit, as it’s got a lot of issues/tasks involved. You’re basically outsourcing pet sitting/housekeeping/PA duties.
Perhaps the answer is for me to transport my cats out to Portugal sooner rather than later. Then I could manage without a sitter in London - the estate agent has keys so could do viewings etc. without needing anyone else to be there.
At some point I might need to come back to London to do all the packing etc. - in which case I’d just need to find a cat sitter in Portugal for a week or two so instead.
Depending on the time of year London sits are always going to be far easier to fill than sits in Portugal I would’ve thought but it’s all dependent on both locations. Not all parts of London are desirable as a sit…
There are all different types of sitters out there with all different sorts of scenarios. While many sitters may not be able to commit to a sit with an uncertain end date– such as full-time sitters like myself who would need firm timelines for scheduling purposes– there may be some who would be able to.
Big cities in particular seem to have a lot of local sitters who look to do long-term sitting in lieu of paying rent on their own apartment so may be open to an arrangement like that and can just plan on finding new sits at whatever point they may need to .
As far as the showings, so long as you make the sitter aware of people coming to the property and get their okay beforehand, you could have this going on while they are there. 3rd parties such as that, cleaning people,etc…–as opposed to other people who are actually living in the home while the sitter would be there– are not outright prohibited by the site, it is just that sitters need to be made aware and agree to it. Some sitters may be fine with this, some may not and it isn’t an inherently intrusive thing…people can decide that for themselves.
So it can’t hurt to post and see if you find anyone.
Perhaps the simplest option is the one you’re already considering — moving the cats out to Portugal sooner rather than later.
If the flat is actively for sale, it can be quite disruptive for sitters (and stressful for cats) to have viewings, surveyors and agents coming and going, especially if the timing is unpredictable or the sit might need to end suddenly when completion happens. Most sitters are looking for a fairly stable arrangement.
If the cats were already with you in Portugal, it would give your agent complete freedom to arrange viewings and deal with the sale without needing to coordinate around a sit. Then if you needed to return to London briefly for packing or paperwork, you could arrange a short local pet sit or sitter in Portugal just for that period.
It sounds like you’re already thinking along the right lines — simplifying things for both the cats and any potential sitters.
Ship the cats to Portugal, you’ll be needing to do that anyway, so it’s one less thing to take care of down the line, so just do it now, and have a cat sitter in Portugal.
We did a cat sit last year in Spain (and returning to them again shortly), while they went back to the UK to empty their home which had been sold, and their dates changed here and there, but they gave us plenty of notice as & when there were any changes so we could easily tweak the dates each time, but there was plenty of notice ahead of time.
Communication is everything.
For your London place, it’s not exactly ideal for a sitter to have viewings etc taking place, it would be difficult for them to relax because they wouldn’t know when anything was happening, so depending on the location and safety, if you are able leave it empty, I’d do that.
So I think I’ve found a reputable company who can transport my cats to Portugal on 26th April. I plan to go there myself on 1st April. My worry is that if my flat doesn’t sell (subject to contract) before the end of March, my estate agent will want to continue viewings into April, which would then be a problem - re previous comments about invading the privacy of a sit, third parties being inside the property, etc.
I might be able to find a different pet transport company that can bring them sooner, but at any rate they won’t be able to travel before 7th April (21 days after rabies vaccines) so while this reduces the problem, it doesn’t get rid of it.
The lady downstairs sold her flat 4 mths ago it’s still not fully completed…. the legal process for flats since Grenfell has become challenging due to fire certification etc. Best wishes.
The first weekend in April is the Easter bank holiday weekend in U.K. and the Easter school break starts . There is already an excess of listings in the UK with no sitters available for these dates .
This is even the case for straightforward sits in houses with gardens ( not flats) one to two weeks only, with no third parties needing to visit the property.
Many paid sitters are also already booked for these dates or unavailable.
Can you delay your departure by a week or two at least until after Easter ?
I think you might be able to find a sitter willing to do this sit because London is a highly demanded location. If you’re already a THS member, there’s no harm in listing your dates clearly disclosing what your minimum needs are so that only people interested will apply.
If you’re not a member yet, then I think you could try facebook groups or paid pet care.
Perhaps create several sits instead of one long sit, and plan for yourself to return to London for those specific dates. For the further out sits, perhaps not “book” a sitter until the dates get closer.
“Pet transport company”?.. Do you have a friend that would bring the cats for you? Buy them a plane ticket or a tank or two of petrol for a road trip and work out something more flexible between you?
I’d happily transport someone’s cats for them if they paid my expenses
