Thanks for this. I had 3 new applications this morning and have now confirmed a sitter!
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Ouch! - Like a 
straight through the 
!!
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Just curious, why?
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@Lulubelle
âPersonally I would NOT want a sitter who doesnât have a primary home and who goes from sit to sit.â
Why not?
Thatâs exactly what my hubby & I do! Most hosts find our nomadic lifestyle fascinating! And some are even a bit envious!
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Holy Long Thread BatmanâŚ! 
I wonder if the OP has ever travelled and housesat? The one (1) consistently helpful feature of THSâs webpage is the WORLD MAP that allows sitters to easily LOCATE PLACES THEY WANT TO HOUSE SIT! It is more than a little fallacious to believe the map or adverts are done intentionally for only sitters that want to travel more than care for houses and pets.
Obviously there will be those that want to abuse the system, but if they donât care for your home or pet as much as location, thereâs the rating system, and they wonât last long
You point about tenancy rights is an excellent one: Some states give tenancy even after less than 30 days!! Here is where one can research tenancy rights in each state
However, municipalities also have their own tenancy rights!
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I think you have some misconceptions about the type of people who travel full-time. You seem to have a very low opinion of us. You may pass up great sitters because you donât understand what we do.
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We are full time travellers but now have an apartment back home (Covid made us). We both knew what we wanted to do when we retired and we are living our dream life, looking after great pets while travelling round the world.
I have a US visa which means I can stay in USA for six months at a time. If I abuse that they wonât let me back in so Iâm not interested in tenancy of you or anyone elseâs home. Should I state that on my applications?
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If you are worried about tenancy, you definitely have misconceptions about people who travel full-time. We are traveling because thatâs what we want to do, not because we donât have a home - we intentionally gave up our homes in order to travel. Iâm highly educated and have a professional career that I can do from anywhere. When Iâm ready to settle down again in one place, I can easily buy another home. Housesitting enriches my travels, I love being able to spend time with pets while Iâm traveling and live like a local.
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Hi @Lulubelle Your response comes across as rather judgemental of people you donât know and a lifestyle you are perhaps not familiar with! My husband and I have owned, and maintained, homes throughout our lives but for the last 12 years we have chosen to live a nomadic lifestle- for many years as full time motorhomers and the last few years as global housesitters. This is our choice as we love our freedom. We fund our lifestyle through self managing a few rental properties we own (we are great landlords!) and we are highly responsible in everything we do. We are currently on our 70th sit in 10 countries! We choose our sits for all sorts of reasons- location, pets, property features, dates etc- we love to âslow travelâ in places that interest us and caring for homes and pets in exchange for a home from home all adds to the experience and the enriches our travels. But all factors need to come together. We would not choose your sit if we did not like your dog or city etc and we have no interest whatsover in squatting, or assuming tenancy rights, in your home or anyone elses!
Sometimes we take breaks from housesitting to visit friends and family and in some countries its easier to rent an airbnb.
At the age of 60 we have more than earned the right to live as we please!
You have every right too, to choose your sitters by whatever criterior are important to you.
But by ruling out nomadic sitters you might miss out on really great sitters like us! 
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Hello just a polite reminder to keep on the topic of âSitters more interested in a place to stay than your petâsâ
Hereâs a gentle reminder to always be kind, courteous and respectful even when you disagree with the views of others as stated in our community guidelinesâŚ
Thank you and happy weekend 
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Hi Lokstar, we are fulltime rverâs and landlords too. We have travelled the last 2+ years with our motorhome and our 3 kids but now we have put our rv in storage and have been signing up petsits this summer. Thatâs so neat youâve already been doing it for 12 years. Congrats, I hope to be you in 10 years with 12 years of travel experience
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Dealing with squatters is a small but a real legitimate concern. There are professional squatters out there and Iâve heard of AirBnbâs being a victim. Last week we did a 10 day sit in Colorado and my son fell in love with the dogs so much that he asked if we could just stay there forever with the dogs. I told him that would make us squatters. He didnât see anything wrong with that.
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Interesting thread. I think if I was looking for a place to squat I probably wouldnât think to sign up for THS, pay for a membership, build references and then travel to a destination. Seems like a lot of work. 
Although I have done sits where I wouldnât mind staying!
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Are the cat(s) allowed get up on the kitchen counters or table tops. Thatâs our latest pet peeve. Our last sit the cat food bowls were on the counters and table. It was disgusting. Had we known that beforehand weâd never have taken the sit.
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@Lulubelle I had no idea about these US state 30 day tenancy rules - thank you for sharing the reason for your concerns on choosing a full time sitter over someone who has a main home and only sits for vacations .
This forum gives valuable insight into all perspectives.
âEveryday is a school day â
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Iâm a cat person, but donât allow my cat on the countertop where I am preparing feed. I do think thatâs pretty gross, when cats walk in the litterbox. Iâve had multiple sits where owners allow this, however. I wouldnât refuse a sit if this came up in the pre-confirmation discussions, but I wipe the counters carefully before using them!
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I am due to have my first video call tomorrow with a prospective sitter, and the OP topic is something Iâm thinking about.
I donât expect a sitter to be sat in my house all day gazing at my dog (though a lovely way to pass the time ), but I donât want him left all day every day. How do I broach this? I have put in my listing 4/5 hours is okay, weâll even pay for a dog walker a couple of times if thereâs a day trip, but what is reasonable?
I suppose Iâm worried people will be bored in a small town?
Any ideas of how to word this?
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Perhaps you could ask for their plans during the sit? For example, are they going to work from home or are they looking to sight see?
Yes I do have that on my list of questions, but itâs not wrong to want to sightsee, I was interested to know what sitters felt was reasonable?
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