Hello, I am relatively new to Trusted Housesitters and this is my first time posting on the forum. I just got a very unusual invitation to “housesit”. A HO sent me an invitation to housesit. Their message did not provide any dates, there was no clear posting, and the HO stated that in addition to housesitting, they hoped I would also give them professional advice based on the profession I list in my profile. Yet, that was not the weirdest part of their request. When I responded to ask for clarification (I tend to respond to all invitations even if to decline, out of courtesy), the HO indicated that they were not planning to travel, that what they wanted was more like a “Mother’s helper” to come to their house to, I assume, help them with their kids and pets? I was flabbergusted and politely declined indicating that I do not provide that kind of services (professional advice and nannying). Has anyone else ever received requests like this?
You might have referred the host to WorkAway. That’s a better match.
I would report this HO to THS as she is clearly on the wrong platform
Totally inappropriate. Wow, they want a free nanny. LOLOLOL. Please report.
@TeresaM As others have stated, report them to THS right away. THS is not the appropriate platform for their needs.
Report them to THS. Third parties should not be in the home whilst the sitter stays . E-mail
Support@trustedhouse sitters.com
Send screenshots of the invitation message and a link to the listing .
I’m curious how did they contact you without any dates listed ?
Here is the third party policy
“A pet parent must ensure that their property is vacant and that no other person will be living in the home apart from the sitters. This includes (and is not limited to) no family members, tenants or employees. ”
https://support.trustedhousesitters.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360001881117-Third-party-policy
I saw a listing where the husband would be away for several weeks . His wife and kids would be staying home, she wanted help with the dogs ( and possibly kids ) while he was away . I reported the listing to THS Support. They removed the listing .
Please report this to THS. Both requests are completely inappropriate and the HO clearly misunderstands what THS is for. Assuming they are new, they might be able to get a refund and go somewhere more suitable.
There is also a site called ‘Help X’ where somenbody will work for approx 4 hours a day in exchange for accommodation and food.
Oh super! Can we advertise for combination housesitters/gardeners/accountants/handypersons/contractors….?? 
Oh wait, I know – I want a realtor housesitter to come and sell my house for me while I go on holiday! 
I’m really curious – did they have any other reviews?
Please come back and tell us you reported the listing. Or, the HO’s I.D. if there isn’t a listing. That’s just nutz.
Hope you get some good “real” sits!
We were once asked to take over the host’s babysitting duties for their grandchildren whilst they were away. We declined.
On three occasions on THS we’ve been asked if we could keep an eye on an elderly parent in a separate property within the same grounds (two of which we’ve happily done), but that’s just a case of making sure they’re okay in a neighbourly way, I’ve never heard of what you have been asked happening on THS, they need to check out Workaway for that.
Thank you everybody for the advice. I have contacted support and informed them of this issue. I hope they will address the matter with the HO.
After my original post, I went back into my chat record and realized that this is not the first time this HO reaches out to me with an invitation. Both times I declined and both time the HO removed the posting and dates immediately after. This is a weird one, for sure.
I have been in THS for a year and I have housesat for people for over 10 years through contacts, friends and acquaintances. Just in the last year, I spent over 7 months housesitting - all through THS - and I have to say every experience has been amazing. Two of these housesits were as a result of invitations sent through THS. I hope this one is just an odd occurrence and that there a no more weirdos out there.
Thanks again.
Oh dear, they created the listings for you only, they don’t want anyone else to see
Yeah, that would really freak me out. But I can’t quite think of why they would only target one sitter with such a strange request.
Because the OP wrote her profession in her profile I guess
It was the nannying part that really puzzled me. But also still seems strange that someone would make a posting just to approach one possible sitter and then take it down. Don’t they still need a sitter?
was she local? Maybe they thought she wouldn’t have to sleep in their home, just come each day, for free and do chores.
If it was reported to THS they probably took the listing down .