For nearly all of our sits we have done a pre and post-sit handover. Some have been short 30 minutes and some have included lunch and a dog walk.
It really helps for us to get introduced to the pets with the pet parents there and shown around the home in case there is anything we need to be shown or any questions on our end come up. We have housesat in some quite old houses, especially in the UK, which we loved but needed to know some quirks and what to do.
We also like to do a handover at the end of the sit. We like to expand on our communications during the sit and let the owners know how everything went and they can also use it as an opportunity to ask us anything, check that they are happy with how clean the home is etc.
We appreciate that the owner has been travelling and might be tired so a quick one is fine. For us, it is nice to feel like everything is finalised and the home and pet are neatly handed back to the owner.
When we can’t do a handover in person we like to do a video walk-through (we record one and send it to the owner). This has mainly been when the owner is not returning to the home and there will be someone else in the home between us and the owner (for example one where the AuPair would be returning three days before the owners, but we would not get to hand over to her) - That’s more for me as I like to make sure the home is tip top and the pet is settled before we leave!
Here is a topic discussing just that:
Also, it is interesting that in the T&Cs under sitters and owner requirements, it says to complete a pre and post-sit handover. I think it helps the sit go successfully and connects you more with the pet parent, but we equally did one of our best sits with no handover on either end!
What are your handover preferences?