If someone was interested in our housesit then I would go into everything in great detail. I would also do a video call or if someone was near enough ask them if they would like a visit first. This gives the sitter a chance to change their minds if they find it is too much.
Due to the type of house and garden, to put everything into the the initial introduction would take pages and pages. I have already had a comment that I have put many photos of our pets. The online forms ask for a picture of each pet. I have only put one for each pet. Our house sit is not for everyone. I understand this. It would not suit someone who did not want to enjoy the house and garden but just wanted a house as a base.
For this reason I do not expect to get many people being interested. So far I have found that whatever I put on the information pages, it gets overlooked and the more and more detail I put the more that it gets overlooked, hence applicants with small children even though it is stated that our house is not suitable.
Hi @Coco I remember you having asked forum members before about your listing. Taking a quick look at it again, I would suggest you change a little of the wording to show what steps you have taken to accommodate more sitters.
In particular, you show: “ This will be a sit that will not suit everyone as the house is very large and we have a lot of animals. ”. Much later on you mention that there will be a cleaner and the sitters only need be concerned with the rooms they use. However, the section I’ve shown in quotes might be enough to stop some sitters reading further. Also, if I remember correctly, you did mention in a post that you have (or can have) assistance with care for the animals. These points are helpful in both showing that it is manageable for many, and that you are being considerate of sitters.
Again in the introduction, showing the sitter would need to have “ all the DBS checks etc. ” is somewhat vague, and certainly an issue for those coming from outside the UK. If your insurance can instruct you on how you might be able to broaden that limitation, it would be helpful.
Hi Snowbird
What are your suggestions for the items I have added and are being ignored. Eg children, other peoples dogs?
Hi Nikola, I was curious myself and took a look at your listing which I think says that you have cats, multiple dogs, turtles, chickens, quail, cows, horses and extensive gardens which need to be cared for? And it looks like the sitter(s) would have responsibility for everything but the horses? That sounds like close to a full time job to me. I can’t imagine it would be easy to find sitter(s), much less for free. I know you’ve noted in earlier posts that you would have a very limited pool of applicants and then when you also want no one with a dog of their own or a young child, it certainly would be an even smaller pool. I saw that you did actually have sitters once before through Trusted Housesitters which is phenomenal. They might be excellent people to ask for honest suggestions since they’ve experienced all of this firsthand. As to people applying even though they have a dog or child of their own, from a sitter’s perspective here, I would be inclined to send them a brief, pleasant note thanking them for taking the time to enquire but letting them know that regretfully you need to decline as you feel your property would not be suitable. Good luck with your listing.
It definitely looks like a challenging sit which leaves little time either for own work or holidaying. We would include info about how much time the tasks should usually take. We also agree with what Snowbird wrote that you should mention any assistance available to sitters and be very clear about what documents you need exactly (and if any non-UK sitters will be able to obtain them). Perhaps I would also mention the cleaning lady a bit earlier (when we see such a large property we immediately think about all the endless cleaning involved). We wish you good success! PS: Perhaps offering the use of a car would also entice someone. We would recommend inviting sitters who are retired (but reasonably fit), live not too far away, are new to THS and have no or only few reviews (but who have other experience).
Thank you for your message. I will reword the listing as people are not to come to the house to spend all day with the animals and garden. I did what you said before this post and thanked them first. What my my post is also saying is whatever information I put in is not always read except for people that are curious after my posting. In the forum.
Thank you for your comments, I have altered the bits you have mentioned and although a cleaner was mentioned in the listing I have added it into both sections of the listing so it will not be missed.
Thank you for your comments. The listing mentions that we have a cleaner and I have added that at the starting paragraph as well as not to be missed. I have mentioned that the out door animals only take about half an hour in the morning and less in the evening.
Hi @Coco Unfortunately there will always be details that are missed, both by sitters and homeowners. For example, some sitters clearly mark that they are fully booked until 2023 and yet still get 2022 invites to sit. You can only try to set things out as clearly as possible. I see that other forum members have also given you feedback, which is great. I hope all goes well for you.
I have made alterations to the listing as you mentioned. I have put the information about the cleaner earlier so it is now in twice.
Hi, we definitely would love to help you out with your sit, beautiful area and lovely home… as well as the family pets - would be great!!! However, as mentioned by others it is the added expense of the car rental that makes it more difficult for everyone right now. As well, I do not have the necessary CRC as I have never been asked to provide one in any of my 43 sits in the past. Wishing you all the best of luck, I’m sure there is a sitter out there that will meet all the criteria that you are looking for, as would be a great opportunity.
Hi. In the absence of applicants for my dates I have invited 4 sitters who have saved our listing to consider to come and sit. It has not been a reassuring procedure as:
1 - On checking colanders I find that quite a lot do not fill them in, so it was awkward to know who was available.
2 - Only 1 replied- unfortunately not available for our dates.
3 - The other 3 have not yet read my sent request - I sent them out about 2 -3 days apart thinking I was giving plenty of time for people to check up on messages.
How is an invite communicated? Does it arrive as an e-mail like I get when someone saves my listing?
I have also used the Boost to bring my dates back up for attention. Fingers crossed that there will be someone out there looking for a Hebridean Adventure.
We get an email immediately when we are invited to a sit. We also get a notification on the app and see a flag on the website if we log in.
The calendar seems to be confusing to most people. If sitters have filled them in, it will show green on dates they are available, crossed off on dates when they are booked, and blank if they are just not available.
If we get an invitation, we always respond as soon as we see it.
Hi, Thank you for clarifying. I didn’t want to over-do the invites and wasn’t too sure how long I should wait for a response. It’s a case of Please God give me patients - but hurry 
There is no such thing as over doing the invites. Invite as many people as you can, ASAP. No need to wait days between or limit the number of people you’re inviting. You may need to invite dozens of people before you find a match so better to start sooner than later.
Thank you very much fir the incouragenent, invitations will be going out.
Hi, I’m Nancy and my husband is Richard and the lovely, if demanding, Izzie lives with us.
We’ve recently listed a need for a cat/house sitter for 12 days in June but have had very few replies. It’s the first time we’ve posted a listing for such a long period. I’m wondering if I left too little lead time and that’s why we’ve not had many responses? We live about a mile from the coast in South Devon, in a beautiful house which is divided into 7 units which share 4 acres of lawns, gardens and woodland. We’ve put loads of pictures of Izzie on our listing and photos of the house and grounds. Is there anything else we should be doing to entice sitters? We are fussy, tho’, and only the right person/persons will do for Izzie as she is the centre of our lives. Cheers, Nancy
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Hi @NancyandRichard. The photos of Izzie are very sweet, and it would also be nice to know a bit more about her character e.g is she playful?, is she a fusspot?, a lapcat?, does she spend much time in the house or is she out a lot? You mention in your forum post that you are (understandably) fussy about choosing a sitter, so the more information you can give about your pet’s character and needs gives sitters a better chance of seeing if they’re a good fit.
As a sitter I would be wondering about photos of the bedroom and bathroom that I would be using. This is usually a must-see for sitters.
I would probably be seeking reassurances about privacy, regarding the setup of your house into units. Are there any areas of the gardens that your family can use by yourselves?
For the title of your sit, you don’t really need to say you are looking for a house/cat sitter so you can use your word limit on other enticing features. For example, you are one mile from the sea in Devon. Forgive my ignorance but I have not heard of Stokenham before so I didn’t know which county it was in.
You also mention ‘various dates’ in your title, but only have one date listed.
It sounds like a lovely opportunity and I wish you luck in finding the right sitters.
@NancyandRichard You have a nicy location & home & kitty. If you follow the suggestions by AllyMac and repost / boost your listing you should be able to find someone. We once applied to a sit on the Devon coast, not sure if we even got a reply because it was so popular (before 2020). It might also help to include the use of a car or bicycles. We have done sits in more remote locations than this and just brought food for two weeks and walked / cycled in the area.
Hi Ally,
This being my first time using the Forum, not sure if replying to your email will work or if I have to go to the Forum to respond. We’ll see…
Thank you so much for very helpful information. I am updating the info on Izzie now.
Good point re photos of the house — there are lots of pics in my Welcome pack, but not, as you noted on the main listing. I have now put titles on the Izzie photos and several of them are in the bedroom… 
And I’ve also changed the listing photo to one of Izzie — as she does photograph well. We’ll add more info about the area, and beach photos. Stokenham is in South Devon near Kingsbridge.
Many thanks for your advice and help.
All best,
Nancy