House Sitting

[swissie]

This thread is linked to my thread " Rural Thailand, Theft".

The basic idea: Whenever a Farang has his property unattended for a few days (or a few weeks), he might want to look for a "House-Sitter". Why not through this Thai-Visa-Forum ?

I could imagine, that there are always a few expats around, that live in "Tourist-Centers" and would not mind to spend a limited amount of time "in the boonies" ( = change of scenery!).

Ideally, this should be "free of charge" on both sides, because it would help out both parties equally and in it's own way.

A short background-check of the "House-Sitter" would be advisable. ( A down and out visa-overstayer would probably not make a good guardian of the property.)

If the demand justifies it, the "mods" of Thai-Visa might even consider setting up a new "House-Sitting-Sub-Forum"! Who knows ?

Cheers.

[yabaaaa]

They already exist but dont advertise it. I know one in Samui sitting a 30 million baht house, nice bloke too.

[taninthai]

so who is going to look after the farangs house while he sits looking after your house

[bartender100]

so who is going to look after the farangs house while he sits looking after your house

LOL I will if its in Pattaya

[dave111223]

So in exchange for watching your house the sitter gets a free place to stay...?

Would you really want someone who needed a free place to stay watching your house?

[surayu]

ah ahh, i think something like a neighbour's watch would be more appropriated, using available technology like webcams and sensors, telephones and just making sure someone is around the area while someone else needs to stay away, hiring a security guard which just sleep on the job or find out all the weakest points of a property to come back later is another avoidable solution....

[swissie]

so who is going to look after the farangs house while he sits looking after your house

Good point, thaninthai (I must admit). Maybe it would only be suitable for a Farang that lives in a Hotel-Room-Rental-Situation, where the only thing that could be stolen from him personally would be his underwaer that he left at the Hotel-Room. Humor intended !

I think we must build a "think-tank" as to who could "Babysit my Prtoperty" without being relatet to the GF / Wife / Family / Local Police / Male Village-Youngsters that have absolutely nothing to do, no matter how long the day is.

This is a true challenge. Ideas always welcome. ( No guard dogs please. They are more corrupt than the local police and (as opposed to a local policeman) make a good Bar-B-Q !)

Cheers.

[taninthai]

having people check property in the daytime and having lights that are on timers to come on at night is one way to keep property more secure and a burglar alarm is as good as its going to get me thinks........

[greytown]

having people check property in the daytime and having lights that are on timers to come on at night is one way to keep property more secure and a burglar alarm is as good as its going to get me thinks........

Speaking of burglar alarms, how many people that had their house broken into had burglar alarms and / or cameras installed at their property? Are there good (monitored) burglar alarms companies in Thailand? Of course alarms may be of limited use if the house is really isolated.

[Nignoy]

All these negative comments about house sitting, there there are bonafide housesitting websites out there, no problem with checkable references, house sitting in thailand would be snapped up immediately,we live out in the boonies in country queensland, we advertised 6 weeks ago for housesitters for next april we had 98 applications in the first 3 days, we have been using housesitters from Housesit world.com for years and never had a problem, wake up people its a big world out there

[bifftastic]

I toyed with the idea of setting up a company to take care of people's properties when they were absent, it turned out that the distances between the properties was the stumbling block.

I reckon the house-sitters idea could well work for you, as one poster pointed out, there are websites already set up for that kind of thing.

[craigt3365]

I know several people who do this as a full time "occupation". One gal I met in Costa Rica even has a biz card advertising her services. She has stayed in luxury, ocean view houses as well as ones in the jungle. Pretty cool. For us, we use my wife's mother. She is fantastic! Won't even turn on the AC in order to save money. We we come back, the house is cleaner than when we left. We are very lucky. Our house is never vacant, except when we go out shopping, etc. The alarm is on every night and whenever we are gone.

I think this is a great idea, if you can get the right people for sitting. Need to be vetted very well. I looked at a property in Phuket that had it's own guard shack for a full time, live-in guard. Found out when the owners left for a month, the guard cleared the place out and disappeared!

[robblok]

We are just a little bit outside of Bangkok in a fenced moo bahn with security. This is nice but still i let my wifes younger sister take care of the house when we are off for a Holiday. We pay her some money and hope that things go well. Actually its not so much that we worry about the house but that we want our dogs to stay at home and enjoy their life. Else we would have to bring our dogs somewhere. So we do it this way and it works out really well.

I have done some house sittings when i was younger but right now i don't want it because i like my own house a lot.

[Soulwy]

Well, I am looking for a house for 6 months (North-Th.) but most houses I like are long term rentals (1yr)

It would be great if I could housesit a place for a couple of months in a row. I'd be even willing to pay for it.

And yes, with an own house I'd like to have a housesitter when I am in the West. To keep it burglar-unfriendly.

I am about to register myself at a house sitting website, (because there is no housesitting sub at TVF) This year as a housesitter, next year...as a houseowner?

So Swissie, I think your idea is worth my 2 thumbs

Good luck.

[Soulwy]

... after given a second thought...

I actually think it is a GREAT idea! Most farangs I know in Thailand are part time residents like me. Sharing a house was my first idea (costs, responsabilities, contract) but housesitting could be even a better option.

[geriatrickid]

If the intent is for the house to be occupied, many of best candidates in terms of trustworthiness are not going to be available during the day because they will hold down jobs. In Thailand, that leaves the next best ideal candidate: A widow or older woman. A 60 year old lady isn't going to be inviting her boyfriends over and she most likely is going to be puttering around the house, not down at the local bar.

[simon43]

Sounds a great idea! I work on the internet, with no physical job in Thailand. I can live/move anywhere in Thailand, speak Thai etc. As for references, I've worked as a police volunteer for more than 4 years

Wait a minute, is that a good reference or not?

Simon

[WarpSpeed]

Actually we are perfect candidates for this as we have no real restrictions holding us down and been here 7 years. In fact we are doing just that at the moment for a friend of my wife's who lives in China full time but owns this house here but we can continue to keep an eye on this house and have good neighbors who know us and would help with that and my wife would still work nearby so no problem.. Also I'm very universally handy with a wide range of experience on repairing a wide range of items as well including but not limited to electrical, A/C, swimming pools, pump motors, plumbing, car maintenance (if required) etc. the list is really endless as well as the tools here to do it. If I can't fix it I can most certainly supervise a repair to the highest standards and I have a big softball bat and professional night stick and the experience to handle them too if need be for the security position, I once batted 320 in little league ...

I'm a family man and have few references here to speak of as I don't get out much and don't drink or smoke but my Thai neighbors would no doubt provide one, so if anyone is interested send me a PM and lets have a talk..

[dmax]

why would i want a house sitter in isaan , there is litterally no crime or at least or house break ins up there in rural isaan.

[robblok]

why would i want a house sitter in isaan , there is litterally no crime or at least or house break ins up there in rural isaan.

There are a lot of posters who say its really bad up there crime wise.

[surayu]

why would i want a house sitter in isaan , there is litterally no crime or at least or house break ins up there in rural isaan.

... .... ....

[sillyman99]

Best to get some Thai people from the same Village to house sit for you for a small ammount of money.

In my opinion, they are much more likely to be trustworthy than many of the Farangs that wash up on Thailands shores.

[sillyman99]

why would i want a house sitter in isaan , there is litterally no crime or at least or house break ins up there in rural isaan.

There are a lot of posters who say its really bad up there crime wise.

If we believed everything that Posters on this forum write, we would have left Thailand long ago.

[robblok]

why would i want a house sitter in isaan , there is litterally no crime or at least or house break ins up there in rural isaan.

There are a lot of posters who say its really bad up there crime wise.

If we believed everything that Posters on this forum write, we would have left Thailand long ago.

I believe some things others i dont believe. This sounded convincing.

[surayu]

If we believed everything that Posters on this forum write, we would have left Thailand long ago.

Yes i think this is the right formula: "if it's good it's true but if it's bad than can't be true" sounds better than TAT, it particularly works for those living at least 10.000 miles from here.

[craigt3365]

why would i want a house sitter in isaan , there is litterally no crime or at least or house break ins up there in rural isaan.

Crime is rampant. Why do you think they store their cows under their houses every night? Why do all the villages have gates that can be closed. Why are no homes EVER left empty.

In my wife's village, crime happens all the time. And it is a small village. Only gets worse as the village gets bigger. Sad, but true.

[sillyman99]

If we believed everything that Posters on this forum write, we would have left Thailand long ago.

Yes i think this is the right formula: "if it's good it's true but if it's bad than can't be true" sounds better than TAT, it particularly works for those living at least 10.000 miles from here.

Sorry, why are you taking about people living 10,000 Miles from here ?

I don't understand what you mean.

[sillyman99]

Crime is rampant. Why do you think they store their cows under their houses every night? Why do all the villages have gates that can be closed. Why are no homes EVER left empty?

No homes are EVER left empty ?

I have a house in Isaan that is left empty most of the time, never had a problem in 6 years.

Now Pattaya is a different story..................

[elwood]

Crime is rampant. Why do you think they store their cows under their houses every night? Why do all the villages have gates that can be closed. Why are no homes EVER left empty?

No homes are EVER left empty ?

I have a house in Isaan that is left empty most of the time, never had a problem in 6 years.

Now Pattaya is a different story..................

Yes, yet another sweeping blanket statement totally without foundation; this is a great forum!

We too have left our Isaan village home empty for 6 years with no trouble. Never had any attempt at a break-in in 15 years. None of the villages in the area are gated at night, but apart from that it's a true comment!

But I wouldn't leave a Pattaya home unattended while I went out to collect the newspaper!

Elwood

[Nignoy]

I toyed with the idea of setting up a company to take care of people's properties when they were absent, it turned out that the distances between the properties was the stumbling block.

I reckon the house-sitters idea could well work for you, as one poster pointed out, there are websites already set up for that kind of thing.

for genuine registered housesitters distance is no problem, our last housesitters were a pensioner couple from Berlin who spend their retirement housesitting all over the world