House Sitting Creep Show
 

The owners of the home across the street are out of town. They hired a housesitter to check on the property.

Today the homeowner's brother-in-law knocked on my door and told me they had just fired the housesitter. The BIL came over to check on the property, and opened the door with his key. The housesitter came out of the bedroom wrapped in a towel.

The housesitter had moved into the home, making a pallet in the closet for his bed. He had cooked, eaten, showered and slept in their home.

I encourage them the call the police, but I don't think they did. They left me their name and number in case I see anything.

Licensed, bonded and insured, or your BFF. There are creeps out there.

House sitter
 

Spooky, perhaps. But isn't a house-sitter someone who stays in your house when you're away? Or did you mean property manager?

I'm confused.

I thought a "house-sitter" is one who stayed at the house...they were watching?


House Sitter | Definition of House Sitter by Merriam-Webster

Help me out...what is the issue? :confused:

The BIL referred to him as a house sitter. He was not hired to live there. He was hired to flush the toilets, water the plants, etc. ~ and leave.

ETA: House watch is probably a better term. The owners were reportedly upset that he lived in their home.

Why doesn’t the BIL do it himself?

I think the difference is in semantics. House-sitters general stay at the home. Home Watch services are the ones that come weekly, more or less, to check on the home.

If this was a home watch person, I could see where the issue would be.

OK, that makes a little more sense.

I can't help but wonder though, given the BIL's vernacular, if the person was told he was NOT going to be an actual "house-sitter?"

Then the next obvious question would be, since it sounds like he is here...why didn't they just use the BIL?

I also have to say, if I was hired as a house-sitter (or even just a 'house-watcher'), having someone use a key to come in while I was there...would be the "creepy" part. :ohdear:

I have no way of knowing why they made the decisions they did.

A pallet in a closet sounds like someone hiding the fact they are staying in the house. It’s happened before. It will probably happen again.

Reality is that if a true house watcher, one of the first questions asked is if anyone else has access to the house. If so, the house watcher’s insurance is void and any risk is then on the homeowner.

Having a friend or relative watch a home is not a good idea. If something goes wrong, someone will probably be paying out of pocket for damages and it won’t be the insurance company if the house watcher was even remotely negligent.

Interesting.

So you are advising that if you hire someone to watch/look in on your house...they should be insured & bonded?

Have you seen, or heard of, an issue happening with a friend/neighbor watching a house?

I've done this for neighbors in the past...but this now gives me pause.

I agree. Could you please elaborate? we have a house watch but give a neighbor a key in case of emergency.

Further, should the house watcher provide proof of insurance?

Be careful about some of the stuff you read here since some of the posters could be “talking their book”.

My sister owns a home here and hires a home watch person Because she knows I have a life and does not impose on me. Thank you sister.

Makes sense, but do you check up on the people your sister hires...by letting yourself in her house?

I always let my neighbors know that I am having a House Watch person stopping in to check on house. That way they know who is around.

Another example of home automation needed
 

Either a water use monitor, energy monitor or a door switch would quickly let you know if anyone was living in your home. Certainly, there is no replacement for human verification. There is also zero doubt anyone can stay there w/o using water electricity, or opening a door.

In the case of a water monitor it would also confirm you toilets had been flushed by home watch. Not a problem with honest, bonded and insured home watch. It is nice to have confirmation, if you like having it.

I'm not advising you but Yes, what if they knock over and break a lamp or bump into a TV and it falls off the wall? Or robs you blind? You would have an insurance company to file a claim with.

Come on perrjojo, you can’t take 10 mins out of your week to check on your own sister’s house?? :)

We hire Village Watchdogs every year to watch our house; we've used them since 2007.
No-one should be living in your house without permission to do so.

I know of one instance where two gentlemen were best friends since first grade. One was a snowbird, the other a frog. Of course, the frog was happy to watch over his friend’s house and did so for several years. One year, the frog checked the house and did not turn the water off after checking (may never have done so, who knows?). The frog then went on a vacation. Came back, checked his friend’s, the toilet tank had sprung a leak, caused about $15,000 damage. The snowbird’s insurance company paid the claim, then went to the frog and said, “Pay up. You were responsible for taking care of the home. You were negligent.” Sadly, that ended the friendship.

The issue with others having a key when you hire a home watch company is that if there is some damage to the home, it is difficult to prove who was responsible for the damage — the one with the extra key, the home watch, an act of nature. Home watch could have checked the house on Monday. On Tuesday, neighbor went in to store some stuff in the fridge for a party. On Wednesday, neighbor got the food but didn’t shut the door tightly, let alone lock it. On Thursday, there was severe wind and rain storm. The door blew open and there was water damage. Party truly responsible — the neighbor. Proving that the neighbor was even in the house is nigh impossible, so home watch blamed and home watch insurance covers damage, less deductible. Ergo, insurance companies that insure for this type of service refuse to cover homes where it is known others have key.

Hope this answers some of your questions.

Again, home automation is the answer
 

Electronic lock! Home watch gets one code, neighbor get another and so on. I can see exactly who was in the house by the code.

Let me directly address the non-belivers:

But what if the lock batteries went dead! Well first i would have ignored the text telling me the batteries are low, but if I had, I would just open the garage door remotely for them.

But what if the internet went down? Well I would give them the code for garage door key pad remote (non smart home product)

But what if the power is out, then you would have no way to let someone in! I would just give them the code for the key safe. Realtors use something like this.

:ho: My hat is off to anyone that TECH SAVVY. :coolsmiley:

I'm still trying to figure out the clock on the microwave. :icon_wink:

I love my push button lock, should have done it long ago.:coolsmiley:

It is my understanding that a house sitter is someone who lives in your house while you’re away in exchange for keeping watch, possibly caring for pets etc. A house watcher just drops by now and then and they are paid for their services. House sitters are often college students or a friends kid

:1rotfl:

Brother let me tell you if I don't live to see another day I never happier than today, when I received your complement. To be called tech savvy, I still can't figure out how to program my car to my to tastes. Yes, new cars are very smart.

We use a home watch service but have also just installed a Nest camera that sends us a message when there is movement in the home. We also use a Nest thermostat so that we can be sure AC is working. Furthermore it’s also insurance that the home watch service is checking weekly and not just forging the log book they leave in the home. I like the idea of the push button lock we may have to install one.

BobNBev what brand are you using, any suggestions?

There is a lock company in the area, I think it's called the Castle or something like that. Offhand, I don't know the make of ours, but you can set 22 different combo's of numbers, add and delete as needed. Talk to them and let them guide you. Lowes and H.D. have several different brands, but this is not really a DIY project. They also have a long kickplate for where the dead bolt goes. Anyone trying to kick the door in will probably break an ankle or leg, it's that strong. Talk to them, you'll be glad you did.:ho:

Thank you much appreciated

Did Castle install your lock and how much did it cost?

Great idea. Can you please share with us who installed the lock?

Kwikset and Schlage, among others, have several models to choose from, and they absolute are a DIY project. I installed one on the door leading from the garage to the laundry room, and it couldn't have been easier. I chose the model with the key, in case there was an issue with the batteries controlling the touch pad. In addition, lock manufacturers have made it extremely easy to rekey a new lock to your existing keys. This used to involve a trip to Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. Not any longer though, as a homeowner can do it.

I cannot find a listing via Google search for Castle Lock, at least not one that’s in Florida.

The negative comments on Amazon are mostly about water getting into the lock.
Have you also installed one on your front door?

I have not yet, for one reason only. The current Kwikset electronic lock does not come in the correct finish to match our existing door handle. Once the handle fails (and it will, as I've replaced three of them for customers) I will switch.

Yes, they did, and the cost was very reasonable, I don't remember the $$ total. Well worth the cost, however.

Careful...Google maybe watching and recording you.

Amazon doesn't carry Castle Locks.
I googled Castle Locks, and I could find nothing except in the UK.

Thanks

I think the name of the company is Affordable locks and safes, either in Leesburg or Fruitland Park.