Case Study - Homesitting is a way of life for one Shropshire couple

Posted on 4 June, 2018

Clive and Yolande Noble

Home and pet sitting can become a way of life and many of our homesitters spend months away from their own home, especially if they are doing a commercial assignment which can often be several weeks or months.

One couple, Yolande (66) and Clive Noble (71), from Telford who have been employed by us for 15 years and even rented out their own home for nine years and used a caravan as a base! They were keen to do lots of assignments because of the variety it offered them in retirement.

They find the role immensely rewarding. With the domestic sits they love looking after dogs, meeting new people and staying in lovely homes. They enjoy walking the dogs as well as visiting local places.

The couple were previously pet owners, however, when their last two dogs died they didn’t want the upset of having to go through that again but home and pet sitting enables them to still spend time with animals, particularly dogs.

Clive told us, “Being a homesitter is a change from the hum drum and gets us out and about, exploring new places. We also get our dog fix. We idolise the dogs we look after and over the years have met so many wonderful dogs.

“We enjoy exploring local villages and towns when we’re on assignment. At the moment we are quite close to the coast and in a few weeks’ time we’ll be in London. It’s just like a holiday with the bonus of getting paid!”

Increasingly the couple are taking on more commercial house sitting assignments as well as assignments for probate home protection.

Yolande explains, “As we are getting a bit older we can’t do as much walking as we used to and the commercial sits suit us more. Also, we feel that we have a bit more freedom and flexibility as we are not living in someone’s home.”

Their commercial sits have included looking after a building waiting to be renovated into luxury flats in Nottingham and a probate sit in a large private house that was eventually bought by a charity. They usually find the accommodation is fine. When they did the Nottingham assignment, they were able to live in one of the flats and the probate house was also still furnished.

The commercial assignments keep them busy too, Yolande says, “Many of the commercial buildings and houses going through probate are quite large, so every day our routine is to check everywhere, inside and out and make sure everything is secure and ok.

“Sometimes we deal with tradesmen coming in to do work or fix things. Outside of our caretaking duties, we have time to relax and enjoy a game of scrabble over a cup of coffee. We then pop out to do some shopping or have a wander for an hour or so - and that’s the day gone!”

Commercial property caretakers act as a vandalism deterrent, as well as a squatter deterrent and increase the property security.

She says, “These properties are vulnerable to all sorts of damage if left unoccupied so employing a live-in caretaker is invaluable. Too many things can go wrong in terms of vandals and squatters, but also general maintenance issues.

“On our most recent sit we saved the client around £300 a month because of a plumbing problem and water being continually heated, wasting a lot of calor gas. We monitored this and recommended a plumber was brought in to fix it. This saved the client a lot of money as it probably wouldn’t have been spotted for months.”

When asked what skills homesitters need the Nobles said you need to be adaptable, practical and interested in meeting new people and seeing new places.

Interested in becoming a homesitter? Please click here to find out more.

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