Article - 'Know Before You Go: House Sitters and House Traders'

This is the beginning of a recent article on house sitting and home exchange on the website, Taking Your Camera on the Road with Lorelle and Brent VanFossen:

'You want a long vacation, but leaving your home seems like more work than taking the vacation. Having a home means taking care of the garden and lawn, feeding pets, checking the mail, paying the bills, hoping the roof won't leak, and worrying about storm damage and water leaks. Or is security a big concern, not wanting to leave the house empty and unattended for so long?

One of the options for people wanting to take an extended vacation was to just have neighbors watch their homes, but one of the other options over the past couple of decades is to actually hire a house sitter or trade with another family - they stay in your home and you stay in theirs.

It's a great way to spend more time traveling and/or more time in one location, experiencing "native life" from a home rather than a hotel.'

Read the full article which includes pertinent questions to consider before agreeing to house sit or to a home exchange offer.