Should You Hire a House Sitter?
You should definitely hire a house sitter if you’re leaving for more than three days in a row. A vacant home becomes obvious pretty quickly.
Newspaper delivery people, letter carriers, delivery workers, gardeners, neighbors and passersby notice changes in their immediate environment. And it may not be them you need to worry about. Anyone, anywhere, can overhear a random comment about you being away. A house sitter keeps your home safe!
It’s hard to think like a criminal if you’re not one, of course. But consider how easy it is to steal small things like jewelry, laptops, Blu-Rays and more.
You may think canceling your newspaper and mail delivery will deter crime. But that just informs more people that you won’t be home. Most crime is simple, unlike the movies and TV series that we’ve all seen. Crimes of opportunity are much more common. Criminals, just like predators, go for the easy kill.
What’s a crime of opportunity? Here’s an example: A cat is stalking a bird some 20 feet away, but 5 feet in, a lizard jumps in front of the cat’s face. Do you think the cat will continue with its original plan or quickly pounce on the new target? Probably both!
So it’s the same with criminals. They may not be targeting your home, but if they’re walking by and see Amazon boxes on your porch, for example, and no one around, they’ll take advantage of that opportunity.
House sitter best deterrent
And it’s amazing how quickly a vacant home becomes obvious. But if you have a house sitter, the random activity of just walking around the house, cooking, cleaning, watching TV and reading will deter most small-time crooks. Sure, you can set up timers to rotate lights and get a neighbor to pick up your mail, but those repetitive patterns are easily spotted, too.
Therefore, having a real-live person staying at your home is the best way to deter crime. It’s a very reasonable price to pay for peace of mind!
Check out this article on hiring a house sitter. And check out AHPC’s house sitting rates! Remember, it’s called house sitting if there are NO PETS. It’s called pet sitting if you have pets.
