Testimonials from our users

I feel confident to leave our home and animals with the minder, and go away for 6 months. (Owner)

Dear Susan, I am very happy with replies that we had with our ad. We had a lot of suitable people contact us, and eventually we arranged a minder who is ideal, with references, and a love of animals. I feel confident to leave our home and animals with the minder, and go away for 6 months. We have kept regular contact and discussed all issues until she arrives here on 20th june. I think your service is top class and can't see any improvements that need to be made. The site is interesting, easy to navigate, and plenty to read. I will use Mindmyhouse again, as we go away for a few months every year.

PG & PG, Australia. June 2008

Will use your service again and will recommend! (Owner)

Hi there, just to say very pleased with your online service - excellent in fact. We have found a lovely sounding person for our holiday to housesit so very pleased. Will use your service again and will recommend! Many thanks.

L S-W, Oxfordshire, UK. June 2008

Your service enabling us to hide our email address is an excellent idea for our security and peace of mind! (Owner)

Dear Susan, the response we received was excellent, we immediatley received five or six applicants for the house sit all of which would have been suitable. We have chosen a house sitter and have now contacted them direct, but your service enabling us to hide our email address is an excellent idea for our security and peace of mind. If the house sit in July is successful, we will certainly use your web site again.

MD, Valencia, Spain. June 2006

Thank you for our very positive introduction to housesitting! (Owner)

I found your website one day in March 2008. The following day I submitted a request for house sitters and within 12 hours I had twelve enquiries. Within another day we had confirmed our sitters. They were super people, very friendly and professional. They took good care of our three dogs and two cats, not to mention the house and garden! Thank you for our very positive introduction to housesitting.

Julie Eccleston, UK. July 2008

We've had our first experience with house sitters from your web, and everything went fine! (Owner)

Hello Susan, My husband and I are very happy that we found mindmyhouse. We have a couple coming in July and a lady coming in August. For both ads I have quite a few replies and they were all very nice and very willing to give me information about themselves. I also contacted a few sitters and in this case some never replied and some replied too late so finally it was better the placing the ad than contacting them directly. Hope this helps. (June 2008)

Dear Susan, just to let you know that we've had our first experience with house sitters from your web, and everything went fine, they were a very nice couple and we all got on very well, they got on very well with our cats and took good care of our home. So when I left for our trip I was very relaxed and confident that everything was under control. In August I'm off again so I will have another house sitter from your web to take care of things. (July 2008)

Sandra & Roberto De Zayas, Spain. June 2008

I am in love with your service! (Owner)

I am in love with your service. You guys are doing a great job, I have found a lot of interesting people to housesit for me. Keep up the Good Work!

E Harkins, Florida, USA. June 2008

I only wish I had found out about it before!! (Owner)

Hello. I was very happy with the service provided by your website. I mailed a lot of people (more than 20) and almost all responded very soon after I mailed them. Unfortunately, mine was a last-minute need and no one was able to help, but I would recommend (in fact, already have!) your site to people seeking house-sitters. I only wish I had found out about it before!! - it's a great site.

Helen Smith, France. May 2008

We were inundated with responses to our ad! (Owner)

Hello, we were inundated with responses to our ad, and were very pleased with your site. We have made an arrangement with one of the applicants. Many thanks for your services.

Jan Berry, Spain. May 2008

I am a fast worker - booked next winter's getaway in Mexico and have already chosen a house sitter! (Owner)

Hello Sue, I am a fast worker - booked next winter's getaway (Jan/Feb, even March now) in Mexico and have already chosen a house sitter, currently sitting in south of France. Like others, I never expected so much response, especially to come to Montreal in the dead of winter! Had replys from Australia, the UK, the USA, Canada and France. What a wonderful service you provide for travellers both ways, and their pets. I LOVE your website and maybe it would work out for next winter ('10). I detest winter though Taj, my husky, LOVES it. What a match we are! I am keeping your website address for future contact.

Marian Kahn, Montreal, Canada. April 2008

This is our third time to use the site and once again we have been successful! (Owner)

This is our third time to use the site and once again we have been successful in getting a suitable person. Thanks again.

Martin Williams, Ireland. April 2008

Better then leaving the poor dogs in kennels and poor cat with no company! (Owner)

Hi Susan, I think it's marvellous site and it will give us that extra freedom to go away, better then leaving the poor dogs in kennels and poor cat with no company! Also it's a great opportunity to meet other people from countries, as our first sitter is from new Zealand, and is staying on a few days when we get back. So many thanks for a great idea! Have had many responses and I've narrowed the advert down to a couple, as I didn't want some sole person having an accident and not being able to call for help!

DC, France. April 2008

The response to our ad is beyond expectation and of excellent quality. (Owner)

Thank you for your message. The response to our ad is beyond expectation and of excellent quality. We have engaged a couple of members and we have been in contact with them by e-mail and telephone. They will housesit for three weeks in May. Overall, we have been impressed by your service and look forward to future housesittings!

WB, United Kingdom. April 2008

In fact it's so good we haven't bothered to use any other housesitting websites! Well done :)) (Owner)

Lovely to hear from you. I have found your service to be excellent, fast and effective. It balances the need to communicate with the need for privacy and confidentiality very well. As you can probably see I have made quite some use of the anonymous email address function to reply to sitters the first time round. I really appreciated this, as you never really know to whom you are responding. Once I feel comfortable that there's a genuine interest am then happy to switch to email using personal addresses. The housesitter agreement template and checklists are really good. I downloaded them some time ago and have worked through them steadily. It made me really think carefully about some aspects of sharing or loaning equipment and facilities that I hadn't previously even thought about. This means a reduced risk of miscommunication, a chance for us to think about what we find acceptable before a housesitter arrives and generally help to ensure a better start for all parties. Even if we don't actually have the document signed, just thinking things through makes a big improvement. I dont know how you manage to make this site pay, but I do know it's an essential and much appreciated service for us. In fact it's so good we haven't bothered to use any other housesitting websites! Well done :)) With thanks and best wishes.

J & D, The Netherlands. April 2008

This is the first time we have searched for a house sitter on-line and we are very impressed by your website! (Owner)

This is the first time we have searched for a house sitter on-line and we are very impressed by your website. We had numerous inquiries about our home and have chosen, what we think, will be a lovely couple to care for our home and cats. Your website is very easy to negotiate and was very helpful to a first time homeowner. I will definitely use this site in the future, maybe even as a housesitter. What a way to see the world!

Kristine Riggins, Canada. April 2008

Fantastic! (Owner)

Fantastic! I made a 17-day trip to the southwest while a home/petsitter recruited here took care of things at home in the southeast for me. She did a fantastic job, kept a daily log of my doggies' doings. Just wish she lived closer by...but true friends are not very far away.

Sally Kochendofer, USA. March 2008

Carry on!!! (Owner)

Hi Susan. We wrote to about 10 sitters asking if they wanted to come and mind our house in April. Everyone replied and we have found a lovely couple. No probs with navigating the site, getting in, reading anything - it's all good. Carry on!!!

Rivka Hobden, New Zealand. March 2008

I have told several friends about your service and the website as I would thoroughly recommend you. (Owner)

Dear Susan, I have found your service excellent. The website was easy to find my way around and everything seemed to work as you said it should! Having advertised for a house sitter I immediately received about a dozen replies. At this stage I chose to mask my advert so that I wouldn't receive any more until I had dealt with those that I had. They all seemed to be extremely pleasant people and I felt I was spoiled for choice! However, we have now chosen a Canadian couple who will be coming here in July. We've exchanged emails and photos and spoken on the phone. I have also taken up references from people for whom they house sat in the UK last year. I wrote to everyone who had applied, thanking them for doing so. There is one woman in particular, in the UK, who was keen to remain on our list, so to speak, in case the Canadians had to pull out - or for future use. I have told several friends about your service and the website as I would thoroughly recommend you. We are now looking forward to receiving our house sitters in July and feel sure that all will go well. I don't really have any suggestions to make about ways to improve your service.

Helen Davey, France. March 2008

...the one I picked proved to be excellent! (Owner)

Excellent and easy to use. I found a sitter very quickly to take care of my house & cat whilst on holiday for a month. I had ten possible sitters within a few days and the one I picked proved to be excellent.

Anne Fraser, France. March 2008

...I have nothing but positive things to say about the service! (Owner)

Susan; I must say we were very pleasantly surprised by the number and quality of responses we had to our advert for sitters – we had 15 or 16 responses, (to me that was much more than I anticipated) and hope to get a sitter in place early next month having shortlisted 3 very good candidates. This has been our first attempt at getting sitters into the property and the web site was great to use – so right now I have nothing but positive things to say about the service.

M Linch, UK. Feb 2008

I would use your service again in a heartbeat! (Owner)

Your service was overwhelmingly positive - far more helpful than I thought, with an incredible caliber of people willing to house sit. I would use your service again in a heartbeat and appreciate your following up.

PK, USA. Feb 2008

I can confirm that I have had a very positive experience with mindmyhouse (Owner)

Hello Susan, In reply to your email I can confirm that I have had a very positive experience with mindmyhouse and will be using it again in the near future. The majority of responses I received were all from serious, reliable people and I was very satisfied with the replies I got. I found a couple who are there at the moment and will be looking again for later in the year. Can’t think of anything at the moment on how it might be improved. Great idea, very useful and I’m sure it will grow.

DF, Spain. Feb 2008

Great response! (Owner)

Great response. Didn't contact anyone direct other than through your site, which is excellent. Have still to finalise my decision but will certainly use you again. Thank you.

EP, UK. Feb 2008

I was so much more at ease knowing she was here with my pets. (Owner)

Thank you so much for your site. I was very happy with the gal who house sat for me for 18 days. I contacted a number of people who were in my general area. I did find that many were not available. Some were surprised by my contact as if they had forgotten that they had signed up on your sight. Thankfully, the person I got was my first choice. I liked her ad. She was very well spoken, responsible and reliable. I feel we have a friendship now too. I was so much more at ease knowing she was here with my pets. All was in order when I returned.

Myra Michael, USA. Feb 2008

I found your service better then some other sites. (Owner)

Dear Susan, your site is excellent and has provided good people for house sitting. I found your service better then some other sites. Thank you and do keep up this excellent site for next time. Thank you very much once again.

MD, London, UK. Oct 2007

The first time we looked through your house sitters listing and found a couple who were truly excellent! (Owner)

We have now used MindMyHouse twice. The first time we looked through your house sitters listing and found a couple who were truly excellent. During their stays they have now spent more than seven weeks in our house and we have become friends. This time, as they will not then be available, we posted our sitting opportunity advert and received a gratifying number of replies. We have selected a couple who seem ideally suited and we have of course replied to all the other applicants. We shall certainly use your site again whenever we need house sitters. With our best wishes for a good New Year!

Bob & Ann Linwood, France. Jan 2008

Many thanks to you service, which I shall be using again soon... (Owner)

Dear Susan, Thank you for your e-mail. I am happy to tell you that two of your registered house sitters have been house-sitting for us from 30th October to 7th December and I cannot paise them highly enough. We have not only made two new good friends but there is a possibility that they may be helping us again in the very near future. Many thanks to you service, which I shall be using again soon, as I have another requirement for mid-end January for a period of about 2 weeks.

Frances, France. Dec 2007

It was simple and straightforward and I started getting answers from people within 24 hours. (Owner)

Dear Susan, I think your website is very good and clear, I was looking for a house sitter for a house over the winter and received many viable contacts. I started looking through the list of house sitters first but soon realised that placing my own notice was by far the better route. It was simple and straightforward and I started getting answers from people within 24 hours. I have someone house sitting for me who was registered with you and thus far all is fine. Great service.

Emma Daniell, UK. Dec 2007

The first one I contacted came for an interview and proved eminently suitable! (Owner)

Hi, Susan, I was very pleased by the results of my use of your service! You listed a number of people in my area who were available to house-sit. The first one I contacted came for an interview and proved eminently suitable. We left her in charge of our house and pets for a weekend and we were very happy with her performance. We will use her again whenever we have a need for a housesitter, if she is available at that time. If she isn't, I am sure we will use your service to see if we can locate another sitter. Thanks for your service, and thanks for caring enough to follow up.

Lawrence A, Shingle Springs, CA, USA. Nov 2007

I had to narrow my search to only local housesitters the response was so great! (Owner)

Hi Susan, I have been VERY impressed with the quality and number of responses I have received. I had to narrow my search to only local housesitters the response was so great! I only now need to convince my husband that this will be a great thing and hope that we have a good first experience.

J Webb, Colorado, USA. Nov 2007

I've had around 100 replies in a few weeks! (Owner)

It's a great sight, from the point of view of homeowners. I've had around 100 replies in a few weeks, most being lovely singles and couples with amazing backgrounds. Most of them did not have their own advert, which gave me limited info until we did an email exchange. Thanks!

Eleanor Sasso, Connecticut, USA. Nov 2007

I have so far had a much more interesting and suitable age group of people wishing to visit here...to fill in time between their housesits. (Owner)

Hi there I am already a fully paid member of helpx and to be honest mind my house has been absolutely brilliant I already have one couple here through your site and others due to visit...it has been absolutely brilliant the response and I have so far had a much more interesting and suitable age group of people wishing to visit here...to fill in time between their housesits...So thank you very much for this and your service..

Maxine Soler, New Zealand. Nov 2007

...matching me up with a housesitter, mind my house worked perfectly!! (Owner)

Hi Susan, in terms of matching me up with a housesitter, mind my house worked perfectly!! I was looking for a housesitter for two months from November till the end of December and actually found the perfect match. They will start housesitting this weekend so let's see if the housesitting itself will work out as well as the matching up. I didn't put an ad but went to search the housesitters available for my area and found the match like that. The service worked well for me the way it is set up at the moment. I also liked that you gave a downloadable version of the housesitting agreement which we use/used. I hope this works out well and I will be sure to look for housesitters with you again in the future!

Gabriela K, USA. Nov 2007

I depend on your site now without a doubt - it is part of my holiday plans automatically! (Owner)

Mind My House is great - I have someone I found through that site watching over my kitties and home right now! (I am in Laos at present!) And I found great and interesting people last summer, too. I live in Japan and am always looking for people who might like to spend a few weeks in a nice house outside of Tokyo...anyone interested for next summer?? Really - I depend on your site now without a doubt - it is part of my holiday plans automatically! Thanks again.

AK, Japan. Oct 2007

Our dogs... had obviously become so attached to Bill and Marsha, it was touching to see how they easily went to them for affection. (Owner)

Susan, We just arrived home last night and though I’m fighting jetlag, I had to email you right away to tell you of our wonderful experience with our housesitters. We were in Rome the first part of this week and as I looked at the frescos in the Sistene Chapel I was almost expecting to see Bill and Marsha’s (our housesitters) faces among the angels, they were so incredible. I told my husband this morning they were the type of housesitters we would be, conscienentious, careful, honest, trustworthy. Not only was the house in great shape when we came home, Bill had actually done yard work and repaired the dryer himself when it broke. And our dogs (our major reason for wanting housesitters… to avoid a long kennel stay for them) had obviously become so attached to Bill and Marsha, it was touching to see how they easily went to them for affection. Dogs don’t fake affection and we could see their’s was genuine. And on top of everything, Bill and Marsha had a great time discovering New Jersey and New York City for the first time. They were even on “Good Morning America” and were interviewed on national TV by the host. Of course all this wouldn’t have happened without your wonderful website. You provided the means and the support to make this endeavor tremendously successful. We were able to relax and enjoy ourselves, our dogs avoided the long kennel stay and Bill and Marsha got to know a section of the country they had never experienced. Many, many thanks. We are already starting to plan our next trip and we’ll put getting our listing for a housesitter on “Mindyourhouse.com” at the top of our list of planning steps.

Annette Dubrouillet, New Jersey, USA. Oct 2007

Our animals were in jeopardy of being kennelized, when we were referred to you. (Owner)

Can I tell you that I will tell the world about your service. With only 2 weeks to our trip, we thought our animals were in jeopardy of being kennelized when we were referred to you. We have never opened our home to strangers and were reluctant. Desperation prompted our use of the service but oh my Gosh! We not only had tons of qualified responses, our house-sitters ended up being so amazing and perfect. I told Ed, our house-sitter I wanted to marry him and replace my husband, since he is handier around the house. I believe the sitters had a great time "the most relaxing 3 weeks ever" and we had peace of mind. Thank you... I will be writing a blog about your service with my business www.retreatscostarica.com

Rosemary Rein, Costa Rica. Oct 2007

I definitely plan to use your service again! (Owner)

Hi Susan-I found the perfect house sitter using mindmyhouse within a couple days, and there were plenty of other good people who responded. I definitely plan to use your service again. Thanks!

A Peacock, Montana, USA. Oct 2007

Thank you so much for an easy to use, confidential and efficient service. (Owner)

I was totally impressed with your service! this is the first time i have considered or needed a sitter and your service was outstanding. although I did not choose one of 5 potential candidates I have their data and will reconnect with you next year. thank you so much for an easy to use, confidential and efficient service.

Jo Graydon, Canada. Oct 2007

Your house sitting service is amazing! (Owner)

Hello, Your house sitting service is amazing. In no time at all I was inundated with replies and am in the process of writing to all of them as I will need people in the future although I think one of those who replied will be really suitable for my immediate needs. Thank you for providing the site and I will be a regular visitor. Actually I am quite keen on house sitting myself sometime so might well be on the other side so to speak in the future.

Nena Parkes, Greece. Sept 2007

During our month in the States, we communicated often...and knew that both house and dog were in the best of hands. (Owner)

I needed housesitters for the whole month of July, so I placed an ad on MindMyHouse earlier this year. I'd read about the site in a Danish newspaper. I got over 10 replies in 24 hours, so I removed the ad again and concentrated on selecting my house sitters. I decided on a british couple living in Australia. Heather and Fred took great care of Happy, our dog, and our house in Denmark. We had one day together prior to my vacation, and this was really good considering all the practical things there is to talk about. During our month in the States, we communicated often with Heather and Fred and knew that both house and dog were in the best of hands. This we also saw when we returned from our vacation - the house was spotless, the garden kept lovely, and our dog was just as his name: Happy. I think that MindMyHouse is a brilliant idea, and I have often recommended the site to other Danes who were in need of pet and house sitters. I would not hesitate to use it again. Good luck with MindMyHouse.

Anette Hallstrøm, Denmark. Sept 2007

By allowing our us to advertise our slightly different arrangement on your site, you have saved us a huge headache! (Owner)

Dear Susan, my family is very grateful to you for allowing us to use your wonderful site. We have had an increasing problem about our family 'holiday home' in France, which has great sentimental value and we all love, but is becoming increasingly difficult to afford to maintain. We started to let it out for short term holiday lets to help towards costs, but as it is in a rather shabby state it was difficult to market. We were starting to think that, as we could not afford the time or money to carry out the redecoration needed, we were in a catch 22 situation and would have to consider selling. Browsing on the internet, I came across your site and wondered if people may be interested in doing some decorating, instead of looking after pets and plants, in return for staying at the house (which is in a beautiful area). Seems that people were! We had many applications from some truly wonderful people. The person we have offerred the assignment to is just perfect, a lovely person we were all taken by, who we hope gets as much out of the experience as we will! A couple of other applicants we warmed to so much from the information they gave, that we hope they will still be available for a similar arrangement in the future. It seems that by allowing our us to advertise our slightly different arrangement on your site, you have saved us a huge headache. Thank you, from the whole family. Your site is easy to use and full of fantastic information. I will let you know how the assignment goes!

Wendy Wright, UK. Aug 2007

I am thrilled to think that my husband and I actually have the opportunity now to go on holiday! (Owner)

Hi Susan, I think your service is quite fantastic! I found it whilst I was searching online for a pet-sitting service and was struggling to find anyone willing to look after my parrot. Then I bumped into you! I put an ad on your website without much hope in my heart and within days had four very strong candidates whom I knew would all do a fantastic job. I had to send emails to them all saying that my dates had been purely speculative, I just wanted to see if there was anyone out there at all. I was able to liaise with them and took up references with one couple, being told in no uncertain terms how wonderful they were and that I should grab them with both hands before anyone else pinches them! I am thrilled to think that my husband and I actually have the opportunity now to go on holiday confident in knowing that Fergus our parrot will be in good hands (the house was a secondary consideration!) I think your questions on the site for both house-sitters and home owners are well constructed and astutely selected. It is possible to learn quite a lot about the individuals before you even contact them direct. My only small criticism is that I felt unable to be completely vague about dates in my ad: my strategy was always going to be - find a sitter then work out dates rather than the other way around. So - many thanks! We look forward to a future with holidays.

Sophie Dhenin, UK. Aug 2007

Talk about an embarrassment of riches!! (Owner)

This is a great site and service. I only listed a couple of days ago and I already have a great sitter. In fact a second great candidate has just contacted me. Talk about an embarrassment of riches!! Anyway, thank you very much for the service. While my holiday is not until March 2008 you have to work ahead to make sure you have a good sitter. Now I can go ahead and make plans and pay deposits. Thanks again.

Michael O'Connor, Australia. Aug 2007

It was a bit difficult deciding who to choose but that is a good problem to have! (Owner)

I was very satisfied with MindMyHouse. I had 11 or 12 people interested in house sitting within two days of listing my house. And I was looking for a five week assignment which is much harder to find than the standard two week period most people prefer. I started sending e-mails to people listed and found 5-6 of the people interested that way. But it was almost immediately evident that I did not need to be so pro-active as inquiries started to come in from my listing. It was a bit difficult deciding who to chose but that is a good problem to have. I will use the site again next time I need someone to mind my house.

Richard MacKinnon, Costa Rica. July 2007

I have recommended your site to all my friends and family! (Owner)

Dear Susan, I had many replies to my ad and picked a terrific Australian couple to house sit for a week. They have just left. The whole process was a great success and I have recommended your site to all my friends and family. Is there a place on the site where I could post my comments about them? If not there should be!

Caroline C, Monaco. July 2007

The people who use your site are...exactly the kind of individuals we are looking for. (Owner)

Hello!! First of all I would like to say I am very happy with your service.This is my first time using it and the response has been good. So far, since I placed the ad a week or so ago I have had about 10 responses.Out of the 10 about 4-5 are still interested after I got in touch with them and gave them more information. The people who use your site are evidently interesting people, non-traditional and exactly the kind of individuals we are looking for. It is going to be difficult to find the right person to house sit for us as we are looking for a long term (6 + months) sitter and in a very different type of place in the interior of Brazil. But I feel confident we will find the right person.I imagine it is important for you as the administrator that the persons offering a house for sitting respond quickly to the respondents to the ad. I can assure you I am quick to respond and to give out further information to those interested and am giving a clear picture of what house sitting in Brazil will be like.... Thank you for the service!!

Mark Kenney, UK. June 2007

I used several sites to post my housesitting. Yours is the best organized. (Owner)

Susan, I think your site is wonderful. I used several sites to post my housesitting. Yours is the best organized. Thanks for asking. P.S. The persons sitting for me now were found through your site. Keep up the good work. 

Leticia Patino, USA. May 2007

We left the next morning, very happy and entirely carefree. (Owner)

We have just taken our first holiday in 3 years, leaving our home and animals (dogs, poultry and G. Pig) in the care of a lovely sitter we found on your site. He was the first and only sitter I contacted and who responded with a glowing reference within a few hours. We emailed for a few weeks, with me sending photos etc of his charges before his arrival at Easter. The dogs took 2 mins before landing in his lap and snuggling down. We left the next morning, very happy and entirely carefree. A fantastic experience that we will be repeating next month: the sitter's mother will be doing this shift! A nicer family we could not have hoped to meet. Thank you for a great site, it has given us our freedom back.

O Smith, Cornwall, UK. May 2007

...my gut feeling about it is just great. (Owner)

Dear Susan,Well using MindMyHouse has really been a great experience. I am surprised that there is so few people using your service. (I mean house owners - as far as I can see there are a lot of house sitters using MMH). I put my ad online a few months ago. I got about ten requests from people all over the world who would love to sit my house, and our wonderful dog Happy. I ended up choosing an australian couple, who will take care of house and dog for the month of July. So up to now it has been a really good experience for me. I used your "answering service" until I finally decided on the australian couple - then I started communicating directly with them. I think I had my ad online for two days. Then I had sufficient responses to make a desicion on who to choose. I would like to get back to you regarding the actual house sitting experience. But my gut feeling about it is just great. My boyfriend and I have actually talked about trying to travel for a year or so by using MMH to sit people's houses or pets. We will see what the future brings. Thanks and good luck with MindMyHouse.  

AH, Denmark. May 2007

...the tenor of the replies I received convinced me that you attract the best sort of person for this activity. (Owner)

Dear Susan, I used your service for an emergency which left very little notice and so I was not expecting to be successful, just hopeful. My expectations were justified in that I did not manage to find anyone who was free at such short notice, but I was very gratified by the almost identical responses I got from a quite large number of the people I wrote to. A typical response was this one: "I am unable to assist you for these dates unfortunately as I'm already committed to looking after a dog and 3 cats in Ireland for most of those days you require to the middle of April. I would however love to assist you in the future if you require someone to look after your cat. I hope that you find someone who will be able to assist you at this time." The result is that I have a core of respondents to whom I can turn at a future date when I next need their services. I was, of course, apprehensive about the sort of person who might want to stay in my house, but the tenor of the replies I received convinced me that you attract the best sort of person for this activity. Well done. Happily, I was able to find an excellent house-sitter locally at the last moment, so all was well.

DM, Italy. May 2007

I look forward to getting to know them when they arrive a few days before our vacation dates. (Owner)

Susan, I must say I was overwhelmed by the number of responses I received to my posting - within 48 hours I had received about 60 responses with the earliest ones coming in within 3 hours! The responses were creative, wonderful and I had a difficult time narrowing it down - I felt bad that I could not respond to all! I have arranged two house/pet sitting dates for August and October with two members. They both responded immediately to my calls and we have corresponded several times since. I look forward to getting to know them when they arrive a few days before our vacation dates. I am using your suggested contract and things are falling into place very well. Overall, I am very excited about the website and have recommended it to several friends.

NH, Hawaii, USA. May 2007

I'm registered on several housesitting sites and find your site, by far, the easiest to use. (Owner)

Dear Susan, I'm registered on several housesitting sites and find your site, by far, the easiest to use. I like the "short list" function, which is a great time saver. I have not yet used a housesitter from your site, but I have one that I am going to contact later in the week. I have used sitters from caretaker gazette and housecarers.com.I also like the fact that you can see if people charge for their services or not--that's a big help! I've recommended your site to others & I hope it will continue to grow!

BB, UK. Sept 2005

I felt much better knowing that my sweeties were with someone who appeared to be even more of an animal person than I was! (Owner)

I only used the mindmyhouse site, and initially didn’t write an ad. Without an ad I got no responses, but with my ad I was deluged. My other person was happy to come, and now, to stay the whole time that I would be in the states. We had been e-mailing back and forth. We were able to meet before I left, which was great and I felt much better knowing that my sweeties were with someone who appeared to be even more of an animal person than I was. I had a small dinner party for her prior to my departure so she could meet my friends and would have help if she needed it. The house sit went well. Dali and Sam were fine and my house was cleaner than it has ever been. She stayed on a week longer after my return and then moved up the hill to stay with one of my friends until she could find another house sit. Thanks to mindmyhouse, I was able to return to New Orleans to make arrangements to repair and to rent my home and apartment with as much peace of mind as is possible under traumatic circumstances.

Laury Bourgeois, France. March 2007

I can't think of anything you might need to improve! (Owner)

Hi Susan. We were delighted with the response. The service was easy to use and everything seemed very straightforward. I can't think of anything you might need to improve. Thankyou.

David Higginson, UK. May 2007

The first sitters contacted me within half an hour of me placing my ad. (Owner)

I was very impressed with the site. The first sitters contacted me within half an hour of me placing my ad. They sounded excellent, we exchanged a few emails and I checked one of their references, which was good. Within two days we had agreed terms and they have booked their flights to come to us this summer. By the next day I had about half a dozen replies any of which could have been a possibility. If I hadn't already started communication with the first couple I really think I would have been spoilt for choice! I think I would then have had a problem, as I don't know how I would have chosen between them! An excellent service, thank you.

PS. I found your site from a recommendation from someone who had previously been with you, as a sitter. PPS. I am also very impressed that you are taking the trouble to canvass opinions!

Marina G, Spain. May 2007

...it's been a great success as far as I'm concerned! (Owner)

Dear Susan, I've been very impressed by the number of responses I received, and so quickly as well. I needed a house-sitter at quite short notice, so a lot of the responses were asking me to keep them in mind for future assignments, so I've got a good short-list of people who sound suitable ready for next time. I found a really good sitter for this time though - all our dogs loved him and everything was just as we left it when we got home. So thanks, it's been a great success as far as I'm concerned.

JI, France. May 2007

Thank you so very much for executing a good idea so well! (Owner)

Dear Susan, I wish I did have some useful suggestions for you, but our experience with your website was entirely satisfactory. Your service provided us with so many possible house sitters that I had to stop publishing the notice in less than a day! Initially, I used your website to correspond with everyone who answered or inquired and then went into direct phone or email discussions with several of the most likely candidates. As it happened, one of them was a woman who lives very close-by whose daughter had just returned from several years abroad and was looking for a place nearby where she could live independently. This young woman seems a perfect fit for our somewhat unusual situation and we're very pleased at the series of coincidences that led us all to meet on your website. I'm holding on to the contact information for several of the other people who contacted us, since they might be good fits in future. Almost all of the respondents sound like delightful, charming and adventurous people with whom it would be a pleasure to become better acquainted. We also appreciated having suggestions for an agreement handy. We're using your guidelines. Thank you so very much for executing a good idea so well!

RS, USA. May 2007

...life would be very dull if everything were risk free! (Owner)

Dear Susan, I can give a very positive report on the service offered by MindMyHouse as a result of using it. Firstly, I found the web pages very straightforward to use. The site was visually uncluttered and intuitive to use. This is not the case with many of the commercial sites, particularly those related to the leisure industry.

I began by looking at the people who were offering a sitting service and selected someone to respond to who I thought might match our needs. However, I was anxious about security and the manner of response that you have set up on the site appeared to be very careful about not allowing direct access between the two parties until they chose to initiate that.

Almost at the same time, because the responding had been quite easy and secure, I placed an advert. This process was very simple and I downloaded a picture too. The exemplars and advice were helpful in designing my advert. Within hours I had received several responses and by the end of 36 hours I had received plenty to choose from, so I removed the advert, which again was very easy to do.

I felt it good etiquette to respond to all the people who had enquired and let them know that the first people who had offered were going to be used. However, I have also kept on file a contact that lives not far away from here who would come for a weekend, should that be necessary. We have been in contact with our proposed sitters by email and I will have a phone conversation soon to keep the communication open.

Of course, it is still a concern that we are taking a risk in having strangers in our home, but life would be very dull if everything were risk free. I am not at all sure if there is anymore that you at MindMyHouse could do to ensure security.

Overall the site was very helpful, easy to use and gave me a sense of confidence in the transaction. In fact, I have mentioned it to several people and also included it as an exemplar of a good website in an online training course that I am currently taking.

H Johnson, UK. April 2007

You provide a very good service, specially compared to the price! (Owner)

Dear Susan, well, I should thank you for putting up this wonderful service! I'm absolutely satisfied with the replies I got from house-sitters to my ad. Whether I will be satisfied with the house-sitters themselves is another matter, and I'm crossing my fingers. You provide a very good service, specially compared to the price! I think the only way to improve the website would be to add the possibility of posting comments on each user, like on Ebay or Hospitality Club.

Livia Cases, Hungary. April 2007

...it's been great! (Owner)

I've had no problems with your service/website it's been great! I've had over 40 replys and at least 10 are perfect for us. We will be talking to house sitters in more depth in June and July and hopefully then we will book it all in. Thanks.

Pamela Blackie, UK. April 2007

The support given by the team was valuable. (Owner)

Ours was possibly a difficult ask. We needed a housesitter during the depths of winter and also I asked that we would prefer a gay friendly housesitter. However, we were besieged with applicants. Making a choice was difficult, but in the end it boiled down to the one who was 'first cab off the rank' and made a firm commitment. We are happy with the service offered by mind my house. The support given by the team was valuable.

Philip Elliott, Australia. April 2007

You are fantastic! (Owner)

Dear Susan, You are fantastic! I will keep the ad there but invisible for a while and have copied it so that if we need a housesitter again in future (very possible), I can come to your website. And have started communication with a couple of people on the list who would be great possibilities in the future. I am just totally impressed with your website, I wish all websites were so well-organized, easy to get around, informative and just plain fun to use! I have turned others onto your website...I have a housesitter 10 months of the year in New Mexico until I sell my house. I have given her your website so she can consider her future "gigs" after my house sells. Thanks again and all best to you, Michelle.

Michelle McCallum, UK. April 2007

...it was a wonderful experience for both of us! (Owner)

Hi, yes I have used your service and am very pleased. The first time I ran an advert and got replies immediately. I picked a woman from New Zealand and it was a wonderful experience for both of us.The next time I needed a sitter I was going through the listings and found one that specifically wanted Alb at the time I was going to be gone so hooked up. She was OK. I have 2 sitters lined up for this year that I picked from a list I made one day when I was bored. I sent about 7 requests and am happy to say they all responded. Two wanted to come so I have a couple from Arizona coming in March and a woman for three weeks in late June. So I guess you could say that I am making very good use of your service and am glad I found the site. Thank you.

Lori Linthicum, USA. April 2007

Thank you - we have once again found someone! (Owner)

Thank you - we are in India now and succesfully found someone to look after our animals and home. Hopefully they are enjoying the experience. Thank you for an excellent site. (March 2007)

Thank you - we have once again found someone and received lots of replies. Excellent site! (Sept 2007)

Just to let you know that our animals and house were really well looked after. Michael was also a really interesting guy (from Australia) and I enjoyed chatting to him after we returned. During the holiday we had occasional contact via email which is always reassuring. I have recommended Mind My House to lots of other people and I would have no hesitation in recommending Michael to anyone in the future - although I think he is returning to Australia for at least a couple of years! As before we had lots of replies and I have kept in touch with some of them - many of them sounded more than suitable and I think it is good to build up an email relationship with people before one departs. Thanks again for excellent service. (Nov 2007)

Helena & Dave Malekin, UK. March 2007

...all were people who I would have happily considered to mind my house! (Owner)

Hi Susan, I put up an ad for a housesitter and within a few days had about twenty responses, which was about twenty more than I anticipated! Apart from one response, all were (just going on their initial email) people who I would have happily considered to mind my house. I contacted one lady as a result of the ad and got to know her a little better. I met up with her, and all seems well. She arrives next week to housesit. So I'm very happy with the service! I emailed the others to thank them for their interest, of course. Best of luck with your site. I look forward to using it again in the future.

AP, Ireland. March 2007

The site...has given us ideas of some fun ways to travel in our own retirement! (Owner)

Hi Susan, just to say that we are delighted - even overwhelmed by the responses we have had - over 40, almost all sounded eminently suitable - and so hard to choose. Finally selected a UK based couple as we thought that meant less potential for things to screw up at the last minute, however many of the others sounded fascinating and at least we feel fairly sure that we could find a backup at short notice if necessary. We never imagined that summer in Scotland would be so attractive! We think the site is brilliant and it has given us ideas of some fun ways to travel in our own retirement! Keep it up.

Maureen Sturrock, Scotland, UK. Feb 2007

We love MindMyHouse! (Owner)

Hello Susan, I was totally surprised to find mindmyhouse to be so actively participatory! Yes; I have had lots of responses from our posting from all over the world! We are zeroing in right now on one in particular -- will know Wednesday if it's a go with them -- and there's a few in the backup position too! Thanks for the inquiry! We love mindmyhouse.

Ani Costello, France. Feb 2007

As to the site, it was idiot proof! (Owner)

Dear Susan, yes thanks we are currently negotiating with a chap who we think sounds ideal for a short house/pet sit for us in Cornwall this Easter and hopefully again for longer in the summer. As to the site, it was idiot proof and I managed to make it work for us. Templates look fully comprehensive but I will need to write out a full care manual for all our animals. The concept is great and will work beautifully if everyone remains 100% honest.

O Smith, UK. Jan 2007

Thank you again, I am a big fan! (Owner)

The service is great. Thank you so much for having this up. Since my two children are now in college, finding house/pet sitters is hard during the school year. Hopefully this will help relieve some of that challenge. I am away fairly often so it would be cool to find a few dependable people who could take advantage of my location (D.C./Philadelphia/Baltimore) whom I can contact when I need them. Thank you again, I am a big fan!

Maggie Smith, USA. Feb 2007

I do like the anonymous feature a lot! (Owner)

This was a positive experience. Easy to use site and we got positive responses. I am sure that if we wanted, we would be able to find a good sitting solution through your site. I do like the anonymous feature a lot! I feel that by using your site, I have not broadcasted to the world when our home will be empty. This is valuable to us. I have a feeling though that the house sitter idea will grow on us and by keeping in touch with what's happening on your site, we may get more comforatble with the idea. I think we will use your site again in the future.

JdN, Florida, USA. Feb 2007

Simply overwhelmed with the number and quality of responders! (Owner)

Hello Susan. Nice to hear from you. Yes, I'll be happy to comment on your system. Fantastic! I had so many immediate responses to my request that I was forced to hide my ad. Simply overwhelmed with the number and quality of responders. Each one seemed better than the previous. I contacted several, exchanged emails, and feel that each was high quality and the kind of person I'd like to have in my home. We haven't made a decision yet and are not sure that we will utilize the services of a sitter but your system has certainly provided everything we could ask for.

Ken Hopkins, Florida, USA. Jan 2007

Brilliant! (Owner)

Dear Susan, I was overwhelmed with the quality and quantity of response. A brilliant service you have there. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) my sister is going to do the house sit but I would always use your site in the future - and have recommended it to other friends in a similar position. Brilliant~!

Caroline Page, Portugal. Dec 2006

Really pleasantly surprised how well this worked... (Owner)

I posted a 'housesitter wanted' ad on your site a couple of weeks ago. It was really easy to use, thankfully, and I got loads of great replies really quickly - about 10 I think, maybe more. I have selected one of the respondents to house and cat sit for me over the Xmas period. So thanks - I was really pleasantly surprised how well this worked and by the outcome. I will use you again and recommend you.

R Crossley, London, UK. Dec 2006

We will use your service every winter when we go away... (Owner)

We were most happy with your service. Received several replies in a very short time. We had a long-term need, but our home is not in a city I would consider a 'hot housesitting zone.' We found several very well qualified people and were able to choose from them. We finally chose a woman who is working on her university studies and needed a quiet place for the winter. We are looking forward to meeting her and are preparing our home to be her home for three months. We will use your service every winter when we go away for two to three months. We found it interesting to meet people and find out their needs and chat with them online. Thanks for this service.

Kathy Bjorklund, USA. Dec 2006

Your service doesn't need any changes! (Owner)

Hi... I received maybe 8 responses or so and most don't want to do any work at all... looking for a free retreat... but one person now sounds truly wonderful and we are communicating right now a lot... So if one person is successful here it would be a great success for both of us... and you are really the only web site for this purpose which is effective... Keep on... and thankyou. Ps... your service doesn't need any changes, it works better than any of the others and I can bring it up without long delays!

Trivia Sebik, USA. Nov 2006

The house sitter process went extremely well. (Owner)

The house sitter process went extremely well. We had loads of really good and interesting replies from people; far more than we imagined we would have.The geographical location of the sitters was also good. Because we were looking for a sitter quite quickly and for around 6 to 12 months it meant we needed someone located in Europe (Americans can only get French visas for 3 months max and quite understandably need a fair amount of time to get prepared to move to France). We got a good number of replies from people already in France and also from the UK. We eventually chose an American, who has lived in France most of her life, and who was looking for somewhere that gave her the flexibility to search at leisure for a new apartment in Paris. It's an ideal fit. Overall the process worked exceptionally well, so many thanks for a great site.

Neil Jones, France. Nov 2006

Very grateful to MindMyHouse. (Owner)

Hello Susan. I have to say, I am really pleasantly surprised so far to a) have found a website offering this service that was so easy to use and b) to find such interesting people getting in touch with us who are interested in the house sit. There wasn't really anyone that applied that I dismissed immediately or wouldn't have considered. We had 5 people apply within about 36 hours and another 5 in the 3 days following that, which is why hid the advert as we already had our shortlist. I did contact people directly and found they generally responded quickly with what I had asked for. I have downloaded all the information on the website about house sitters manuals / pet care info and am currently wading through that and the suggested contract. Daunting as it seems, it all makes perfect sense to do it once properly so that it is there for house sitters to come. It is a very helpful, comprehensive checklist and I am very grateful to mindmyhouse for that as there are masses of things on there I wouldn't have thought of. Many thanks!

Mohini Lynch, Spain. Oct 2006

We will definitely use this service again! (Owner)

Hi Susan, we have been very happy with the responses we have received from our house sitter wanted ad that we placed with you! In fact, we probably had too many to get through... (probably about 30 in all). In the main, the responses to direct contact with sitters has been very good - we have had no problems and in fact even though some have not worked out this time, we have established e-mail friendships which are really positive. Overall we are extremely happy and have found a suitable match that we agreed on today. We will definitely use this service again if necessary.

Brian & Sonia Nugent, Ireland. Oct 2006

We had an excellent response! (Owner)

Susan, thanks for your email. It was the first time that we have ever advertised for house sitters and we found your site on the search engines. The search we did on your site produced over a 100 possibilities. We emailed about 15 (keeping it to European based) and the response we had was excellent. Probably over half replied and of that number six or seven were keen. We have chosen a couple, they seem really good, and we will keep our fingers crossed. You have an excellent site and we will certainly use it again. Many thanks.

David & Ursi Newton, France. Oct 2006

A great mutually beneficial relationship! (Owner)

I found your site very user friendly and had a lot of replies very quickly. Having spoken to a number of people I settled on an early-retired couple who weren't really looking for somewhere to house-sit in Scotland, but saw my ad and thought 10 days of golf would be good. They did an excellent job, looking after three dogs, mowing and watering the garden and painting a steading wall for us. They are keen to come again and we are very happy to have them. Looks like the start of a great mutually beneficial relationship - thanks!

James Cope, Scotland. Sept 2006

Got sitters with the first reply. (Owner)

Hi Susan, your site was great. I got sitters with the first reply, and many more I had to disappoint. I would use it again. Thanks.

Jan Allen, Portugal. Sept 2006

The help I received from the Support section, the human response to my call for help, was refreshing and appreciated! (Owner)

Dear Susan, The service has worked for me, my sitters are all set to arrive here on the 13th. With the information available to me, and the first contact with the possible sitters, it does not take long to narrow down the field. I was happy with the number of applicants, and at least two would have been suitable for me. When I made contact with them, replies were prompt. Yes I am happy with the service, would certainly use it again. The help I received from the Support section, the human response to my call for help, was refreshing and appreciated (instead of an electronic response). Thank you for your help. (Sept 2006)

Hi Susan, in reply to your follow up letter, yes I found a satisfactory house sitter, it all worked out quite well. I have learned that one has to stipulate exactly what is expected from the house sitter, we have had email contact while I was away, and also it's important to stipulate the dates the house sitter will be needed, as I tried to extend the time by a couple of days and was not able to this, due to their commitments. Overall it was satisfactory, all went well. (Feb 2007)

Dear Susan, once again a search for house sitter completed successfully. This time I went to the 'house sitters' page as well, to make sure I was able to contact more people, quicker, and not just wait for people to contact me. I needed to have this organized sooner rather then later. The result is my house sitter is arriving on the 5th April, for a longer period this time. So thank you again for all your help  and support, you have been great, and it's appreciated. If you need to contact me again for any reason, do not hesitate, your email is always welcome. I will endeavour to contact you in June. All the best. (April 2007)

Mrs B Davy, South Coast, NSW, Australia. April 2007

We did not want to put our kitten in a cattery! (Owner)

A brief summary of my usage of your site - we are going away for a month in December to spend Christmas with my partners' parents. We have a kitten (who will be nine months' old in December) and we do not want to put her in a cattery or get someone to come in daily to feed her. She is very loving and needs lots of attention so we decided to look for a housesitter. A search on google.co.uk returned your website and I placed an advert for our 'flat and cat'. I received three responses very quickly, all from lovely people who provided me with details, references, photos, etc. We settled on an Australian couple who we have been speaking to since, over email and we also telephoned them this morning. We have downloaded the contract from your website and will modify it to meet our needs (we do not expect them to pay for any utility costs, telephone/TV costs, etc) - the contract is very comprehensive so I'd like to thank you for that, and for all the tips and advice that you provide on the website! Overall I found the process of finding our housesitters very simple and very quick; the website is easy to use and we definitely appreciate the service that you have offered! Many thanks for your help, keep up the good work :)

Jennie Naylor, London, UK. Aug 2006

Thank you from Wales (Owner)

I was delighted with the responses to my ad and I will definitely use this website again in the future when I need house-sitters. Thank you very much.

S Evans, Wales, UK. July 2006

In short it was a huge success! (Owner)

Hi Susan, We didn't advertise as such, we just found what looked like an ideal match. I am impressed thus far with the site and with the quality of people who advertise. (July 2006)

We’ve recently returned from two weeks in Turkey and used an Australian couple to mind our big house and our horses, dogs, chickens and cat. The house is cleaner than we left it, they stocked up the fridge and the dogs are missing the long walks very badly. In short, it was a huge success. (November 2007)

Andrea G, Scotland. July 2006

Surprised at the amount of responses! (Owner)

I actually was surprised at the amount of responses I received through placing the ad.There was a lot of interest and am trying to respond to most people on an individual basis. As a medium for putting home owners in contact with house sitters it works really well. I received at least twenty responses and am trying to get through them. Thanks for the great site.

Laura Dyer, Ireland. July 2006

What nice people! (Owner)

The site worked really well. We found the perfect people to house sit and also look after our cat for 7 months. My home looked better on our return than it has ever looked. It absolutly sparkled! Everything moved smoothly. What nice people. Thank You.

Susan Brummell, Canada. June 2006

I was overwhelmed by replies from potential house sitters just moments after the advert went up. (Owner)

Hi Susan, Thanks for getting in touch. I was overwhelmed by replies from potential housesitters just moments after the advert went up. The advert was easy to set up, and there was a wide-range of people to choose from. I confess I actually went for a sitter who contacted me via another house sitting website, but our backup is from Mind My House in case things go wrong. I did reply to all messages, and got some very good feedback from many members, asking to be kept in mind in case they're needed in the future. I have been recommending your site to many friends as a great alternative to catteries/annoying the neighbours etc.. so I hope a few contact you.

Catherine Brown, UK. May 2006

We would use your site again, as we had good success. (Owner)

Liked your web site. We would use it again, as we had good success. In fact will probably use it next Feb, 2007, for a trip we plan. We had a lot of responses. We were very happy with the kind of people that responded. Thanks for keeping up such a good web site.

VD, Florida, USA. April 2006