EXPERIENCED HOUSE SITTERS AND PROPERTY MANAGERS

About this sitter

We are Leon and Barbara in our mid-seventies, happily married, non-smokers and non drinkers, and in good health. Being Australian born and bred, we like to get away from Canada’s snowy winters but are happy to housesit any time of the year. We like travelling to exotic locales, especially out of the way, authentic places like Spanish mountain villages but will consider any location.

Why they want to house sit

We are both avid travellers and have either visited or lived in ninety countries. We now travel four or five months a year, mainly doing home exchanges but also housesits and to a lesser extent cruises and b and b stays. We are both veritable cat lovers but enjoy caring for all animals. One of our son in laws is very allergic to cats and dogs, so unfortunately we can't have our own pets now. Prior to this we have loved and looked after a variety of our own cats and dogs.

Their experience

In addition to completing over twenty house sits we have done over forty home exchanges around the world and been caretaker/property managers for a total of eleven years for two high profile Toronto stockbrokers on their country estates. We have looked after an assortment of animals including horses and pet kangaroos. We are very mindful of other people's properties and possessions.

What can they bring to the assignment

Our sits have included spending six weeks in Greece reestablishing gardens around a villa and two months in Western Australia looking after a farm stay operation. In the latter, we took bookings, met and looked after guests and took on the cleaning of the chalets. Our duties as caretakers/property managers consisted of mowing acreage, gardening, house cleaning, cooking, chauffeuring, babysitting, carpentry, maintenance and repairs, and sourcing and working with various sub contractors. Leon is a genuine Mr. Fix-it, He worked in South Africa as a mechanic and in England on construction sites. He works now on restoring old cars and has renovated three of own period houses, including installing new bathrooms, new windows. building work/shop garages, etc. He also worked for me in my drapery business for twenty years installing blinds and drapes.