Meet course presenters Vanessa and Ian, and find out what you can expect to learn in this course.

Find out who benefits from house sitting and how it will change your vacation and travel experiences forever!

There are many benefits house sitting can offer over a regular holiday or short term rental. This lesson reveals everything you can expect to gain when you become a successful house sitter.

Learn what you can expect to save on hotel costs when you become a successful house sitter.

Find out why house sitting wins hands down over costly holiday rentals.

Long term house sits provide the biggest savings. See how you can save between $20,000 and $40,000 USD every year by becoming a full time house sitter.

Find out why house sitting has become so popular. Discover why people prefer to use house sitters rather than leave the homes vacant and their pets in catteries or kennels.

Discover whether you are suited to house sitting. Find out why it might not be the right choice for you.

Should you choose a short term or a long term house sit? This lesson will help you decide which term will be best for you, and how that might change over time.

This lesson tells you where in the world you will find house sitting opportunities and reveals the up and coming locations.

Find out whether you are likely to receive payment for your service and why this could limit your opportunities.

Discover just how at home you can make yourself in your temporary home.

Learn the first steps you'll need to take to becoming a successful house sitter.

It isn't essential to have house sitting experience. We all have to start somewhere, but there are some basic considerations that will help you secure your first assignments. Here you'll learn what they are.

Gain valuable experience by house sitting for family and friends. Learn why this is important and how simple it is to achieve.

There are many house sitting websites to choose from. Find out which can offer you the best service and how much you can expect to pay. Take a guided tour of the top international sites.

Learn what to look for in a good house sitting website: pick only the best to showcase your profile.

Learn how your own website or blog can benefit you when applying for assignments.

Learn why your credibility is key to you becoming a successful house sitter. Find out how to get references even if you are a newcomer to house sitting.

Another way to enhance your credibility is to obtain a police check from your national or local police authority.

Social media sites are a great way to spread the word about your house sitting availability. However, you do need to be careful about what information you make available to potential home owners, for obvious reasons. Here we look at how to make sure your Facebook page in particular, can be customised to only show acceptable posts!

After registering with a house sitting platform, you'll need to create a great compelling profile. Here you learn why this is so important.

In this lesson you learn how to best use photos to enhance your online profile. Discover which images work best to attract people to read your profile information.

Your profile title is an important part of your profile. It should sum up what you are offering to the home owner. It's at this point the home owner will make a decision to click and read more of your profile. You need to make this count! Find out how in this lesson.

What else do you need to include in your profile? How you portray yourself could make a big difference to your success, so give this plenty of thought by following the advice in this lesson.

Learn more tips so you can market yourself more creatively in your profile. The style of your writing will make a difference to how people will engage with your profile.

When you begin your online registration, you'll be asked some other standard information. In this lesson we look at what other details you'll need to have ready.

This lesson recaps on the importance of references and how they impact your success as a house sitter.

Once you've registered with a house sitting platform and uploaded your profile, you can start seriously considering house sits. Here we'll look together at some of the house sitting options available.

Searching online might uncover a few good sits, but the best assignments are usually snapped up in the first few days. Find out why using email alerts is so important.

There are many things to think about when traveling overseas. This is especially so if house sitting long term. Let's take a look at some of the issues you'll need to think about as an international house sitter.

So you've found some house sits that look interesting and you want to apply. Your profile is loaded and you're good to go. Now you will learn how to compose an application letter that is as compelling as your profile.

If after a couple of days you haven't heard anything back then a reminder email can prompt a response.

Even with all the preparation in the world, you can still be rejected. There are many reasons for this and we look at some in this lesson. We also discover how to turn a rejection into a positive situation.

An interview is important to establish expectations for both you and the home owner. There will be lots of questions you'll want to ask each other. This lesson prepares you for this important conversation.

Skype offers a great method of conducting an interview with video facilities, as long as you have access to the internet. If you've never used it, you can discover more about this FREE online service in this lesson.

As you prepare for your interview you'll want to categorize your questions. Learn what type of questions you should be asking and take inspiration from our two downloadable checklists.

You've completed your interview and been accepted for the house sit. Woohoo !! Congratulations! Now you can start planning - but what exactly does that involve? You can find out in this lesson.

To manage expectations, it's becoming fairly common for a house sitting agreement to be used. In this lesson we look at the pros and cons of having this paperwork in place.

Your house sit is organized, but if you're planning to sit long term, this is only the start. In this lesson you'll learn how to manage your ongoing assignments.

When handover day finally arrives, you'll want to create a great first impression. In this lesson you will find out exactly how to do that by carrying out a professional handover.
(Lesson includes downloadable materials)

Once the owners have left the property, you can start to make yourself at home and really get to know the pets. But what else is expected of you during the house sit?

Keeping in touch with the owners throughout the house sit is a normal requirement. How often should you report back, and by what method? What's too little and what's too much? Find out in this lesson.

At some point your house sitting experience will come to an end, but there are a few things you can do to further impress your home owners. How should you prepare to move out?

When the home owners return, don't forget to ask for a reference, especially if they express their gratitude and show obvious pleasure. There really is no time like the present. Here's the best way to ask.

Don't just update your profile with new references. Also add any new skills, relevant information, and a selection of new pictures. Find out what else you can do to keep your "sales pitch" fresh and engaging in this lesson.

The more you can demonstrate you're a capable, responsible and reliable house sitter, the better your chances of securing your chosen assignments. It's worth investing in time to develop those extra skills and abilities that will increase your desirability.

Most house sits involve taking care of pets. House sits without pets are sometimes available, but are nowhere near as common as assignments with pets. Find out why it helps to have a love of animals!

Could you deal with staff on an assignment? Management or team building skills could come in useful here.

If you have experience of farm life, then you'll be well positioned to secure rural assignments.

Your home owner won't expect you to be a qualified electrician, plumber or carpenter. However, a few basic DIY skills could serve you well. This lesson tells you about some great books to help improve your DIY skills.

Garden and land management is an important part of looking after properties with acreage.

Find out what you'll need to know to manage and look after an off-grid property. Learn from the expert! Ian had his own off-grid island in the Caribbean!

A basic understanding of these security systems can be useful. In this lesson we will discuss the easiest ways to improve your skills in this area.

A swimming pool may be the reason that someone would rather have a house sitter than leave the property empty. What skills will you need to learn to look after a pool and prevent it turning green? Find out in this lesson.

How do you handle the issue of transport - getting about while on your house sit? We look at options available in the lesson.

Look at ways to improve your language skills. Use your house sitting time to add a new language skill. It could help improve your chances of securing sits in non-English speaking countries.

Word of mouth and referrals can be an effective way to get new house sits. Let's look at some of the ways you can spread the word about your house sitting availability.

Many people use Facebook and other social media sites to let people know about their house sitting services. In this lesson we look at how you can create a social media advert for use time and time again.

You can also follow Facebook pages of the websites we mentioned earlier in this course. Here are some ideas to help you.

WordPress is a great resource to create a simple house sitting blog or website. Find out how we can help you with this here.

We can't advise on every situation you might encounter, but we can at least highlight some of the things that could go wrong, so you're prepared.

Occasionally you might arrive at the handover, and find the home owners have expectations not mentioned at the interview, or on the run up to the assignment. Discover what you can do to resolve these issues.

The biggest concern for any house sitter is that something happens to the pets in your care. What can you do in a pet emergency?

So many people stay in jobs that they hate, live lives that don't satisfy, and are stuck in a place they don't even really like. Many people now feel a sense of quiet desperation.
They know there's the possibility of something better out there, that life could be different, and more exciting. Ian talks here about how you can gain the courage and motivation to take the first step.

One of the most common questions we get is how can we afford to travel all the time. What about money? Let's take a more in-depth look at some financial matters.

Well that's a wrap! You have all the information you need to get started - here's a final sum up from us both.