Passive Income House Sitting

You probably know that there are house and pet sitting services out there, and that some people do this as a lucrative side hustle (more side hustle ideas here). But, did you know that house and pet sitting can make you money passively?

Can you really make money passively by pet or house sitting? You can make money passively by offering pet or house sitting services. According to Rover, sitters can make up to $1,000/month, and those offering overnight pet sitting services can make up to twice as much as those who don’t. On average, pet sitters make between $30 to $80 per day when offering doggy daycare.

Making a passive income by sitting houses and pets is actually a brilliant idea. There is quite some money to be made by getting into this business, and an excellent advantage is that it can be paired with other passive income streams to boost your revenue. However, if you are looking to make money without doing any actual work, or without having to be physically present, you would have to pay someone else to do it and get a share of the earnings. The following is a beginners guide on how to make passive income pet or house sitting.

Source: Rover.com

Making Passive Income By Pet/House Sitting [Guide]

Pet sitting means taking care of a pet at their own home while the owner is away. Dog walking may also be part of the job description to ensure they get some exercise. House sitting is similar is quite similar, though possibly less demanding, as you just need to take care of someone’s home while they are away.

Note Do not offer your services as a pet sitter unless you actually care for pets. You will not enjoy the job if you do not enjoy being with cats or dogs.

1. What Pet or House Sitting Entails

We put pet and house sitting together because they are a great pair! Many pet sitters need someone to watch over their home. This can be a great way to make a more substantial income as the responsibilities are greater. However, you do not have to do both at the same time. We will cover all the options available to you below.

Pet Sitting Tasks

If you already have pets, or have owned them in the past, then you probably know what this job offer entails. Some things you may be required to do as a pet sitter include:

  • Feeding the pets and making sure they have clean, accessible drinking water
  • Watching over them and ensure their safety
  • Exercising / walking them, playing with them
  • Administering medication
  • Other tasks the owner requested with regard to their pets

House Sitting Tasks

On top of petsitting, if you offer home sitting services, you may be required to do the following:

  • Chores (ex. Cleaning, clearing snow)
  • Take care of plants (indoors or outdoors)
  • Ensure proper home security
  • Handle deliveries to the house
  • Other tasks the owner requested with regard to their home

2. Finding the Right Peer-to-Peer Platform

May you want to get pet sitting, house sitting, or start doing both, there is a peer-to-peer platform you can sign up to. Let’s have a look at a couple options available to you in each case. But first, here are some reasons why you should start out on one of these platforms.

Why Peer-to-Peer Platforms

There are hundreds of pet and/or house sitting platforms around the world that have the goal of putting owners in contact with sitters. What is great about peer-to-peer platforms is they take care of background checks for you and offer insurance. For example, Rover offers pet sitters up to $1M protection for their services, 24/7 support and vet assistance. The platform offers pet owners sitters that have gone through background or identity checks, reservation protections and 24/7 support.

Some services you can offer on Rover for example include:

  • Watching over the pet in the owners home overnight (House Sitting)
  • Checking on the pet in the owners home (Drop-in Visits)
  • Watching over the pet in your home overnight (Dog Boarding)
  • Watching over the pet in your home for a short period of time (Doggy Day Care)
  • 30 Minute walks (Dog Walking)

These platforms also offer secure online payments and user generated ratings and feedback. These are things that make peer-to-peer platforms a strong place to get a job, or offer one. Be sure to read the platform’s policies, terms and conditions, no matter which option you choose.

Pet Sitting Platforms

Here are some well-known pet-sitting platforms. Please note that some may request a signup fee or a yearly membership fee.

NameLocation
RoverUSA/Canada/Europe
PetsitterUSA/Canada
Petsitting.comUSA
TrustedHouseSittersWorld
Petsit.comUSA

House Sitting Platforms

Housesitting can be an excellent way to save money when travelling the world. You can offer your services to someone in Europe and stay in their home (generally for free). You may not get paid in this case, but you will enjoy free boarding. The following platforms specifically focus on housesitting. They may or may not offer pet sitting. Please note that some may request a signup fee or a yearly membership fee.

NameLocation
TrustedHouseSittersWorld
MindMyHouseUSA
HouseSittersAmericaUSA
HouseSitter.comUSA
Nomador.comEurope
HouseCarersUSA

Pet & House Sitting Platforms

If you are interested in both house and pet sitting, here are some platforms that offer both services simultaneously:

NameLocation
RoverUSA/Canada/Europe
TrustedHouseSittersWorld
HouseSittersAmericaUSA
HouseSitter.comUSA

Making Pet or House Sitting More Passive

You came here for a passive income source and may be thinking that pet our house sitting isn’t quite passive. Although you do have to be physically present to take care of pets or a home, you can still carry out all the required tasks and do other things when you are finished your work. Pet or house sitting is an excellent side hustle for copywriters (guide on our blog here) for example.

If you are currently working on a passive income blog (learn more here), and/or offering services as a copywriter, you do not have to be at your own home to be able to carry out this job. All you need is your computer and a wifi connexion. If you have done all your work with regards to the pet, and they are taking a nap for example, or if you have completed all your chores in the home you are sitting, you will have time to do other things while making passive income.

However, if you truly want an even more passive income source from house or pet sitting, you would have to create a business that is managed by a manager who reports to you once in a while.

Creating Passive Pet/House Sitting Business

To receive truly passive income from pet or house sitting, you would need to create a business that has the goal of generating you passive income. Here are some things to think about in case this is of interest to you.

Declaring Your Pet/House Sitting Business

Pet our house sitting does come with serious responsibilities. You have to take charge of someone’s property for a period, and that would make you liable for any damage or issues that might arise while you are in charge. But more importantly, since you want a passive pet and house sitting income, you have to create a company where you can pay someone else to do the work so that you don’t have to sit the houses and the pets yourself. That requires you to set up a company and register it.

Creating a business entity with tax numbers to separate your personal finances from your business expenses will be necessary. You would also need to consider getting licences and permits depending on your local laws. Of course, insurance for your business is a must to keep you protected in case things go wrong. Consult the right local professionals in your area to make sure you comply with rules and regulations with regards to starting and running your business.

Finding The Right Pet/House Sitting Team

Another thing to consider is the team that will work for you. People are very passionate and emotional with their pets and justly so. Choose to work with people who are also pet lovers and pet owners. This will help with training and understanding the requirements to care for a pet.

Over time, your goal should be to have an autonomous business that is run and managed without your involvement so that you can make money passively. You will therefore need a manager who can manage each member who is offering their pet-sitting or house-sitting services. In addition to having general management skills, this person should also know how to operate this business effectively. For instance, good communication skills are necessary to ensure that they understand the clients properly.

Other things to consider include the prices you will charge for general services as well as the money to be paid for special services. For instance, washing the customer’s pet is a special service that should be priced differently. How will you pay your manager? And your employees? Will you receive a commission on each generated lead, or will they reve an hourly wage? Your pricing should be more interesting than any peer-to-peer platform if they are popular in your area. Otherwise people will work with clients directly through those platforms instead of for you.

Promoting Your Business

Customers will not seek your house or pet sitting services specifically, unless they know about you. That is why you would need to consider promoting your business and even have a website under its name if possible.

Luckily, paying for a domain name or even the hosting is very cheap these days, but it can do wonders to your brand by giving it greater credibility. You can use fliers to promote your business and receive reservations directly using an Ecwid eCommerce store. It can embed practically any CMS (content management system, like WordPress or Wix), is mobile responsive and offers excellent SEO. Learn more about making an online store with Ecwid here.

You can also use the peer-to-peer platforms named above to promote your business. But remember, if they are very popular in your area, you will have to offer your pet sitters a very competitive cost to work for you, otherwise they will probably use these platforms directly.

How Passive is Pet or House Sitting?

House sitting is a fairly passive way to earn a living or to have an additional stream of income. It is especially interesting for travellers looking for a free place to stay or locals with jobs that can be done from anywhere with an internet connection (copywriters or bloggers). Pet or house sitting does demand your physical presence and attention, so it is not completely passive, unless made into a passive business with employees.

In the following sections we will focus on joining a peer-to-peer platform to pet or house sit, not starting a passive business.

Startup Costs

Some peer-to-peer platforms demand a signup or yearly membership fee. So be sure to choose the best platform for your needs before signing up.

Scalability

As an individual passive income source, pet or house sitting is not scalable. You can only be in one place at once.

Difficulty

House or pet sitting is not that difficult, and practically anyone can do it. To make things even smoother, you can meet the pet and the pet owner before deciding to sit for them. This can help ensure there is a good fit before getting started.

Time

Pet or house sitting may be considered a bit time-consuming as pet our house sitting may require you to stay overnight. However, there will always be down time, either to sleep, or to spend time working on other projects. You should pair this passive income opportunity with others like copywriting or blogging to maximize your income.

Risk

There are some risks involved in running this kind of business. For instance, damage to the client’s properly can bring about some legal liability. Additionally, if you get injured However, these are issues you can address by getting good insurance coverage.

Seasonality

People need someone to watch their house or pet at any time of year. This may happen when they are traveling, on vacation, or off working. Therefore, seasons have little impact, if any, on pet or house sitting. If anything, business might pick even more during the holidays when people have to travel.

ROI (Return On Investment)

You can make a decent income from pet our house sitting, however, you may have to promote your services more if there is little demand in your area on peer-to-peer platforms. Your success will depend on your execution, skills and motivation.

Related Questions

Can you actually make money with Rover? According to Rover, sitters can make up to $1,000/month. That is the average part-time salary which comes to $800 after the 20% platform fee. This would require sitting 40 dogs each month. Those offering overnight pet sitting services can make up to twice as much as those who don’t.

How much do house sitters make? According to HouseSitter.com, sitters can make between $12/day to $76/day depending on location, demand, the length of the stay and extra responsibilities. Other platforms offer free lodging in exchange for house sitting in which case you will not be paid to watch over the property. This can be an excellent option for travellers.