Is This A Good Idea?

[Aytee]

I have recently retired and, whilst I am financially okay, I would like to make a little bit of money plus have a change of scenery every now and then. I have heard that people will pay to do house sitting. I am not looking to stay whilst people were on holiday etc but was looking to wait in for people when they have a parcel delivery or workmen. Is this a good idea and if so, how much would you be willing to pay per hour? I would be very interested to hear your views. Thanks.

[black_cat51]

i wouldn't pay someone to wait in for a delivery for me - with most firms you can pay extra to specify a time/day which would be cheaper. Or go and pick it up from the sorting office.
I wouldn't trust a person to wait in for workmen either - if i couldn't be there to direct them/tell them what to do, i wouldn't want a random stranger to!

[237SJ]

I'm not sure that there is a market for someone to house-sit whilst waiting for a delivery. A lot of corner shops now have an agreement with firms such as Amazon to take delivery of items for a very small fee if the purchaser is not going to be at home. You might get some work dog-sitting though.

[ladybirder]

No chance Aytee. That means I could pay someone to wait in all day for a parcel that never comes. The house sitting would be better.

[sandyRoe]

I've seen adverts for dog walking at £10 per hour. If that really is an acceptable rate and you were to undercut it a bit, you'd be in business

[Old_Geezer]

I am also unconvinced it's viable. But what do I know ? If I've paid for an item and paid for p&p on top paying more again is likely to make the purchase a poor deal. I'd pay more at a local shop instead. But others may feel differently.

[pixie373]

I wouldn't either. My neighbours and i take each others in, if necessary. Or i could pick it up from the post office. I wouldn't think of paying extra. House-sitting, walking dogs, cleaning or ironing would probably be more popular.

[woofgang]

If workmen are in it might be confusing...they might need to ask something and they couldn't ask you. I wouldn't pay someone to wait in for deliveries either, sorry.

[sandyRoe]

You should make a point of not paying any agency that might offer to find you house sitting posts.

[Baldric]

House sitting and dog walking sound ok, I don't think there'd be much of a market for the delivery/workman idea though!

[Jennykenny]

No room to take a student(s) in? If you're near a big town there are often ads in the papers wanting lodging for foreign students and it pays well.
Or have a lodger Monday to Friday (type Monday to Friday lodgers into Google). The good thing about this is that you get the house to yourself again on the weekend.
Any of the large secondary schools in the area looking for exam invigilators?? It is pretty boring but pays well and is only seasonal.
Something you might think of is a company like Universal Aunts where you live in with a person who needs company/some help for a set period of time while their family has a break. It pays very well, your food is included and you won't be running up bills for gas, electric etc while you are there. The downside is that generally you only have 2 - 3 hours off on the afternoon, but that is quite doable for a couple of weeks at a time.
And finally I did house sitting/ cat sitting but it pays very badly.

[ummmm]

If I didn't have teenagers here I'd hire a house sitter. We have a lot of valuable stuff and I wouldn't want to leave my house unattended.

[murraymints]

No..don't think I would....not unless I knew you personally....I have very good neighbour ..if I'm expecting something and go out I put a wee note in window to leave with her...

[Mosaic]

What about delivering leaflets / free papers etc?

[sandyRoe]

If you're not in need of the money you might consider charity work.

[Aytee]

Thank you for your replies. Very interesting as I have heard that people do and will pay. But hey what do I know................... The dog walking I have considered as well so might do that. I can afford to undercut to that might be a better idea. Thanks again