A MEASLY $4: that’s all Natalie Buckley and Madison Cartwright pay in rental costs each month to live in Sydney’s inner city and they’re not alone.
A growing number of shrewd couples have found a way to sidestep Sydney’s sky high rents and live almost rent and bill free by house-sitting for strangers with pets.
House-sitting has allowed these couples to save thousands of dollars and live in suburbs they wouldn’t normally be able to afford and some have found it so rewarding that they now house sit on a permanent basis.
Ms Buckley and Mr Cartwright have been house-sitting since late last year and in just a few months have saved $7000, which they are putting towards a home deposit.
“We moved out of the apartment we’d been renting for years and no longer have a permanent address. We just move from house to house, lining up our next house-sitting job as the last one ends,” Ms Buckley said.
“It’s not paid work. The owners expect you to take care of their pets and in return you can stay at their home for free while they are away a few weeks or months.”
The couple has back to back house-sitting jobs lined up until June, by which time they expect to be ready to buy a house of their own.
Couples who have been house-sitting for longer have saved substantially more.
Dave and Ester Muller stayed in strangers’ houses for 18 months, saving roughly $25,000 in rent and $2000 in bills.
The couple now rent a property in Brookvale, but say they’ll resume house-sitting soon.
“We’ll be house-sitting over our next holiday,” Ms Muller said.
Matthew Luxford and Ayjan Mustafa are house-sitting permanently to help save for a home deposit and wedding and estimate they’ve saved $13,000 in the six months they’ve been doing it continuously.
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