When I left for China I had everything in my house in order, new paint, nothing needed repair. I had 7 Maine Coon cats and a Collie and decided to use a house sitter last time I went to China. I paid all the bills for the house. The sitter was to look after my pets and keep he house and yard clean and kept up in exchange for free rent. When I came home my house was ruined. My pets were in bad shape and one cat had died the day I came home. The litter boxes were never cleaned, just dumped outside when they were solid, so the cats started doing there business around the house. The basement flooded, a pipe also leaked and was just left leaking for 3 months. My finished basement is toast. The grass wasn't cut and the garbage not put out for 5 months.

 I came home because of a law suit and hoped to return to China in 2 months, Now I don't know what to do. Insurance isn't going to cover neglect and the water damage is from three occurances, so 3 times $2000 deductable. It'll take me months to do all the work. How do you find a good house sitter? There are sites for them. I found that most people that applied were women, who seemed like they were hiding and most also wanted a wage and use of my car.