House sitters vs renting out the house while away

[Playmoney08]

New to the forums, and it's possibly been covered however I'm looking for suggestions about what to do with our house whilst heading around Australia in 2017. Looking at being away 4-5 months, and will possibly have a dog that will need being looked after.
Have heard different opinions of aussiehousesitters.com.au or AirBnB and the like. Ideally looking for someone/family that will look after our home and possibly pay something towards bills/mortgage whilst away.
Am I after the impossible? What have others found whist they've been away?

[Stropp]

i did this a number of years ago and had some friends pay the mortgage while i was away as it was cheaper for them than rent. in saying that good luck as it is a hard one.

[Playmoney08]

I think I'm after the impossible :(
However will keep at it. Will possibly do the ask around slightly closer to the time to see if anyone is around who would like the gig.

[Cuppa]

There are house sitter web sites & some of the grey nomad web sites have listings for both folk want sitters & those who want to sit.

Each sit varies, but generally the sitter is not expected to pay any rent or utilities, but may cover their own phone or internet costs. Usually they will keep the garden under control, care for pets etc. When we took off on the wallaby for 18 months we were extremely lucky. Our property was a small farm & 30kms from the nearest town. Expecting anyone to keep up with the care for the property & the stock for that long was a big ask & unlikely to be found on the net. Local word of mouth resulted in a couple approaching us to see if they could sit for us & they had their own tractor! They saw our property through the Black Saturday fires, saved the house & we returned to a garden which looked better than it ever had before. Burned fences had been replaced & the couple (both middle aged & recently re-married) had achieved what they wanted - a period of time to save some cash, & to test whether they were certain about wanting to buy their own farm. It was a perfect win win situation all round. They paid their own utility bills & phone bills. We provided rent free accommodation & free internet. They cared for our goats, sheep, pigs cattle & chooks & did all that was required to maintain the property. They also forwarded our mail to us as required. We sent money if/when required to pay for materials for repairs & fences. They lived in our house for several weeks before we left & for several when we returned (we didn’t have fixed dates & had our bus to live in).

If wanting ‘rent’ it’d be a different ball game & I reckon an arrangement like Stropp managed is really only likely with friends or rellies, particularly for a five month period.

I know a few folk who house sit & a few others who have had sitters. It can work really well for both parties, but I’ve heard horror stories too. If I lived in a property which could manage the absent period without maintenance I wouldn’t take the gamble on getting a good sitter, but would try to arrange with someone I knew & trusted to visit once a week & maybe stay over now & again. This keeps the insurance company happy.

When we finally get back on the road full time we expect to become house sitters ourselves. Many available sits are only for two or three weeks, but our preference would be for medium term sits such as yours, & I’m sure there must be others like us.

[BigRAWesty]

Personally I think your asking a bit much for mortgage but bills I think are reasonable.
After all they are really doing you a favor..
Hit up those sites.. depending on your bills you may struggle to find someone who can afford your setup..
I doubt you'll get a family. Sitters are usually single or couples. . It's not really a family affair..

[Cuppa]

http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/classifieds/housesitters-available/

http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/classifieds/housesitters-wanted/