We built this because we kept getting frustrated

The frustration

My wife Natallia and I started housesitting in 2018. Cats in Portugal, a dog in Scotland, a small farm in Catalonia. Across multiple platforms — TrustedHousesitters, MindMyHouse, Nomador, HouseCarers — we kept hitting the same problems.

The pricing model is broken. TrustedHousesitters charges $130-300 a year just to see listings. People who travel once a year, or want to test housesitting before committing, are priced out completely. Even regular travelers feel ripped off when they realize they're paying $200/year for what is, technically, a directory.

The interfaces feel like they were built in 2012. MindMyHouse is the most honest of them — it's cheap and transparent — but the UX hasn't materially improved in a decade. Nomador is locked to its France-centric audience. HouseCarers feels abandoned.

And the experience as a homeowner is even worse. You pay first, then list, then hope. If nobody applies, you've paid for nothing. If someone cancels, you're panicking with no real recourse.

The thesis

Housesitting is a free, mutually-beneficial exchange. The platform exists to connect people, build trust, and keep them safe. None of that requires a $200 subscription.

We charge for one specific thing: identity verification. €29 (or $29), one time, ever, processed by Stripe Identity — the same tool used by banks and crypto exchanges. That's how a sitter or homeowner shows the other side they're a real person who passed a real ID check. Everything else — listing, browsing, applying, messaging, matching, reviewing — is free.

We added optional convenience features (Featured Listing, Priority Application, Spotlight) that homeowners or sitters can buy at moments of pain — to stand out, to fill a slot fast, or to be seen above the crowd. But you never have to. The core marketplace works without paying anything.

The team

It's us. Dzmitry and Natallia. I'm a software developer from Belarus, currently living in Poland, building this on evenings and weekends with the help of modern AI tooling. Natallia is the design and copy sense behind everything that doesn't feel like an engineer wrote it. We test every flow. We've sat in every house we recommend.

We're not VC-funded. We're not an "exit play." We're trying to build something we'd use ourselves, that solves a real frustration, and that respects the people on both sides of the exchange. If it grows, great. If it stays small but useful, that's also fine.

The promise

As long as we're running this, the core marketplace is free. We'll be honest when something costs money — and when it does, we'll tell you exactly what you're paying for and why. We'll publish what we change, and listen when you tell us things suck.

If you're here, welcome. Find a sit. Find a sitter. Travel a bit lighter. Let us know how it goes.