Quiet, secure home with attached office and fenced yard, good neighbors.
Leaving town for work for up to 3 or 4 months, could be shorter. I fly back one weekend per month. Quiet street, minutes from shopping
Mature single or couple with references please. Small, friendly dogs possible. (2 cats already in house).
This is a long ad, but the more you know, the better decisions you can make!
I travel by RV for work between 4 to 12 weeks at a time. I fly back for one weekend every month to handle affairs and would need to stay at home. If that is the case, I would stay in the guest room for the weekend, as for a long stay, the master BR would be dedicated to the housesitter.
I have 2 cats which are self-contained for the most part. One is happy to keep to herself but loves attention. The other does not like new people very much and will stay out of your way unless you provide a warm spot to sit. He will still hiss but is a big wuss.
FEATURES:
The house itself is about 1200 Sq. Ft. with kithchen, living, dining room. 1 bath, 3 bedrooms. Master, guest, and a 3rd which has a treadmill, cat boxes, and some misc. stuff.
Master BR will have closet and dresser space provided. There is a pillow top queen bed.
Guestroom has TV, Playstation 2, twin electric air mattress. NOTE: I have a good friend who occasionally needs to stay a couple of nights when she is passing through town in the guestroom.
Bathroom is your average every day bathroom with shower and tub.
House has monitored security system covering all doors and windows and a STAY and AWAY mode. There is also a surveillance system covering all external areas of the property and has a video screen inside the bedroom. External flood lights covering yard and driveway are automatic and motion-sensing.
There is a large washer and dryer and plenty of linens.
There is gas heat with automatic programmable thermostat.
The kitchen has electric range, microwave, toaster oven and a full complement of accessories and small appliances. I am not sure how much I am going to have to pilfer to stock up the new RV but it won't be bad. The dishwasher has not been hooked up yet and might not be.
The livingroom has a large flastscreen and small surround sound system. Sorry, the Playstation 3 and subwoofer comes with me! There is a PC but it is my personal and must stay on but cannot be used. There is an equipped bar but you have to stock the good stuff yourself and drink alone, absolutely no entertaining strangers.
There is a covered concrete back porch through a glass slider with two BBQS (1 large and 1 medium) and seating. Back yard is enclosed with 4 foot fence and two locking gates. There is a pond area that looks OK but is not functioning during the winter.
There is a garage/workshop with an enclosed office w/ printer, scanner, workstation, and various other office-type amenities including microwave, toaster oven, and mini fridge (naturally there are bigger and better appliances in the house as well.) Garage space will most likely not be available but there will be parking in driveway.
A neighbor is temporarily using part of the driveway to restore a vehicle but there is still plenty of room for your vehicle.
There are two automatic litter boxes which can go about a week, but are the most pleasant when scooped every 3 days give or take. They have self-contained cartridges that last around 3 weeks which simply close up and throw away. There is also an automatic water dish and a cat feeder. There are automatic air fresheners around the house, too.
There are people in the neighborhood that watch the house and are helpful if needed. There is also a bookkeeper who is familiar with the house and is available to help with any issues. She will also be picking up mail and packages at a remote mailbox and dropping the items off about once per week and if needed, quick work in the office.
Cable is not hooked up but arrangements can be made. Wifi is available.
You are walking distance from a Safeway, 7-11, and mini mall with hair salon, nail shop, restaurants, ethnic grocery store, etc. Driving distance (15 minutes or so) from the downtown area with all of the familiar amenities. Good thing about Federal Way is that it is a compact area, so everything is in about a 5 to 15 minute radius. You can see Mt. Ranier on a good day from the back yard, and see Puget Sound from the hill. Not waterfront property but at least you can see it. Redondo beach is a 10 minute drive down the hill. Lots of parks and other stuff in Federal Way. You see a lot of police, and they do their best to keep busy. Our street in particular is very quiet as far as wierdos are concerned.
A small fire-proof safe will be made available for personal documents.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Note: Written instructions for all duties, and contact info for neighbors, etc. will be provided. Utilities explained below in Requirements section.
Making the house looked lived in. Being responsible with the energy requirements such as lighting and heat.
2 cats as mentioned which are relatively low maintence. Keep their water dish filled and clean. While they have a food dispenser, I prefer to still give them a measured portion per day to keep them from fattening up. The litter boxes are automatic, and a 3 minute session of scooping the dried material is about all that is needed eery 3 days or so unless you want to do more. This makes the cartridges last much longer and smell better. When they are full, they get bagged up and trashed. New cartridges are delivered by UPS once per month. Cats are on a healthplan and visits are free to the PetSmart Banfield pet hospital nearby if there are any emergencies. They have a chair with heating pad and plenty of scratching toys.
Vacuum at least once per week. Keeps down accumulated cat hair and tracked litter! Besides that, keeping up after yourself before it gets out of hand is all I ask! I doubt the lawn or yard will be much issue this time of year. If you can mow a lawn, great. Otherwise a yard service will be available if even needed.
My personal vehicle will remain at the house. There is a keyfob controlled automatic start that runs for 10 minutes. I like to do that every 7 to 10 days to keep the blood circulating. Just push a button, pretty easy.
Clean out the mailbox, right on other side of street from edge of front lawn. Street is an overstatement ... it is a dead end cul de sac with little traffic. Not much personal or important mail, you can skip a few days if you want.
Be very vigilant with open windows and doors. The cats love fresh air and will take the opportunity to escape.
REQUIREMENTS:
Professional person, non-smoker with good references and background check. No children. I prefer a single occupant or couple (i.e. same bedroom) since the guest room must be available. The cats do MUCH better with a female voice so preference lies there but certainly does not preclude males. Age is not as important as experience, trust, and maturity.
Be able to coordinate with me or my contact person by cell phone or for any issues either with the home or our agreement for quick resolution. There is no telephone hardline coming into the house.
Utililities covered: Normal and reasonable water, sewer, gas, garbage, WiFi internet, basic cable if requested. Specifics will be laid out clearly in the agreement. Utilities NOT covered: Anything beyond basic cable, excessive use (Please do not fill a pool or leave the heat at 85 degrees 24/7 kind of thing) This will be the first time having someone I do not know well in my very private and personal escape home. I want it to go well for both parties. Security is very important and unauthorized visitors are an absolute no no.