Kia Ora!
I’m Bernd, a responsible, reliable and caring house sitter with a steadily growing number of housesitting assignments. So far, I’ve mostly cared for dogs and cats, but am only too happy to widen my ‘pet care horizon’!
I am semi-retired and work remotely (part-time) as an IT specialist, so I’m home most of the day to give your pets the love and attention they deserve.
Why Choose Me?
- Experience with pet care.
- Skilled in garden and plant maintenance.
- Excellent communication: I’ll provide regular updates and photos.
I’m available from [dates] and open to house sits in [locations]. I’m very happy to chat by phone or video call to see if I’m the right fit for your needs!
Bernd – Long Term House Sitter
I am a long-term house sitter with a steadily growing amount of experience in looking after pets and properties.
I may be exactly who you are looking for
This is my way of life – not just an opportune way to get a cheap holiday here and there.
My semi-retired lifestyle, along with working remotely online, ensures that I get to spend most of my time in and around your home. This means your pets get lots of attention and affection.
By providing a professional, free pet and house sitting service while you are away, my goal is to enable you to focus on and savour your travel adventures, without any stress or worries. You’ll get status reports as often as you require and pictures and updates to provide as much reassurance as you need.
You can rest assured that, because I have been a property owner myself, I fully appreciate the importance of looking after your property investment.
Skills and abilities
As well as looking after pets, I’ve accumulated a wide range of skills and abilities. Some of these have been gained through owning my own properties and businesses, and some through house sitting:
- Gardening and plant management
- Basic DIY skills
- Tool and chain saw usage
- Extensive computer skills
- Email reports and updates available
- German, English, French and Norwegian languages
- If you need a website – I can build that too!
Last not least – my attitude is, that this dog (or in my case ‘Bear’), is never too old to acquire a few new tricks!
What you might want to know about me
Rural or big smoke?
I have been living in both…
Born and raised in rural southwest German wine country, I spent 2 decades living – while first studying, then working – in Berlin, Stuttgart, München, Oslo and Auckland, before more permanently relocating to Nelson, in the beautiful Top of the South (Te Tau Ihu) of Aotearoa/NZ.
What about pets?
Growing up around farm animals, made me familiar with and relaxed around animals/pets.
Lifestyle choices and a sort of semi-nomadic lifestyle (at least until the turn of the century), made pet ownership a difficult proposition, especially since I believe in humans accommodating their pets’ needs, and not forcing the pets into the straitjacket of modern lifestyle mobility.
This is why I firmly believe in the value of looking after your pet/s in your home.
How do you spend your downtime?
Being quite comfortable both in other people’s company, as well as my own, I like a good balance between spending time with friends and at home with the pets entrusted to me.
Physically active and fit, I tend to ‘employ’ trail/mountain biking and kayaking to maintain this healthy status.
When being in a more urban environment, this can be supplemented by extended walks, live music events, theatre and exhibitions.
How practical are you around the home and land?
Having looked after my own property for years, I am familiar with the tools used in ‘basic’ house/property maintenance, i.e. lawnmower, weed whacker and chainsaw.
Do you work?
Having just started to receive NZ Super, I do supplement this income with part-time online work, therefore it is important for me to have some access to Wi-Fi.
Why do you house sit?
I love to travel, but enjoy the opportunity to live like a local when being in a new place.
This affords me the chance to meet new people and possibly make new friends, while helping home/pet owners to have their own adventures, affording them the peace of mind of knowing that their beloved pet/s and home is being cared for.
The steady part time online job making sure that ample time is spent at your home, giving your pet the care and attention that you expect.
Driving and getting about
I have a clean NZ driving license and am an experienced and confident driver.
Contracts and references
I would be happy to sign a “house sitting agreement”, if required. I can supply references for previous house-sitting assignments and any character references that you might require. If you need to contact my references I can supply email details. You will also find all of my references here
Availability and further questions
To find out about my current availability please get in touch via the contact page. You may have more questions. If you do, please go to my contact page and send me an email. I will get back to you as soon as I can.