Hello friends,
I'm housesitting for several weeks and a thought occurred to me... I know I'm here, but does anyone else? A casual acquaintence or walk-about prowler whom expected an empty house might be surprised to see me. An added wrinkle are two luxury cars in the front drive- let's face it you don't hire a housesitter for a house that holds no value. For all I know the safe, to which I do not have combination, holds gold bars of immense value.
My question is to what degree you would defend property in a house sitting situation, and what changes in strategy you may adopt?
My intuitive knowledge of the layout is poor, obviously I am in the house but if I hear a bump downstairs I have no confidence approaching any of the corners, and unlike my own home where I might go investigate I would instead default to sheltering in place. Another big change is that I would not take any effort to secure property in an emergency. In my own home I would run out with my gun if I saw someone smashing the window of my truck, but I would call the cops and wait it out in this case.
I am thankful that part of my duties include caring for a very large dog, whom I personally wouldn't want on my bad side, and I make him sleep in the bedroom with me. It's strange to be living for a month in a code orange environment so I wanted to make this thread and see what anyone else thought about defensive house sitting.
As a final note, the homeowners have used me as a sitter before and at first they left the back door open (sliding glass) so the dog could go in and out during the work day. Now, 6 months later, that door is always locked and every single block in the area has a neighborhood watch sign with very fresh paint, brand new signs. I think something happened so defense is on my mind.
I'm housesitting for several weeks and a thought occurred to me... I know I'm here, but does anyone else? A casual acquaintence or walk-about prowler whom expected an empty house might be surprised to see me. An added wrinkle are two luxury cars in the front drive- let's face it you don't hire a housesitter for a house that holds no value. For all I know the safe, to which I do not have combination, holds gold bars of immense value.
My question is to what degree you would defend property in a house sitting situation, and what changes in strategy you may adopt?
My intuitive knowledge of the layout is poor, obviously I am in the house but if I hear a bump downstairs I have no confidence approaching any of the corners, and unlike my own home where I might go investigate I would instead default to sheltering in place. Another big change is that I would not take any effort to secure property in an emergency. In my own home I would run out with my gun if I saw someone smashing the window of my truck, but I would call the cops and wait it out in this case.
I am thankful that part of my duties include caring for a very large dog, whom I personally wouldn't want on my bad side, and I make him sleep in the bedroom with me. It's strange to be living for a month in a code orange environment so I wanted to make this thread and see what anyone else thought about defensive house sitting.
As a final note, the homeowners have used me as a sitter before and at first they left the back door open (sliding glass) so the dog could go in and out during the work day. Now, 6 months later, that door is always locked and every single block in the area has a neighborhood watch sign with very fresh paint, brand new signs. I think something happened so defense is on my mind.