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Platinum (36mths+)
House Sitting Preferences
  • 1 - 2 weeks, 2 - 4 weeks, 1 - 2 months
  • Dog(s), Cat(s), Fish, Bird(s), Rabbit(s)/Guinea Pig(s), Chickens/Ducks/Geese, Reptile(s), Farm Animals
  • Yes
Preferred Locations
  • North Island: Auckland (Auckland - North, North Shore City)   South Island: ALL  
Availability
  • NEXT 6 MONTHS    
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  • 2024: 13Mar-30Apr

Professional,Friendly and Caring

74, Retired

74, Retired

WELCOME TO MY PROFILE

My name is Rex, and sometimes my friend Cheryl is also on sits with me, we are both 74 years old and retired. Cheryl also comes from a farming background.
I am originally from Whangarei. I have 1 daughter, 2 granddaughters, and 4 great-granddaughters. I am a Non-Smoker, Non-drinker, very honest and loyal, have got a police clearance. I have been in the New Zealand Navy and have learnt respect, and great values. I can guarantee your house and pets if applicable will be well looked after, as they were my own. I get on really well with most people and have a great sense of humor.
I have had my own garden and glasshouse and grew my own vegetables. I have also been a Caretaker for some years and have used ride-on mowers, and also lawn Mowers. I am happy to travel to most places, and overseas to Australia as well. Having been a homeowner, I have done a lot of maintenance and building work on them, and am a dab hand at fixing things if emergencies arise.
I come from a rural background and will have a go at most things maintenance wise if required. I have been doing Computer contracts all around Australia for the last 8 years, and have worked in outback's and mines, and enjoyed the outdoors, and have returned home to retire and take in some of the beauty of the country that I have missed.
On previous sits, I have looked after cattle, dogs, cats, chooks, sheep, goats, ducks, and other livestock. My preference is house sitting in rural areas, but happy to consider others. I do not have a car and have always had use of a vehicle from owners. I must say I am not a great gardener as far as flowers etc, tend to pull out plants instead of weeds, but great on lawns and maintenance.
Here are recent references from last three House Sits, I will supply names on request
These were all before Covid19 lock downs etc and just getting back into sitting again.

Dick Farm Sit (Amberley South Island)

Sit Date: Mar 2020 - 3 weeks

[Rating: 5.0] Their review of you: Would recommend Rex to anybody, Rex is a very easy going person, as he worked well with us and kept in contact when the airline changed our flights twice due to Covid 19 at very short notice. He kept our cattle fed well and paddocks and gardens watered well due to the drought situation. He kept our pool clean and tidy. Rex kindly got us groceries due to having to go into 14 day self isolation on our arrival home.
Dick - Amberley South Island

Lifestyle property LYNLEY (Matakana North Island, May 2018)
Rex house sat for us for 4 weeks looking after our lifestyle property - sheep, chickens, dog, cats, plants, and garden. From the first contact with Rex, he was very professional and detailed. We arrived home to a very clean, tidy house with all animals and plants well cared for and instructions followed. I have no hesitation in recommending Rex as a house sitter and would be very keen for him to house sit again for us.

Rural Sit Gina (Clevedon Auckland July 2016)

We have just returned from 3 weeks overseas to a welcoming Rex and an immaculate house. Rex looked after all our farm animals for us and kept a check on the property; everything as if we haven't been away. All of this whilst Rex had his own family concerns. So I can only say if you are lucky enough to have Rex "sit" for you; you will have a problem free holiday.

Farm Sit George (Pokeno June 2016)
To whom it may concern
Rex has returned to our house this year again (2016) after house sitting for us last year.
Last year was so successful it made the return of Rex this year so easy. Been so familiar with the house, land and the animals we had very little to advise him on before we went on vacation.
We unreservedly recommend Rex to anybody looking for a sitter, you will not be disappointed.
Regards
George & Jan Bradly
Tuakau

Farm sit Gill (Tuakau June 2016)
To whom it may concern:

Rex looked after our lifestyle property for 10 days in 2016. He was professional and organised to deal with before accepting the job. All arrangements were clearly communicated.

Rex took excellent care of our property and animals:about a dozen sheep, 2 cats, 3 hens, 3 budgies, an old dog. All were well taken care of, with their special needs catered for where necessary. e.g. our old dog had special medication each day; one of the hens had her own run as she was being hen-pecked by the others. Both were were cared for and happy.

The house was left clean and tidy.

I have no hesitation in recommending Rex as a housesitter. We would certainly ask him to house-sit for us again.

Thank you Rex for taking such good care of our house, property and animals.

Gill Birchall
Tuakau

Haruru Falls April/May 2016

Rex house sat for us for a month, looking after our cat who needed daily medication, house and large section. We came home to a very clean house, well maintained lawn and happy, well cat. Rex fitted in well, making friends with our immediate neighbours, their comment coming back to us that Rex was the best house sitter we have had, with the best relationship with our cat. Rex kept us up to date with what was happening at home and sent photos of our cat interacting with him. This put our minds at ease immediately. We thoroughly recommend Rex and will certainly seek his availability for any future house sit requirements.

Farm Sit Papakura North Island, Mar 2016

Rex did a 4 day house/farm sit for us in March. We also have highland cattle and these animals were no problem for Rex to care for. We were very pleased to have Rex stay on our farm and would definitely love to have him back!

Farm Sit Oamaru
29/07/2015
Rex was fantastic we arrived home after 6 weeks holiday to find happy content animals an immaculately clean home, he got along famously with family and neighbors. Rex was responsible for not only family pets but an entire farm load of animals ranging from chooks to highland cattle, we would recommend Rex to anyone wanting time out, and look forward to having Rex come back in the future if he is available

George (Farm Sit Pokeno)
28/06/2015

Rex has just completed house sitting at our farm over the last four weeks.
As well as the normal house duties Rex also attended light farm duties. In our absence Rex kept our house immaculate, mowed lawns, washed car, moved and observed stock, feed and exercised dogs and cat.
He also attended to any queries that came his way.
Our car was available to Rex also in our absence
We can thoroughly recommend Rex to any prospective house sitting position he brings a thorough professional attitude to the position, absolutely trustworthy and our animals absolutely warmed to him.
A great guy

House sit Takapau

Rex Looked after our Central Hawke's Bay Home and cat Timmy for 3 months July to September 2014.
On arrival home he met me at the Airport and gave a brief report and I was delighted to see how well the home and grounds had been looked after when I arrived home later that day. I will be more than happy to field reference calls from home owners to verify his trustworthiness and care given to the property.

Redwood Valley Nelson Area

We own a small lifestyle block with a number of pets and animals.
In June 2014 we needed to take a month long break, abroad.
We had never used a house sitter before and were understandably a little nervous.
We made contact with Rex through the website and after a number of message exchanges, followed by a reference we asked Rex if he would like to stay at our home to which he agreed.
As holiday time approached we also had a meeting with Rex over Skype to cover off detail of what needed to be done on the block.
We left use of one of our cars for Rex to travel about as we are a little remote.
Throughout the whole process Rex was great, very approachable and friendly and also very good at communicating to ensure he knew exactly what needed to be done.
We had one small emergency with one of the animals while we were away, which Rex spotted and handled very well and got the necessary treatment.
Rex was very observant and able with the stock animals. (a few sheep , ducks and a heifer ).
When we returned from holiday the place was pristine and clean , above and beyond expectations.
I would definitely ask Rex to come a stay again without any reservation.
I am also pleased to act as a reference based on our very positive experience.

Farm Sit (Rolleston)

I would like to provide a reference for Rex Girbin, who was house sitting for us in the Rolleston area from early May until towards end of June 2014.We found his profile on the Kiwi House sitters web site
Rex is a very friendly and caring person and my family and extended family felt very comfortable with him, and his happy nature had us laughing on many occasions.
During his time here he looked after our rural lifestyle property, and also assisted in helping provide customer service to our wool business, taking many calls and accepting deliveries from customers.
Rex took us to the airport very early in the morning on our departure, and also picked us up from airport well after midnight on our return. The house looked lovely and clean when we arrived home, and he also mowed our very large lawns twice while we were away with our hand lawn mower after the ride on mower broke down, which would have taken many hours, he also helped maintain the property with the assistance of the farm manager, helping with stock and fences.
He helped sort out some business emergencies that required a lot of contact with us overseas and also with agents here in New Zealand.
Our dog and stray cat were well looked after, and this task he did with a caring spirit.
We would have no hesitation asking Rex to house sit for us again, and would recommend him for any type of house sitting.

House Sit Ashburton

Rex house sat at our house in Ashburton, New Zealand, from 30th August to 12th October, 2013 while we were overseas. We made contact with Rex via the website housecarers.com
Rex was easy to communicate with before the house sit and we had two very good conversations via Skype. We arranged for him to meet us at our house on the afternoon we left and for him to drive us to the airport (one hour's drive away). While we were away he looked after our three cats, did the housework, and mowed the lawns. He also attended to a tree that was damaged during a strong wind storm. While we were away he regularly communicated by email to let us know what was happening in Ashburton which was very reassuring. On our arrival home we found the house and garden to be immaculate and three very happy cats who had obviously got on very well with Rex.
We would have no problem in using Rex's services again and would thoroughly recommend him to anyone who is requiring a house sitter.

Lifestyle property (Moutere Nelson Area)

I would like to write a reference for Rex whom we recently found through the Kiwi House Sitters site. Rex was thoroughly professional in his approach to the task and made time with us to walk him through the animal care routines and our general requirements.
Rex was punctual, reliable and very pleasant to work with; he has a natural affinity with animals and our dog very much enjoyed his company. Our goats and chickens were well cared for too.
We were thrilled to find our home extremely clean and tidy and the lawns mowed when we returned, what a treat after a long car journey!
I would be very happy to ask Rex to House sit again.



Reviews (8)
No rating Rex house sat for us for 4 weeks looking after our lifestyle property - sheep, chickens, dog, cats, plants and garden. From the first contact with Rex he was very professional and detailed. We arrived home to a very clean, tidy house with all animals and plants well cared for and instructions followed. I have no hesitation in recommending Rex as a house sitter and would be very keen for him to house sit again for us.
LYNLEY (Matakana North Island, May 2018 - 4 weeks)
Would recommend Rex to anybody, Rex is a very easy going person, as he worked well with us and kept in contact when the airline changed our flights twice due to Covid 19 at very short notice. He kept our cattle fed well and paddocks and gardens watered well due to the drought situation. He kept our pool clean and tidy. Rex kindly got us groceries due to having to go into 14 day self isolation on our arrival home.
 
DICK (Amberley South Island, Mar 2020 - 3 weeks)
No rating We have just returned from 3 weeks overseas to a welcoming Rex and an immaculate house. Rex looked after all our farm animals for us and kept a check on the property; everything as if we haven't been away. All of this whilst Rex had his own family concerns. So I can only say if you are lucky enough to have Rex "sit" for you; you will have a problem free holiday.
GINA EDWARDS (Clevedon , Jul 2016)
No rating Rex house sat for us for a month, looking after our cat who needed daily medication, house and large section. We came home to a very clean house, well maintained lawn and happy, well cat. Rex fitted in well, making friends with our immediate neighbours, their comment coming back to us that Rex was the best house sitter we have had, with the best relationship with our cat. Rex kept us up to date with what was happening at home and sent photos of our cat interacting with him. This put our ... MORE
LYNETTE (Haruru North Island, Apr 2016 - 4 weeks)
No rating Rex did a 4 day house/farm sit for us in March. We also have highland cattle and these animals were no problem for Rex to care for. We were very pleased to have Rex stay on our farm and would definitely love to have him back!
CATHERINE (Papakura North Island, Mar 2016 - 3 days)
No rating Rex was fantastic we arrived home after 6 weeks holiday to find happy content animals an immaculately clean home, he got along famously with family and neighbors. Rex was responsible for not only family pets but an entire farm load of animals ranging from chooks to highland cattle, we would recommend Rex to anyone wanting time out, and look forward to having Rex come back in the future if he is available. Darren & Lynda
DARREN & LYNDA (oamaru, South Island, Sep 2015 - 1 month 2 weeks)
No rating Rex sat for us in 2015. We could not have been any more happy with every aspect of the sit. Such a professional approach to the sit from the house side to the caring of the animals. We would absolutely recommend Rex to any prospective people looking for a house sitter.
GEORGE (Pokeno North Island, May 2015 - 4 weeks)
No rating Rex did an amazing job for us and would recommend him to any-one.Its great to go away and not have a worry to whats happening at home ,knowing for sure that it is in great hands.Thanks once again Rex.
KAREN AND LEO (rolleston , May 2014)
 
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