Property caretaker
Encyclopedia
A Property caretaker is a person, group or organization that cares for real estate
for trade or financial compensation, and sometimes as a barter
for rent-free living accommodations. The caretaking profession includes positions as housesitters, ranch
sitters, bed & breakfast and inn
sitters, property managers, estate managers, and hosts at resort
s or campgrounds.
Caretakers are sometimes utilized by property owners who do not want or are unable to hire a professional management company. In modern times, it is not unlikely for a property owner to hire a caretaker who will not be residing in the property. In fact, many homeowners who rent their properties hire caretakers instead of property managers in order to save money. Caretakers are not licensed by any state or local authority and can often be less expensive than their professional counterparts.
In the UK, a number of buildings have a live-in caretaker whose part-time responsibilities might include letting tradesmen in, taking in parcels and signing for letters, holding keys, vacuuming the common areas, washing the communal steps and windows, etc. He or she will often live in their flat rent free.
Caretaking is historical, rooted in the British
tradition of land maintenance. In 1868, The Times
defined a caretaker as “a person put in charge of a farm
from which the tenant
has been evicted.” Today that definition has been expanded to cover a multitude of landowner/caretaker relationships. The number and diversity of these relationships has increased during the past decade. The property caretaking field has been covered by The Caretaker Gazette
since 1983.
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
for trade or financial compensation, and sometimes as a barter
Barter
Barter is a method of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. It is usually bilateral, but may be multilateral, and usually exists parallel to monetary systems in most developed countries, though to a...
for rent-free living accommodations. The caretaking profession includes positions as housesitters, ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
sitters, bed & breakfast and inn
INN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
sitters, property managers, estate managers, and hosts at resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
s or campgrounds.
Caretakers are sometimes utilized by property owners who do not want or are unable to hire a professional management company. In modern times, it is not unlikely for a property owner to hire a caretaker who will not be residing in the property. In fact, many homeowners who rent their properties hire caretakers instead of property managers in order to save money. Caretakers are not licensed by any state or local authority and can often be less expensive than their professional counterparts.
In the UK, a number of buildings have a live-in caretaker whose part-time responsibilities might include letting tradesmen in, taking in parcels and signing for letters, holding keys, vacuuming the common areas, washing the communal steps and windows, etc. He or she will often live in their flat rent free.
History
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
tradition of land maintenance. In 1868, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
defined a caretaker as “a person put in charge of a farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
from which the tenant
Leasehold estate
A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord....
has been evicted.” Today that definition has been expanded to cover a multitude of landowner/caretaker relationships. The number and diversity of these relationships has increased during the past decade. The property caretaking field has been covered by The Caretaker Gazette
Caretaker Gazette
The Caretaker Gazette is a bi-monthly newsletter connecting property owners wanting property caretakers and house sitters for their property with potential applicants. Subscribers are normally potential applicants and pay for their subscription. In addition to the ads, it carries profiles of some...
since 1983.