FULLTIME TEMPORARY POSITION

We are looking for someone to housesit our c. 1863 3BR 2Bath village house in the Western Catskills from Dec 14, 2024 to Feb 13, 2025. Dates are flexible +/- a couple days. The job entails commitment to housesitting, which to us means not traveling back and forth to NYC regularly. We have oil heat so our main objective is to ensure someone is on call should the electricity go out or the oil company needs to be called.

The job also entails cat-sitting our very cuddly adult male cat (who is in excellent health) named Frankie (7yo). This entails maintaining his litter box and feeding him once a day (we have an auto feeder for morning feeds). House-sitting also entails plant-sitting, light yard maintenance (raking leaves, shoveling short snow path to the oil pipe and shoveling village sidewalk when necessary), and receiving mail.

OUR HOUSE
We have recently renovated our c. 1863 home on a riverside road in the Village of Delhi. A furnished and recently painted semi-private apartment for the housesitter is situated on the 2nd floor with comfy queen bed in large guest bedroom. The apartment features a kitchenette outfitted with mini fridge and freezer, 2-burner stove with range hood, microwave, utensils, dishware, and cookware for convenience, although you will have full access to the downstairs kitchen and bathroom as well, which are newly renovated. Downstairs kitchen features an electric stove/oven, microwave, dishwasher, full fridge/freezer, toaster oven, Vitamix, stand mixer, plenty of coffee-making tools, cookware, baking tools. Adjacent to the kitchen is a newly renovated laundry room with high efficiency washer/dryer and laundry-folding counter. Other features of the house include: wood floors and cozy rugs throughout, a sun-drenched dining room where two walls of windows present a beautiful forest view, cozy wood stove, living room with sectional and smart TV, grill and outdoor dining area, and stone fire pit up the hill in the back yard. See photos for reference, but please excuse some of the children's furniture. We have a 3yo and and infant - obtrusive items will be moved out of the way!

ACCESSIBILITY
Steps up from the street to the sidewalk, and up to the house's front entrance. Grassy hill up to the back entrance. Two stairwells inside to the 2nd floor bedrooms. Downstairs bathroom fully renovated with walk in shower. Upstairs bathroom has stand alone cast iron tub/shower. I would not describe our house as wheelchair accessible.

ABOUT DELHI
Delhi is the county seat of Delaware County and boasts conveniences like a supermarket, DMV, gym, and weekly farmer's market that is the largest in the county. Our house is a 5 minute walk to Main Street, where there is a lovely new bookstore, cafe, contemporary and reputable art gallery and community space, coffee shop and bar, and high end restaurant and bar, a pub, a health foods store, and a gorgeous art supply store that hosts workshops and classes. There is a second hand shop in the basement of a church on weekends, and estate sales to explore. The nearby villages also have many lovely attractions to offer. Highest quality food can be purchased directly from local farmers.

The ideal candidate will have their own vehicle. The Village is very walkable from our home, but the supermarket is a bit far on foot with groceries especially in inclement weather.

BENEFITS
FREE STAY
FREE heat, electricity, hot water, WiFi
FREE firewood

MUSTS
Must love cats and have experience taking care of cats. Our cat is VERY cuddly!
Must provide 2 references personal or professional.
Must have your own vehicle.

Couples are welcome but we cannot accommodate housesitters' children at this time. The ideal candidate(s) will value cleanliness, regularly maintaining a living space, and possess excellent communication skills. This would be a good fit for someone who works remotely, digital media artist, or writer.

About This Lister

My husband and I are artists. My husband works as a tutor. I do registrar and archives consulting. We are originally from Louisiana, and we spent 10 years in NYC before moving full time to the Catskills in 2021. We'll be traveling to Louisiana for a month this winter over the holidays with our two children.