Sudbury man turns house-sitting into a long-term housing solution

Faith Greco · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 24, 2025 2:43 PM EDT | Last Updated: 18 minutes ago

For 1 Sudbury resident, location sitting isn't conscionable a impermanent fix—it's a mode of life. What started arsenic a one-time accidental has turned into a strategical lodging solution.

Lasse Borgos has been house-sitting for much than 3 years. While helium plans to determination into a imperishable residence successful May, helium inactive sees house-sitting arsenic a viable lodging alternative.

"It started with idiosyncratic I knew who had bought a spot a spot extracurricular of the city, and they weren't acceptable to determination successful yet erstwhile they bought it," said Borgos. 

Borgos moved successful to house-sit for astir a twelvemonth until the owners, who worked successful the mining industry, were acceptable to instrumentality possession.

"It conscionable truthful happened to beryllium that they knew that I was looking for a spot astatine the time, and they benignant of conscionable enactment 2 and 2 together, and they offered maine the accidental to unrecorded retired connected that spot until they were acceptable to determination in," helium said. 

Word of Borgos' reliability rapidly dispersed wrong the section mining community. His archetypal homeowners connected him to others successful request of a caretaker.

"That led maine to my adjacent one, that was a shorter 1 that was conscionable a mates of weeks. That really led to different akin one, wherever different mining household was going distant for a mates of weeks, and they needed idiosyncratic to look aft their house. That was the 3rd one," Borgos said. 

House-sitting offers flexibility, but not without challenges

Borgos stays successful regular interaction with homeowners, who admit having idiosyncratic on-site to grip unexpected issues. They trust connected him to oversee spot maintenance, coordinate renovations, and let entree to workers successful their absence.

He is presently connected his 4th house-sitting arrangement, wherever helium lives alongside his daughter.

"It was astir similar they felt atrocious for the location that idiosyncratic wouldn't unrecorded successful it. So they benignant of liked the information that it would supply them idiosyncratic to look aft the location successful lawsuit thing happened," Borgos said.

Over the years, Borgos has negotiated assorted arrangements — sometimes paying reduced rent, sometimes surviving rent-free. In immoderate cases, he's adjacent received perks similar a conveyance oregon been paid to house-sit.

But the manner comes with challenges.

Since the spot isn't genuinely his, helium has to abide by homeowner restrictions. Without explicit permission, Borgos explained that helium can't marque important changes, similar coating walls oregon adding idiosyncratic touches, which limits the consciousness of home.

Still, helium says the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

"I would similar thing much permanent, but astatine the aforesaid clip it does payment the renter if you bash get a reduced complaint truthful that you tin benignant of unrecorded supra your means," helium said. 

As Borgos prepares to participate the lodging market, helium said, "I've been rather fortunate to beryllium capable to unrecorded connected a reduced rental complaint for the past three, 4 years. So that's going to beryllium a spot of a world check, but, I mean, that's nary antithetic than everyone other retired determination that is renting currently."