I had a very bad experience with a Nomador home owner who had a Chateau in France. I corresponded with the owner by email and then via Skype. He was happy with my profile and accepted me as a housesitter in his chateau for 6 months.
Once I had identified a flight, I again contacted the owner Richard, who confirmed that I could go ahead a book my flight to Bordeaux.
I booked my flight and as I wanted to be as honest and transparent about who I was, I sent the owner copies of my ID and Police Clearance. I suddenly struggled to get hold of the owner, by email or by phone.My daughter managed to phone him on her phone. He would not help me with my Schengen Visa application... and basically reneged on the deal. I was in shock and stressed out of my mind! How could someone do this. I lost a lot of money on my refunded flight and my visa was rejected. An awful experience on my first housesitting assignment.