Larry K.

If you’re looking for reliable and experienced pet and property sitters who can take care of your home and furry and/or feathered companions while you’re away, we’re it!

We’re Larry & Laurie Kron, a Canadian couple who adore pets and have owned international vacation rental properties and have helped others buy and manage them around the world. We call them vacation rentals here, you may call them holiday cottages, or something else.

We love to travel and make new friends, both human and animal, which is why we started home and pet sitting to explore the world and still get our pet fix. We launched our own vacation rental business in 2002 and started ‘sitting’ in 2005 with a series of sits in California and have been hooked on house swaps, and property sitting ever since.

We’ve done assignments in various places across the USA, Canada, Costa Rica, and have started to book them in Europe. Our most memorable house swap was near Disney World, Florida, where we looked after a 100-acre farm with a 6-foot alligator on site (we checked daily to make sure he was still in his pond). What a thrill!

We’re semi-retiring in 2024. We’ve had up to 9 of our own vacation rental properties in Ontario and Alberta, Canada; Florida, USA; and Guanacaste, Costa Rica. We’ve also helped others acquire dozens of vacation properties across The Americas. Our international realty experience has led to various appearances at Vrbo conferences, NBC News, TheStreet, eRealtyLock, and other sources.

We’re both healthy, fully vaccinated, non-smokers who like to have a glass of wine with dinner. We can’t wait to meet you and our new animal friends, so please send us a message!

Laurie is Canadian, having lived across the country. She’s always had a soft spot for furry friends and has been a happy cat and dog parent for most of her life. However, now her love for travel has taken her away from home for a few months every year. Now, when she’s back home, she pet-sits for her neighbours.

Laurie’s green thumb has taken her gardening skills across North and Central America. She’s even been known to grow a few exotic plants in her backyard.

When she’s not busy tending to her home & garden, Laurie works as a home stager with a side specialty in vacation homes. She’s a creative soul and loves to paint rooms and rearrange furniture on a whim. Have no fear though, she won’t do that to your place unless you ask her to!

Laurie loves to volunteer and help at various charities by setting up displays and events. She’s always looking for ways to give back to her community.

Laurie and Larry have been proud owners of a country home that spanned 2 acres of lawn and, a garden that was an acre in size. They’re always looking for ways to make their yard more beautiful and welcoming. Who knows, what project they’ll work on next!

Larry is a true country boy, born and raised on a 25-acre farm an hour west of Toronto, Canada. He’s done it all, from caring for chickens, ducks, pigs, cows, and even a stocked pond, to looking after cats, dogs, birds (budgies, cockatiels), and aquarium fish (fresh and salt water). He’s even helped birth a calf and rounded up escaped livestock!

Larry’s spent over 20 years doing country chores and has more experience than he ever wanted dealing with pools, hot tubs, wells, and sceptic systems. But hey, at least he knows how to get things done!

Larry’s father owned a construction company, and Larry himself (half the time under his father’s supervision) has almost done it all - drywalling, framing, shingling, tiling, hanging ceilings, windows, and even plumbing and wiring. These days though, he’s more apt to manage a 3rd party contractor for anything but the smallest jobs.
Larry graduated with a computer science diploma and spent the first 9 years of his career working at Microsoft, where he ended up running much of the support group in Canada prior to leaving. For the last 20 years, Larry has owned and worked for various start-ups.

Currently, he runs the sales and operations of an engineering company which he partially owns. Larry’s skills include project management (for multi-million-dollar projects, previously PMI certified) and has been responsible for budgets up to $100M+. Larry is looking to slow things down (at least a little) but loves to be involved in travel and tourism, so he will stay involved in some manner.

Larry is a firm believer in community citizenship and has spent over 10 years serving on the board of directors for local home care, hospitals, and new government-sponsored permanent residents to Canada.
Home is where friends are, and we have the pleasure of having friends around the world!

From downtown Toronto to a country estate west of the city, lakeside cottages, a beachside ocean condo, and even a mountain retreat. We’ve experienced the joys and tribulations of owning and living in properties across North and Central America, Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia. We are well travelled in North America and over 30 countries around the world, gaining experience in a wide variety of homes, climates, and cultures. We’re always on the lookout for new adventures and new animal friends of most shapes and sizes (no snakes, Laurie is petrified of snakes)!

Skills that we have that are somewhat unique is that if you have a vacation rental or are thinking of renting your property Larry and Laurie can help you market, and rent your property. From Laurie’s design skills, our photo skills and Larry can shoot drone (where legal) or GoPro videos to help market your properties.

If you’re looking for a mature, reliable, flexible, and very competent couple to look after your home and pets, then look no further! We’re here to help and would love to hear from you.

Please send us a message and let’s get started!

Best regards,
Larry & Laurie

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