'I haven't paid rent since last February': Young yoga instructor, 27, has travelled the world and saved $20,000 in a year minding other people's houses... so could YOU be a nomad?

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A woman has revealed how she has lived in trendy apartments, a Melbourne mansion, a New York abode and a villa in Bali without paying a cent on rent in a year.

Rowie Geaerts, 27, has lived in 15 properties since she started house sitting when she needed a new place to stay following a break-up with her boyfriend.

The yoga instructor estimates she has saved $20,000 in living expenses by looking after other people's homes while the owners are on holidays.

'I haven't paid rent since February last year,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

The Melbourne woman landed her first free accommodation early last year in exchange for a promise to look after a friend's Byron Bay property.

Melbourne yoga instructor Rowie Geaerts (pictured house-sitting a villa in Bali) has looked after 15 properties without paying a cent on rent for nearly a year

The 27-year-old yoga instructor has since managed to save up to $20,000 in living expenses

From there, she minded her sister's apartment in Collingwood on the condition she watered all her plants.

'My sister went to New York for a couple of months so she needed someone to look after her place,' Ms Geaerts told Daily Mail Australia.

'Her place is beautiful, and it's close to great restaurants and bars. I got to explore that part of town which was new for me.'

At the time, Ms Geaerts had plans to travel to New York to stay with her sister for a month but was hesitant to sign a long-term lease for her own place.

So she decided to find her accommodation via social media, by asking her family and friends whether they needed their place looking after.

'After looking after my sister's place, I didn't have anything lined up,' she explained.

'So I wrote a post on Facebook asking anyone if they were looking for a house-sitter. Within hours, I had places sorted for the rest of the year.'

And from there, house-sitting quickly turned into a full-time job.

'I didn't intend to house-sit for a year but all these places came up,' she said.

'The opportunity sort of happened organically. Things just come to me naturally so I was very lucky - and it has been an amazing opportunity.

'Some days, I wonder where I would be moving into next - and eventually I would have a place sorted for next week. It's funny how things unfold naturally.'

The woman (pictured at her sister's apartment) landed her house-sitting job last February

Ms Geaerts was hesitant to sign a long-term lease on a place when she travelled to New York to stay with her sister for a month - rent free! (Pictured: riding a bike in Central Park, NY)

She has been looking after homes - and even pets - while the owners are on holidays (pictured a friend's cat living in a Northcote property)

She revealed how she has been able to save tens of thousands of dollars since house-sitting

From there, she was bouncing between a warehouse-turned-apartment and a stunning mansion in St Kilda to a jungle-themed unit and 'little houses with character'.

She has lived in properties across Melbourne - from St Kilda and Richmond to Prahran and Hawthorn - and even spent a month in New York with her sister.

Mrs Geraerts revealed how she has managed to save tens of thousands of dollars since she took on the role.

'It's pretty amazing. I have been able to save so much on bills and rent,' she said. 

'I've saved around $20,000 in the last year without even trying really. I do buy most of my meals out but I still managed to save a lot.

'I could use my savings to buy a house or make a deposit but I'm not going to,' she said as she laughed. 

Her favourite property was a friend's villa with waterfront views in Bali.

'One of the more amazing places I've looked after was a villa in Uluwatu - it was wonderful,' she said.

'It was a beautiful traditional villa with a pool and close to the beach.

'My twin sister and two girlfriends came and we just had a rally nice impromptu girls trip with the house sitting opportunity there.'

House sitting has offered her an experience to explore parts of her city she has never been to (Pictured going on a bush walk in Byron Bay, NSW)

Perks of house-sitting of living an enjoyable lifestyle is not paying rent (pictured in Uluwatu)

Some of the apartments she looked after involved watering the plants (pictured in Richmond)

The young woman said she most of her house sittings are in Melbourne, which was convenient for her because her job is based in the city

The young woman said she most of her house-sittings are mainly in Melbourne, which is convenient because her job is based in the city.

Not only has the opportunity been a great way to save money, house-sitting has offered her an experience to explore parts of her city she has never been to.

Her stay ranges between one week to a month - and she admits she has no problems with being on the road constantly

'I've been able to see a lot of Melbourne,' she said.

'If I did settle for a place now, I know exactly where the areas I want to live in. I definitely know where the best places are to rent or buy a home.

'I feel like if you live in the same area for so long, you sort of just go to the same places. But I've been moving around, going to different bars and cafes.

'It has been a good experience and you feel less materialistic when you move around, which is nice.'

And when it comes to looking after someone's home, she usually checks with the owners first to make sure she's allowed to have friends over. 

'I think it's always good to check with the people on their expectations of you as the house-sitter in terms of whether you can have friends over and to stay,' she said.

'It's just a mutual respect thing, you treat the house the way you'd like your house to be treated. Because I've been house-sitting for friends, there's never been any formal conditions besides the whole mutual respect thing. 

'Generally the people I've house-sat for have been very casual, friendly and trust me to look after the place and do what I want within respectful boundaries.

'I wouldn't have friends stay with me without the consent of the homeowners and I wouldn't throw house parties either. But casual dinners with friends I think is fine.'

She said there are many perks to house-sitting, including free rent and meeting new people

House sitting has offered her an experience to explore parts of her city she has never been to

She decided to find her accommodation via social media, by asking her family and friends whether they needed their place looking after (Pictured a friend's apartment in Prahran)

And other perks with living the luxury lifestyle without paying rent?

'House sitting has given me freedom,' she said.

'I haven't sacrificed anything in my social life. I found myself more social than I ever was. I have been able to go out more. I've become so much more of a "yes" person.

'I've made good connections with people I've house-sat for. I've also made new friends by looking after their places or their pets.'

Her stay ranges between one week to a month - and she admits she has no problems with being on the road constantly.

'There hasn't really been a challenge for me,' she said.

'I had a stable life for a long time. But I have since been able to live out of a backpack. All my clothes are for yoga so I don't need any ironing.

'I can definitely live out of my car because I'm always moving around so much. I guess a con to house-sitting is sometimes it would be nice to have stability.'

The 27-year-old has looked after 15 properties without paying a cent on rent for nearly a year

She turned to house-sitting when she needed a new place to stay following a break-up

She said there are many perks to house-sitting, including meeting new people

And she warns the job isn't suitable for everyone.

'There are certain types of people who could house-sit,' she explains. 

'You need to be carefree and easy going. I'm always house-sitting for friends so I've felt really comfortable in their homes.

'Most of the time, I'm staying by myself but there has been two places where I've lived with roommates. So it's important to get along with people.

'Be flexible and gain their trust. You need to have a fairly easy going attitude to be able to do it.

'Never be afraid to ask around. I've always done it through Facebook so it's really good to ask friends.

'Help friends out if they're going away. And it's really helpful for people who need to have their pets looked after rather than putting it in a shelter.

'So it's important to know that you've got something to give back as well.'

For her next plan, Ms Geaerts will be moving to India for three months to do a yoga course - and she already has free accommodation sorted.

'I'm going to India with all the money I saved up,' she said.

'I'm going on a work exchange so I don't have to pay for accommodation. I don't plan on coming back for a while - I don't have a lease or anything to come back to.

'I haven't decided what to do after India but I'll look at house-sitting in America and Europe next. I'm not going to rule it out just yet.'