How much should I pay a housesitter?

[Anonymous]

We are going away for two weeks but we have a couple of pets (cats, fish). A former colleague with whom I've stayed in touch said she'd be happy to house sit while we're gone. She works but will live here during that time.

Any thoughts about how much I should pay her? We're very friendly and she was totally enthusiastic about helping us out. I was thinking $300 for the whole two weeks. Does that seem fair? Low? Thanks for any advice!

[Anonymous]

Seems low to me, but I have two dogs. I asked the same question a couple of weeks ago on this forum and got wildly different answers. I decided to look at some pet sitting services and figure out what it would cost me to have someone come in four times a day, walk the dogs, and sleep over, and based on that I am paying $75 per night. Maybe that is too much, but it is still a lot less than boarding two dogs at a nice kennel, and they will be happier.

[Anonymous]

$300 is on the low end. I'd raise it to at least $350.

As long as your pets aren't high maintenance, it might be okay. I'd stock the fridge for her with food she likes. Buy some wine or beer too. Or maybe put together a gift basket with various coffees/breakfast/snack stuff.

[Anonymous]

I pay my dogwalker $80 a day to live at the house but it seems like you can go lower with a personal acquaintance who is doing you a favor -- that you would be expected to reciprocate in some form down the line.

The other critical issue is how much of an upgrade is it for the person to live in your house for awhile. Are they living with roommates in a dump and no cable tv or central air? Then living at your house should be a bit like a vacation for them. But if they already have these amenities and it takes them longer to get to work, well, that suggests making up for the inconvenience financially.

Yeah, $300 is low. I would in crease it but I think it depends on your overall relationship with this person and how much they are going out of their way to help you.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks so much for the advice. I, too, decided it was low based on other research, and will pay her $200 to $250 a week, in case anyone else wants to know!