Crazy idea?
![[Post New]](/nanny-forum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| We live in a townhouse community. The townhouse one door down from us is about to be listed as a rental for $1800/month. DH and I had been discussing turning our basement into a nanny or au-pair suite, when it occurred to us that perhaps this was a much better solution. We had been thinking au-pair but maybe this would work for a nanny as well? Is this the dumbest idea ever? |
Anonymous
| What's your idea? To pay the rent on the townhome and have the nanny live there? |
Anonymous
| Yes -- instead of giving up our basement. |
Anonymous
| As long as its financially feasible for you, as a nanny I think this would be a great idea. I would never in a million years consider being a live-in, but in that circumstance I might. |
Anonymous
| For that kind of money just buy a bigger house with an on law apt. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
| That's a lot to pay just for a live-in nanny to use. Even people who have a lot of money don't usually want to pay extra for the room, it should just be more convenient for them to have a live-in and maybe lower the hourly rate by a bit but at no cost to them. The thing with the rental costing so much is that you might feel like you need to decrease that hourly rate by even more to match with what you are spending each month on it. The average nanny though would normally not go and spend that much on their own rent if being a live-out, so you could only decrease her pay by what she would reasonably be paying for her own apartment/room rental if she was a live-out. If that would be only $500-1000/mo, then you would be paying out an an extra $800-1300/month which would be unnecessary. I agree that it would be better for you to find a home with an in-law instead. |
Anonymous
Yes, crazy idea 
You would still be paying an hourly wage for a live-in nanny on top of the $1800, and that really adds up. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
| As a single student I would love an arrangement such as this. If you find someone who doesn't need much income on top of paying the rent it would be worth it. |
Anonymous
|
Two things about it seem tricky. With most live-in nanny arrangements, there's mutual benefit as the nanny gets the value of her accommodations and the employer pays out a combination of actual cost and opportunity cost. In this arrangement you are making a 100% cash outlay for her accommodation. She's getting a great setup for a live in, but she is essentially having the entire cost deducted from her gross wages (since one would assume you could just as easily pay her this extra cash) Between that, and presumabley her still paying for all her own utilities and food, it doesn't seem like that great a deal.
Second, she'd have a separate landlord, right? If the townhouse is part of her compensation, the landlord is really inserted into your nanny relationship if there are any issues. |
Anonymous
|
I can see why you'd consider it, and perhaps it could be a shared rental so more than one person/not full house to nanny kind of situation.
But it is an awfully complicated scenario to imagine - especially when you haven't hired the nanny yet. Managing the nanny relationship well is important, and can be complicated because it is so much more personal than the usual employer/employee scenario. To complicate it even further w/ this housing approach and a separate landlord, w/ leases etc... seems really tricky. What if the nanny doesn't work out? What if you fire him/her or he/she gets another job and you're in the middle of a lease/rental term? Then you're all stuck w/ each other - potentially very uncomfortably for a very long while. What if you adore your nanny but she gets sick, cannot work, and cannot pay rent? What if you end up knowing way too much about her personal life and that ends up interfering w/ boundaries, judgments, etc...? I would guess that you haven't ever (yet) hired a nanny or au pair. It's hard, and fraught w/ possibilities for tension and stress. It can also be a fantastic relationship. I would do all kinds of things for my nanny now - because I know, trust, and value her - that I wouldn't do for a stranger I hadn't yet hired. Be careful. This really sounds like a scary leap to me. |
Anonymous
| I could see this as working IF you had a very specific situation. If you hired a nanny who had a partner and children, she could work for you while her partner brought in other income, and the space would not be too big for them. |
Anonymous
|
If you and the hubby have the financial means to do so, this would be an optimal opportunity for your family to have the nanny close by, but also to give her plenty of personal space.
I think it is a great idea. |
Anonymous
| When I last worked in NYC, I got my regular rates plus a studio apartment in the same building on Fifth Ave. Parents who are particular, and can afford it, will offer you the best they can do. |