How much in rent worth?
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Anonymous
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I am looking to hire a live-in nanny in exchange for the rent of her living with us. I am wondering what is fair to charge. I have seen a lot of places around NW that are basement apartments being listed for $1400-$1600. So, would it be fair to ask for ~30 hours a week for a nanny in exchange for a basement?
That is about $12 an hour, we don't need anything fancy or a degree or 20 years experience plus she won't have to commute and spend all that money on gas and will have no other house bills (gas, elec, cable, etc....) so we were thinking that seems really fair for both of us. Any guidance DCUM? |
Anonymous
| No. No no and no. Pay her. Don't do just a room exchange. That's a terrible idea. |
Anonymous
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Usually pure work exchanges are along the lines of 10-15 hours/wk. I could see getting close to 20 for a full private apartment, but that would be pushing it. Whomever you hire is still going to need outside employment, and if your job starts approaching full time hours, that becomes difficult.
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Anonymous
Thank you for your input. OK so I'm open to suggestions, let's say its 15 hours for the exchange, is $12/hr for 15 more hours cash fair? Another $720 a month to cover any other personal bills with totally free rent? |
Anonymous
Well say I pay her $12/hr for 25 hours, that's $1200 a month which she would just have to pay back to me for the room, so it seems a little silly. Plus technically if I'm paying her I should deduct taxes. |
Anonymous
| If you think you can get $1400 for your basement just go ahead and rent it to someone. Then get a live-out nanny and pay her. Keep things separate. What you are trying to do will turn into a nightmare for both you and the person you hire (I say person because no nanny will go for what you're proposing). |
Anonymous
Oh dear. |
Anonymous
Good luck with that. You're going have to 1) find someone willing to accept $12/hour AND 2) find someone willing to pay $1200/month to live with their boss. Yes, you deduct taxes. Can you afford a nanny? |
Anonymous
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So, most nannies do not live in the same high-cost-of-living neighborhoods their bosses do, because they can't afford the rent.
If you want a live-in nanny in this situation, you can't expect to "charge" her market rent. You can only expect to charge her a reasonable amount (in time or money) for someone not making a lot of money. If you need the flexibility and reliability of a nanny on-site, then it makes sense to do it. If you need (or want) the income from the rental, then don't have a live-in. |
Anonymous
| I do a rent exchange for a basement apartment and do 30 hrs a MONTH. your situation might work for the right person, such as a college student, but keep in mind that the person will likely still need money for food, transportation, gifts, and just normal living expenses so it wouldn't work for everyone. I also think $12 is low. How nice is the apartment and how much natural light does it get? How noisy is it and at what hours? These things affect the amount of rent you can charge. Also, to open yourself up to more candidates, be open to her bringing another child along and don't expect a reduction in your rate for that. |
Anonymous
| live in rates (room and most food provided) are half of live out rates in most cities in the U.S. and elsewhere. |
Anonymous
| I forgot where I found this information but I remembered reading that you can only value a property being used by a live-in employee at 40% of it's rental value. So if you have an apartment that could rent for $1,000 but hire a live-in nanny who will use the apartment you can only value it at $400 in regards to her wages. |
nannydebsays
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Not really. Many LI nannies actually charge the same or more than a LO nanny for the same job because being a LI is fraught with issues such as being expected by employers to be "on call" 24/7. LI nannies have to be paid at the very least minimum wage for every single hour worked, and it would be almost impossible to find someone good to agree to minimum wage. OP, you need to either rent out your basement apartment OR hire a LI nanny OR rent out the apartment AND hire a LO nanny. You can't try to make money off of your LI nanny. And your statement here:
is a little short-sighted. How will nanny buy food to eat? Personal care products? Health Insurance? Car Insurance? Renters Insurance? Clothes? What about entertainment money? Cell Phone? If nanny is working 30 hours a week for you, when does she get time to earn the $1000+ per month gross that she'd need to actually pay her bills? If you want a LI nanny, start by fairly evaluating hours needed and a decent wage (care dot com has a nanny pay calculator), then take a bit off those numbers for room and board. The Au Pair program allows host parents to deduct 40% of the AP's wages for room and board, which I find to be insane. Actually, there may be IRS rules surrounding this issue that give you a specific number or percentage you may legally deduct! |
Anonymous
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Live in nannies do not pay rent. They make 10-15 per hr. ( less then live out) They are paid on the books and receive benifits. You can't then say ok I paid you x now you pay me y for rent.
The least you can legally get away with paying then is 7.25 per hr which is the federal minimum wage. Rent can't come out of that. |
Anonymous
| OP you have pointed out that any money this person makes will just be handed back over to you. I don't know anyone who makes only enough to pay their bills with no disposable income left over. Of course there are people who make less then their cost of living but they are receiving government benefits such as section 8 or Medicaid or food stamps. Would you also be willing to accept a section 8 voucher for the cost of the apartment? |