Anonymous wrote:We are buying a house with a full one-bedroom apartment in the basement and so are considering a live-in nanny. How does pay work? Do you give them free rent and then pay them as well? How much do you discount the pay since the rent is free? Or do you set a rent, have them pay it, and then pay them like a regular nanny? Any suggestions would be welcome -- this is an idea we've never really considered before. Thanks in advance!
No, you pay them slightly less than you would pay a live-out nanny per hour, and you do not charge rent. For example, if you need a nanny 50 hours a week, and would pay a LO nanny $15/hour, you would pay a LI nanny $13/hour.
The nanny not having to pay rent is offset by the nanny living at work. Although I am sure you would not take advantage of the nanny living under your roof by constantly asking her to watch the kids "for a minute" when she is not scheduled to work, many many employers do just that. Therefore, a LI nanny winds up being considered to be available to work "on call" without extra pay, and that big negative means a very low wage is not acceptable.
If your hope is to "make enough" on rent to pay a nanny, you'd be better off just renting your bsmt apt out to someone willing to pay market rate, and then using that money to pay a portion of a LO nanny's wages.