Money Matters
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How much to pay a housesitter?
How much would you pay per-day for a housesitter to live at your house (or at least stay over all day?) The person is a college student and their only responsibility would be to let the dog in/out and feed him twice a day? I've looked all over the internet and see a HUGE range, so I wondered what some of you do.
Re: How much to pay a housesitter?
My sister pays her housesitter to do basically the same thing you have above except she has two dogs (if that makes a difference) $25/day.
Depending on the area, my Mom lives in Northern Cali and she pays $40/day (she has a dog, cat and two goats). In Southern Cali I've paid $75/day to have someone spend the night, letting our two dogs out at night and in the morning.
But where you are I'm sure it's a lot cheaper.
When I was in college I used to do this for an adult co-worker on a regular basis & a few other people less frequently.
The one I house-sat for on a regular basis had 3 dogs and 5 cats that I had to care for. I was paid $50/day in rural south Georgia, but it was pretty involved and I had to change the HUGE litter box and scoop up big dog poop everyday. Not to mention, two of the dogs had strict dietary needs. However, I did get to spend the entire time at their nice house and eat whatever food I wanted (they always stocked up for me!)
The others usually paid me $20-$25 a day, but I didn't stay at their houses. I just had to go by there at least twice a day and check on/feed the doggies. They usually left me a tip though...in your situation I think this amount is fair. Most college students are just thrilled to have the extra cash, so I'm sure they'll be appreciative.
I agree, but you should discuss with the house sitter. Where does college student live in relation to the house? Is it worth it to them?
I house-sat one time, and the family lived rather far out from the City. They begged me to house-sit, and wanted me to stay there. I was young and stupid, so when they said they would 'pay me well' I didn't want to be rude and discuss a specific price.
Their version of 'well' wasn't even enough to cover my extra gas money due to driving an extra 50 miles/day.
I learned my lesson about establishing expectations up front!A Little Bird and a Monkey Butt
I work a full time job and dog/house sit on the side.
The first family I get paid $10/day for one dog and they provide me with groceries or grocery money. I stay at their house and enjoy all the amenities. I just need to give the dog one 20min walk a day. He's an older dog, and feed him 2x a day. He has a dog door to let himself out all day.
Another family has 6 dogs and I get $5/day per dog ($30/day) with groceries and all the amenities of the home. I'm not required to walk the dogs. I stay at their home too.
I live in West Central TX.
We pay $20/day for our dog sitter, but she doesn't stay at the house. She comes over 3 times per day, feeds the dogs 2x per day, takes them for walks, lets them out, plays with them, and cleans up any messes they happen to make. We have 2 dogs but she charges per day, not per dog, so it would be $20 even for just one dog.
She also brings in our mail, turns lights on/off to make it look like somebody is there, etc.
When I was a dog sitter I charged $25.00 for overnight stays. I live in northern Ohio. That was my weekend rate, my weekday rate ranged from $25.00-$35.00 depending on location. The reason for the difference is on the weekend, I could just stay at the clients house the whole weekend. During the week I needed to get to my regular job, if the location would add to my commuting cost (gas for being further away), then I would charge closer to the higher end of my range.
Now for our dog sitter, we paid him $20 a night, but because he didn't drive, so we made sure to have food in the house that he ate.