Appropriate price for a house-sitter?

My boyfriend and I will be going up to NC for a weekend late in the month, and we need a pet-sitter. One of my dogs is a bit psycho, so we'd love for someone to be able to house-sit as well.

Coincidentally, my boyfriend has a friend who is currently...

homeless, she's been bouncing from friend to friend until she gets enough money to find a place of her own.

We decided to ask her to housesit...she agreed immediately. Now I'm wondering, how much would be an appropriate price to pay her, per day? I thought since we'd basically be giving her a place to live, that would be enough, but my boyfriend feels we should pay.

How much would you offer, per day?

When I went to Seattle for 9 days, I paid that girl $80 a day...BUT, she had two dogs (one very large and active), three horses, and a cat to care for...It was all under the table, so what I gave her, was hers in total. You have two little dogs (but one psycho ), right?

Since she's homeless, but trying to get money together to get a place...plus she's a friend...for the two days, I'd give her $75 to $100...if she was a GOOD friend, I'd probably give her $200.

p

I've looked through some house-sitting websites before, and they're usually a straight-swap deal. Someone wants accommodation + someone wants a house-sitter to take care of the pets = everyone wins. So you are right, she is doing you a service in exchange for a free place to stay.

However if you feel like it's appropriate to pay her, seeing as your dog might be a tough job for her to take care of, you can perhaps pay her utility costs. Keep in mind that she may feel awkward receiving money from friends, so how about buying her something nice in NC and/or taking her out to a nice place to eat when you get back?

I suppose the best option is, as her friend, is to ask her what she's more comfortable with.

I agree you shouldn't pay her anything but I would just give her about 20 or 30 bucks for a couple of days. Just somthing that she could order a pizza with or somthing.

I agree with mysterywolf try giving her some thing useful for her to use when she gets her new house + a prezzie +$100 bux for been a great help!!
lol
hope this helps!!
x

If she's a close friend of you and his,I would probably say pay her at least $20-30 a day,that way when you guys come back she may have enough money for herself to get a place to live.

Pet sitting, minimum $10/day, you'd pay at least that to board them, probably more. House sitting, well it sounds like it's mostly for the animals, so it's really up to you. If you think she's an honest person and just trying to get along, I'd say $30/day if you can afford it. It's only for the weekend. But homeless or not, she's providing a service, I think she should be paid.

free food.
: ))