Back to the house cleaning idea.. 1st job..

[C.Ann]

Well - I have my first job - kinda sorta.. LOL

My sister sold her house and wants it cleaned from top to bottom before the closing.. Said she would have to hire someone else anyhow (she has health issues) so she might as well pay me instead.. House is pretty much empty so it will be more of the heavy-duty type cleaning - floors, woodwork, windows, etc..

Problem is - I don't know how much I should ask for! Any suggestions?

She also said she's going to pass my name and number on to her realtor, so keep your fingers crossed that I can get something going here.. Hoping to get my DD involved too because she can't work her regular job now and she's feeling very "down" and "useless"..

Has anyone here ever paid for something like this? And if so, what did you think the reasonable charge was?

 

[Otto's Doll]

Hi C. Ann, 5 years ago when I did house cleaning I charged $15 per hour, with all the supplies being provided for me. For a big cleaning (spring or fall) it was $100.
I would call some local cleaning firms in the area that the house you will be cleaning is located to get an idea of how much to charge.
Good luck!

 

[OceanAnnie]

Hi C.Ann,

I'd call a few cleaning services and describe what work needs to be done and ask what they would charge. Then tell them you'll think about it. After getting a few responses you'll get a good ball park of what would be reasonable.

A couple of years ago we had to do this because a tenant just moved their belongings and didn't clean a thing! Ugh. A year's worth of trash, dust bunnies, grimy build up on everything (floors & oven). What a mess. I got a ball park figure. We cleaned it ourselves and sent her a bill for the cleaning. She did pay

The bill was for deep cleaning and it was around $150 - $200 if memory serves me. (Right in line with the going rate.)

 

[QJ411]

DH and I pay $65 every other week for someone to come and clean, they (usually 2 girls) come in once every other week and they're here for maybe 2 1/2 hours. They don't clean our whole house, only 1st floor, 2 bedrooms (we have to keep our dogs in the other room) and only 1 of the bathrooms.

We're actually looking for a new cleaning crew. If anyone know of any in the central Jersey section, please let me know. THANKS.

C.Ann, hope this helped, good luck!

 

[Pop Daddy]

you could pracitce on mine

 

[Disney Doll]

My DSIL pays $60/week for someone to clean her house.It takes 2-3 hours. She lives very near vero Beach FL.

 

[mom2alix]

When we moved from Atlanta here the lady I had who cleaned my house every other week regularly did a final cleaning for me and charged me $75. Her regular rate would have been $125 for that type of cleaning, but since I'd been a regular customer and I passes her card on to the new owners, she gave me a really good deal.

I think she also felt sorry for me since I was already in NE with a 3 month old baby. There was no way I was going to get back to Georgia to clean that house.

Hope that helps!

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

When we sold our house we paid over $300 to have it cleaned by a "Merry Maid" type cleaning service. The house was not that dirty to begin with--just needed all the floors done, dusting, clean our refrigerator and stove, etc.

We were not happy with the job they did for that amount of $$

 

[Serena]

A million bucks sounds reasonable to me.

 

[ladydancer]

I use to clean homes for a living and some were what we called "move outs". Which is what you would be doing. My dil is currently cleaning homes. I had just talked to her a few weeks ago and the going rate around here is $20.00 an hour. They supply the cleaning supplies. Or you could pick up the supplies and she can reimburse you.

Normally we would go into the house to see what needs to be done. Figure how many hrs. work it would take to do the job. Then give the person the $price$ to do the job. If your too high you make extra if your too low you lose money.

Seeing that it is family and your first job, perhaps you can handle it this way. Tell her upfront how much an hr. your going to charge and you'll let her know how many hrs. it took to do the job.

Good-luck

 

[Robinrs]

I've used "move out" services also and the rate depends on so many variables so I would call around in your area to find out how much the average one charges.

 

[C.Ann]

Thanks for all the great replies here! After much thought last night I decided that I am going to incorporate some other services into my business cards/flyers as well.. Elderly Services - such as errands, grocery shopping, etc. - and Vacation Services - plant waterings, cat feeding and kitty litter changes, etc..

Been scouring the web getting info on how to start up and today will call a few local places to see what kind of rates they're charging.. Also hope to call my insurance compant to find out about insurance and bonding..

Sure would be nice if I could get this off the ground as the flexibility would be great in terms of taking my DH - and now my DD - to the doctors when need be..

I'll probably take a run over to my sisters house either today or tomorrow to see just how much has to be done.. I want to be fair, but I also know that a "move-out" will be quite a bit of work..

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated..