I Wasn't Sent by the Agency, Sir: Hiring an Independent House Cleaner?

October 31, 2012 1:17 PM

Help me hire an independent house cleaner.

I have moved in with my fiance, who leaves a trail of destruction throughout our very small house. I knew this going in, and I don't expect him to change his ways. So... a house cleaner!

* I would like someone who's independent.

* I would like someone who's legal (I have heard enough static from folks in my circle about how this makes me a terrible racist, so it's okay to skip that, if you please).

* I would like someone who speaks some English. I intend to learn Spanish (we're literally the only Anglos on the block) but I haven't learned it yet.

* I think I would like someone who's bonded.

I have been calling people off of yelp, because I don't know where else to look. My friends use agencies or illegals.

I am not a member of Angie's List and would prefer not to pay for a membership.

Our house is less than 1000 sq ft and it's over-cluttered and will be for quite a while, because we've combined two households into one, and things haven't sifted into their place or out the door yet.

I don't mind tidying, but I am completely tired of the endless floor cleaning, vacuuming, and dusting (OMG the dusting!). It's amazing how filthy a tiny house can get after only a few days, probably because we live on a relatively busy street, wear our shoes in the house (this also will not change), leave the doors and windows open, and own a domestic shorthair shedding machine. Add to that plaster from some minor renovations, and we're looking at a LOT of dusting, sweeping and vacuuming for the foreseeable future. I hate it. But I also hate living in it.

Here are my questions:

1) Does anyone in Richmond,California or nearby have someone they can recommend?

2) Do I need them to be bonded? If so, and if they say they are, how do I double check it?

3) How do I know if they're legal? And if I submit a name to whatever agency, will I be getting them in trouble? I don't want to narc on anyone who's illegal, (really, I don't.) I just want my cleaner to be legal.

4) What's all this about FICA and FUTA? If someone comes by once or twice a month for 2 hours do I need to worry about it? I don't mind writing up a 1099 at the end of the year for someone, but I am not interested in dealing with withholding or anything.

5) What's a reasonable amount of money? The first person I called charges $150 for two hours. That seems high to me, but maybe I don't need two hours?

6) How does tipping work?

7) Anything else I should be thinking about?

Thank you!

posted by small_ruminant to home & garden (19 answers total)

Is there a Merry Maids franchise in your area?
posted by Thorzdad at 1:19 PM on October 31, 2012

I got my house-cleaner in Nashville through my hairdresser.

I used Merry Maids in Pittsburgh because I didn't know anyone and it was important that the people were vetted.

I'd use Merry Maids again in a heartbeat, there's something to someone else being the employer, insurer, tax withholder and bonder.

And in Richmond....girl, really, Merry Maids.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:22 PM on October 31, 2012

I hire an independent house keeper. I think she's legal, but other than seeing her Driver's License and the fact she speaks English, I never checked. I called all her references.

I also didn't ask that she's bonded because most independent cleaners are not. A cleaning company is bonded so that the company doesn't have to pay a whole bunch if one of their employees steals something. This is not really applicable in an independent cleaner's situations.

$150 sounds INCREDIBLY high to me, unless it's for two people and for an initial cleaning. I pay about $25 to $40 per hour--depending on how quickly she finishes. I actually pay weekly for the job rather than for time (though I've also done that). For my 950 sq ft, plus laundry, changing sheets, etc, it only takes about 3 hours for weekly cleaning by one person. Your location may be more expensive than mine (Seattle), but that number still sounds unreasonable.

Tipping: tip the cost of one visit before Christmas, if you're getting regular cleaning. If you're not, tip as you would for other one-time services for a cleaning company (i.e. 10-20% like a a hair salon). You don't really NEED to tip individual cleaners for one time jobs, because they usually charge you more anyway.

Tax-withholdings: This depends on if you're an employer or if you're a client. If you're an employer (legally) then you need to deal with tax withholdings. If you're a client, then you don't. It's much more clear cut if you hire a company, but also more expensive (usually 60-120% more expensive). I talked with my cleaner, and we're both clear that I'm a client and she's self-employed as far as taxes go.
posted by ethidda at 1:25 PM on October 31, 2012

Merry Maids is exactly who I don't want. I hear too many things about how poorly they treat their people.

Some of the independent cleaners here are bonded, or so they claim. But how do you check?

Whether you qualify as an employer or not turns out to be complicated, at least in California. You can't just declare that you're not an employer. But I am guessing that if they aren't at my house more than X hours per week, they're definitely NOT an employee?
posted by small_ruminant at 1:35 PM on October 31, 2012

Merry Maids is an independently owned franchise. Each owner is responsible for how he or she treats his/her employees. The folks in Pittsburgh loved their jobs and they were awesome cleaners.

If you still would rather hire someone, ask among your co-workers and friends to see who they have.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:40 PM on October 31, 2012

For this kind of referral, I've had good luck asking around parents' groups. I know you said nothing about children, but these groups can be a good resource for finding reliable cleaners, plumbers, electricians, etc. The Berkeley Parents Network might be a little far-flung for your area but it may help you find a group in Richmond, if you can't find one on Google. Alternatively, is Richmond on Nextdoor.com? Your neighborhood group could be a good resource if there is one.

I'm in Menlo Park, so I'm too far away to be able to suggest anyone, but for reference I use a cleaning company (not Merry Maids, but a small business), and we pay $127 for two people for three hours. $150 for two hours sounds very high, unless it is a team or three or four people.

Using a company gets you out of any California Household Employer issues. Technically speaking, paying someone more than $750 in a quarter makes you liable for payroll taxes. It's not how many hours, but how many dollars. We have a nanny so have to do the payroll tax thing. We use a service to calculate the taxes and do the withholding and everything and it's worth it for a nanny but not really for a cleaner, I'd say. It probably depends on how frequently you want them to come as to whether you would really hit the threshold for payroll taxes.

I totally understand the preference for an independent person, and have used independent people before. We just kept using the same people the previous people were using when we moved in. I've discovered the upside is that you can request specific people if there are people you really prefer, and most of the time I get my preferred person (and tip him at Christmas), but if he's sick or goes home for Christmas (because he's legal!) then someone else will show up at the expected time. That kind of certainty is a nice benefit, but you do pay more to use a company.
posted by ambrosia at 1:40 PM on October 31, 2012

you need to ask around, either friends or colleagues. i guarantee you someone has a housecleaner. that's how i have found mine (and the one before my current one, years ago) and she and her sister came very highly recommended. so far, they are fantastic. they are $20/hr per person and i have her come in for 4 hours every month for my 1300sqft house. she speaks english well, brings her own (green!) supplies.

i'm not a tax lawyer but i do not believe this is an employee situation. this is a service. much like my lawn guy. i pay for a service, not an employee.
posted by violetk at 1:42 PM on October 31, 2012

(And yes, I've heard bad stuff about Merry Maids too.)
posted by ambrosia at 1:42 PM on October 31, 2012

Re bonding, see this page: http://www.businessformsstore.com/house_cleaning_faq#10 Basically, an independent person who is bonded is doing so as an advertising gimmick.
posted by ethidda at 1:42 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Since you're in the bay area, I recommend checking out TaskRabbit. It's basically a better version of Craigslist for finding labor - everyone is independent, you can hire them to do anything, but they're all background checked and depend on their reputation on the site to get more gigs.

I have used it for a variety of things, from work errands to dog walking, and everyone has been extremely courteous, reliable, and trustworthy. My regular dogwalker I just call directly now instead of doing it through the site and she has her own key to my place. In my experience, most of the people on there are grad students, freelancers who aren't that busy, professionals between jobs, etc.
posted by bradbane at 1:44 PM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

Another option, though this may not be what you're looking for, is to find a local crew team that does rent-a-rower. They tend to be college students fundraising, and their team should have insurance, but I would check on what that covers.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 1:52 PM on October 31, 2012

I would cast around for personal recommendations.

The girlfriend of my bff's school buddy cleans houses. She charges $25/hour and comes for two hours every other week. She does an excellent job. She is not bonded.

A coworker uses Merry Maids and pays $80/hour for one person. That seems crazy.

I have recommended her to one friend who now uses her as well. My cleaner gave me a spray bottle of her custom cleaning formula as a thank-you.
posted by MonsieurBon at 1:57 PM on October 31, 2012

bradbane, thanks for the taskrabbit recommendation. I hadn't heard of them.

I am trying out a small agency (! after all that!) who promises they pay their folks a living wage, and are very local. I was seduced by the fluent English spoken by the person answering the phone. (Lotus Cleaning, in case you're curious) They aren't the cheapest ($94 for 2 people for 1.25 hours) so I also have a bunch of calls in to independent people off of yelp, but so far the language barriers have been significant due, I'm sure, to all of the conversations being via telephone, and cell phone reception on top of that.

I am still interested in recommendations.

ethidda, I read that link but I'm not sure why bonding would only be a marketing gimmick, if it does actually cover losses by theft and damage. It seems like an actual, legit value-add, if you'll excuse the business speak.

I have been asking around for two months, and although I know a lot of people who get their houses and apartments cleaned, I don't know any in the East Bay who don't use either an agency or illegals. So I gave up and decided to ask The Hive.

Thank you for all this information, and I'll be grateful for any more!
posted by small_ruminant at 2:20 PM on October 31, 2012

OP, bonding doesn't usually cover damages and injury--only theft and other fraudulent acts. And an independent cleaner should be able to, you know, not steal and not do a subpar job, rather than be bonded. That's why it's a gimmick. (My cleaner DOES carry insurance, but that's not the same thing.) If you search for "What does it mean to be bonded" there are a lot of sites that answer that question.
posted by ethidda at 2:29 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you don't tip you will never keep a good cleaner. I stopped taking women clients because i had too many people interested and women never tip cleaners. Seriously. I cleaned for four years and never cleaned for another woman after the first two.

Bonded is mostly important if you don't trust their references. Insurance might be nice if they're cleaning electectronics or valuables. 150 is reasonable for an initial clean or a one-off. After that 90 per clean is reasonsble.

Never forget that your class allows you to outsouce scutwork.
posted by thelastcamel at 3:18 PM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

I have an excellent housekeeper hired through a local service. She's been with us for 5 years. We've had no problem retaining an excellent cleaner without tipping. I don't tip her because she is a full-time employee paid a good wage with benefits. I do give her a bonus at the holidays which equals one cleaning ($150 bucks).

If you use a local service then you're looking for one which hires employees not causal contractors.
posted by 26.2 at 5:38 PM on October 31, 2012

Oooh! I was hoping you were in the Bay Area! Check out the Caring Hands Workers Association through Mujeres Unidas y Activas! My non-profit hires childcare workers through them and they are awesome and helpful! I know they also can refer housecleaners and I just can't recommend them enough!
posted by The Light Fantastic at 8:24 PM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

This sort of question is also exactly what Angie's List is for. You could ask friends/coworkers if they're a member and see if they'd ask there.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:00 PM on November 1, 2012

I work with an independent person who is more in the $25-50/hour range, and this is also in the Bay Area. She's pretty fully booked, or I'd give you her name. $94 for two people for 1.25 hours is not unreasonable, so if you're comfortable with that agency, that probably makes sense for you.

Also, not to derail, but it is more correct and more considerate to refer to a person as "undocumented" rather than "illegal". More on this.
posted by judith at 9:23 PM on November 1, 2012 [2 favorites]