How much would you pay this person?

[J-rap]

Someone watching your house while you're gone...  mid-winter.  They live right next door, so it probably takes 5-10 minutes out of their day (on days that they walk over there and check on things).  Every two-three days, they walk over, make sure the heat is on, check the basement to make sure a pipe hasn't frozen and caused a flood, make sure a light or two is on somewhere in the house.  They pick up any flyers that are left on our doorstep.  Of course, they are always observing from a distance, to make sure nothing looks suspicious.

How much would you pay them for a month?  (Someone else is shoveling.)

[May]

I’d probably pay about $5 a day. If you were a neighbor that I was friendly with, I wouldn’t accept any money😊

[Kidlit]

I was thinking $100, but ditto what May said about the friendly neighbor. 

[J-rap]

I'd been thinking around $100 too.  We haven't known the couple for too long.  They just moved in about 6 months ago, so I do want to pay her, even though she was very happy to help.

[MEmama]

Maybe a gift certificate to a nice restaurant in town? I can't imagine a neighbor accepting cash, honestly, unless of course it's a kid (or some other special situation). 

We have a nighbor who has hired DS to take in the mail, shovel the walk and so forth while they are away, and paid excessively well. Her rationalisation was that she wanted to reward his responsibility and hard work. Had it been me doing it I would never accept payment, and would hope that was understood. Neighbors should just help each other out without question,  in an ideal world. 

[J-rap]

6 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Maybe a gift certificate to a nice restaurant in town? I can't imagine a neighbor accepting cash, honestly, unless of course it's a kid (or some other special situation). 

We have a nighbor who has hired DS to take in the mail, shovel the walk and so forth while they are away, and paid excessively well. Her rationalisation was that she wanted to reward his responsibility and hard work. Had it been me doing it I would never accept payment, and would hope that was understood. Neighbors should just help each other out without question,  in an ideal world. 

I wouldn't accept money either, myself, but this is a young family and I know they struggle financially.   But, a gift certificate to a restaurant in town is a good idea too.

[MEmama]

1 hour ago, J-rap said:

I wouldn't accept money either, myself, but this is a young family and I know they struggle financially.   But, a gift certificate to a restaurant in town is a good idea too.

In that case, it might make sense to offer cash. 

[mmasc]

I was thinking $100-150. 

[Beth S]

Yes, we paid a friendly neighbor to do this for my in-laws.  $100 per month.
If they are uncomfortable with cash, then you could offer to babysit or bring a meal = plenty of bartering opportunities (which are very valuable)!
You could make solid offers to shovel their driveway or mow their grass.

Edited February 25, 2019 by Beth S

[Scarlett]

Yep $100 a month.  Cash.  It is so nice to have good neighbors.

[Annie G]

I’d pay $75 to $100, in cash, tucked inside a thank you card. If she protests you can tell her you appreciate what she did for you and that she is free to donate it. That way she can take it and use it without embarrassment. 

I understand the gift card sentiment but when money was tight for us, I really didn’t enjoy a fancy meal out that cost as much as groceries for several days. 

[marbel]

Cash or a gift card to a local grocery store.  $75 to $100.

Restaurants are OK if the card will cover the full cost.  We have given away lots of gift cards we received from well-meaning people who didn't consider that the card value didn't cover what it actually cost to eat there.  And that's fine for someone who has some funds to eat out, but when you have none, it's either a burden or a waste.  

Amazon gift cards are great for people who are Amazon shoppers already. I love them, and as a prime member the entire value of the card goes to stuff, not shipping. (I know people can order enough stuff to get free shipping, but I don't know what that level is.)  I know quite a few people who have never purchased from Amazon and feel no reason to start and would see no point to a gift card. 

Edited February 25, 2019 by marbel

[katilac]

34 minutes ago, marbel said:

Restaurants are OK if the card will cover the full cost.  We have given away lots of gift cards we received from well-meaning people who didn't consider that the card value didn't cover what it actually cost to eat there.  And that's fine for someone who has some funds to eat out, but when you have none, it's either a burden or a waste.  

 

This is exactly what I was going to post. We've had a gift card sitting around for two years because it would still cost us a fair amount to go -  and it's not a place we would pick ourselves, so a discount isn't that helpful. 

But I would go with $100 cash in a card. It's a nice amount for them but also cheap for what you're getting. 

Edited February 25, 2019 by katilac

[J-rap]

Thanks all...  That's really helpful.  I'll plan to give her cash, or cash on a card.  It's a real peace of mind to have her keep an eye on things while we're gone -- that's worth a lot!

[Catwoman]

We pay considerably more than has been suggested here, so I won’t be much help, but I did want to strongly suggest that you turn off the water to the house and drain the pipes to avoid things like pipes freezing if the power goes off, or even a flood due to a sudden leak in a pipe. You would be amazed at how much damage a tiny little pinhole leak can do in a very short time.

[J-rap]

4 hours ago, Catwoman said:

We pay considerably more than has been suggested here, so I won’t be much help, but I did want to strongly suggest that you turn off the water to the house and drain the pipes to avoid things like pipes freezing if the power goes off, or even a flood due to a sudden leak in a pipe. You would be amazed at how much damage a tiny little pinhole leak can do in a very short time.

Good point.  We HAVE had problems with pipes freezing in the past.

[Pawz4me]

7 hours ago, Catwoman said:

We pay considerably more than has been suggested here, so I won’t be much help, but I did want to strongly suggest that you turn off the water to the house and drain the pipes to avoid things like pipes freezing if the power goes off, or even a flood due to a sudden leak in a pipe. You would be amazed at how much damage a tiny little pinhole leak can do in a very short time.

Ditto this, and turn it off at the meter if at all possible. It's easy to do--there's just a screw like thing that you turn. You can do it with a wrench or pick up a special tool (I think they're usually called meter keys) at Lowe's or Home Depot for about $10. We recently had a leak in our main water line that was under the house but before the cut off. It would have been a massive disaster if we'd been gone when it happened. We have a neighbor who keeps an eye on things, but just in a when-he's-driving-by kind of way, from the outside. And if we're gone for a longish time my brother will drive by and check on things occasionally. By the time either of them noticed water pooling in our yard there's no telling how much damage would have been inside.

[J-rap]

19 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

Ditto this, and turn it off at the meter if at all possible. It's easy to do--there's just a screw like thing that you turn. You can do it with a wrench or pick up a special tool (I think they're usually called meter keys) at Lowe's or Home Depot for about $10. We recently had a leak in our main water line that was under the house but before the cut off. It would have been a massive disaster if we'd been gone when it happened. We have a neighbor who keeps an eye on things, but just in a when-he's-driving-by kind of way, from the outside. And if we're gone for a longish time my brother will drive by and check on things occasionally. By the time either of them noticed water pooling in our yard there's no telling how much damage would have been inside.

This is something I should have done.  (Too late this time.)  Actually the first year we were away during the winter -- the year of dh's "health event," I wasn't paying attention to anything.  A good friend stopped by (his own idea) to check our home about once/week, and during a real deep freeze, he found that our heater had died.  Three out of our four main pipes had frozen and split, and our entire first floor and basement were flooded.  So, yeah... we've been through all of that.   It has never occurred to me that I could just turn off the water.  Next year...  (Although hopefully we won't be in our home next year!  Putting it up for sale this summer.  -smiley face -- but I won't actually make the smiley face because of the giant emojis!)