£20 a night?

[Silverbook]

How much would you pay for a school pupil to stay in your house while you were away on holiday? Main responsibility is to feed the cat. What’s reasonable?
We were thinking £15-20 but it’s divided the room with half thinking that’s too much and the other thinking not enough.
I’m reaching out the the MN wisdom and the decision here will be final.

I'd join Trusted Housesitters www.trustedhousesitters.com/?gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7PCjBhDwARIsANo7Cgl0JoHPaN9KsrrWxUSa700iSO1J-ZOSrYk7xRBE8X0XLfyyA3iPbdoaAvSUEALw_wcB
You pay a registration fee which will be much less than you were going to pay the 15 year old. After that all Housesitters are free. Been using them for years and without exception all the house sitters have been excellent. Extremely respectful of the house, left it immaculate and very loving and responsible towards our much loved cat. Honestly - even if the 15 year old us a great kid they'll have their mates over and probably terrify your cat.

15 way too young to be responsible for a house and cats for that long!!

But as a petsitter professional I charge £25 a night

Of course it's not too young.

I think £20 is spot on.

For ten days? Aye right.

This! Haha but the moment they turn 18 they have to move out or start paying rent😂 at least have some consistency

I think £20 is very generous!

Are they having to stay the night or will they just be popping in to feed the cat?

I think if they’re having to stay the night then £20 is ok but if they’re just popping in to feed the cat once a day then £5 is enough.
If you can afford it I’d do £10 a day just to give them extra thanks.

Do they know they’ll be getting paid?

I do this regularly for free for my neighbours and would not expect to be paid for it at all.

I lived alone at 16 so eye rolling at a lot of these comments a 15 year old is perfectly capable of being left alone overnight I didn’t have wild parties I was and am an introvert, however I don’t get why they need to stay overnight? I personally wouldn’t have them stay over don’t get why that’s needed

bet the parents suggested it. £200 plus you feed them for 10 days and they don't have to do any parenting over a week

I know, right 🤣

15 is not too young to stay home alone! Mumsnet is crazy.

They're not at home though, they are being responsible for someone else's house! If they live 5 mins away and the only responsibility is to feed the cat why would they even be staying overnight? Why not just go in a couple of times a day to feed and play with the cat, take in the post and check on the house? What is it that they need to deal with overnight in your house?

I don't understand why they have to stay over every night if they live 5 minutes away. Do the cats need to be bathed and tucked in or what?

200 quid for a cat so you can go on holidays? Look I know cats and pets are precious to their owners but seriously?

That kid's parents are laughing out loud at that great deal. Where are they going on hols with your cat's pyjama money?

Should be visiting the house twice a day to feed the cat, not staying there.

I already said in my post I wouldn’t do this situation as it sounds odd but the horror of a 15 year old being alone at night is ridiculous

Their family "stay" 5 mins away? Does that mean they will be living 5 mins away the whole 10 days teen is there?

I would trust my 15 year old not to hold parties but it's not suitable for them to be sleeping alone and fending for themself foodwise for 10 days straight. Pay them to feed the cat and have them stay with their family. If that's not an option, why not?

For a one off night or weekend, maybe. And that would be my own 15 year old (well only my sensible eldest at that age, because I know for a fact my younger two would've thrown open the doors to all and sundry 😂) . However someone else's 15 year old, in my house, alone for ten days? No thanks.

I would check how much in your area a chattery costs.
Thats what you would pay if you didn’t have a house sitter.
Otherwise at 15 they can’t really be responsible if someone brakes in, they’re too young.
So all they are doing is feeding the cat.

Will he be staying overnight in the house alone for 10 days? 15 seems very young for that. I wouldn't be happy having a child responsible for my house and I wouldn't let my 15 year old so it

And yet, they're delighted. They don't have to stay here, they can just drop by to feed the cats, entirely their choice

You can leave a 15 year old in your home alone for 10 days wtf op someone needs to be calling social services.

My 15yo is super sensible but wouldn’t want to sleep somewhere alone at night

You can't leave* I meant

I just prefer somebody in the house and they’ve offered. As for no company and nothing to do…..they just come and go as they please and do whatever they would normally do. They can go home, go out with friends, their part time job….🤷‍♀️

They are too young to be housesitting a stranger's house. A 15 year old shouldn't be living on their own for 10 days, which is effectively what it is.
Why do they have to house sit? Why can't they stay in their parents' house 5 minutes away and come round twice a day to visit the cat?

Their family live in a house that is a 5 min walk from my house.
Fending for themselves is a bit far fetched, they don’t have to be here 24/7 just come and go as they please. Fully expecting them to not be here through the day unless they want to.

But that's your child, presumably this 15 year old is fine. I used to any sit over night at 15, persisting would've been a breeze.

**baby sit