Caretaker for Vacation Rental - anyone have a formula?
We have 5 properties in the mountains, upstate NY that we rent by the night and week, year round. We live 4 hours from these properties.
We are FINALLY ready to hire someone to Caretake them all - we're not calling it Property Management because they will not be renting them, I will continue to be responsible for that. We want someone to take the responsibility for maintenance, emergency plumbing calls, guest problems, pest control, stocking guest supplies and management of the people who do lawn care, plowing, housekeeping, etc. off our hands.
So, my question is, has anyone done this for the Vacation Rental properties? Do you have a formula for how to pay, list of responsibilities, etc?
We are thinking a monthly retainer (such as $150-200) that will cover 7.5-10 hours of whatever they do. Anything over that we will pay $20 per hour. This is in an area where the average job pays $8 hr. There will be some months where very little will be required of the Caretaker, but to keep them on call we feel a retainer is necessary.
We have a woman who is also a friend who we trust that would really like the job - we're just not sure how to compensate and want to make sure we are clear on the responsibilities.
Any suggestions would be helpful.