Fair hourly rate for full time nanny in NOVA?

Hopeful1!

I am looking on care.com for a full time nanny for my twin boys who will be 3 months old when I go back to work (7:30 - 4:30). I also have a 2 year old son who my parents will watch full time, they will also help out with the twins twice a week. We live in Oakton and public transportation isn't available so they would need to have their own car. Most of the candidates on care.com seem to be asking in the $10-$20 range. What do you think is a fair rate to offer?

Also any tips on interviewing would appreciated. What questions should I be asking? I have heard that people write up contracts when they hire someone to outline how you want things done and what your dos and don'ts are. Any advice on that front or if you could point me to online resources would be appreciated. TIA!

Artslvr

There is a lot of good info/advice on this site  Look at the Nanny forums (scroll down, they're toward the bottom). You can even find a Nanny survey that was done a few years ago with info about what people offer as benefits to their nannies (how many vacation days, sick days, health insurance, payroll tax, etc). 

Hopeful1!

Artslvr:

There is a lot of good info/advice on this site  Look at the Nanny forums (scroll down, they're toward the bottom). You can even find a Nanny survey that was done a few years ago with info about what people offer as benefits to their nannies (how many vacation days, sick days, health insurance, payroll tax, etc). 

Thanks!

doggylovr

My best friend has had a part time nanny for her twins and her toddler(she was also home most of the time).  Her husband has been overseas for a year so she really needed the extra hands.  They paid $11 an hour with no benefits...but like I said it was part time and she was usually home, she would sometimes run errands with the toddler or take him to little gym and leave the twins at home.  Her nanny is a 26 year old college educated girl if that makes a difference:-)

 

good luck!! 

Amy&Steve0421

Just an FYI - I tried to get a part-time nanny off care.com and sittercity.com - I had people just not show up w/ both sites - no phone call, no advance warning - just no babysitter at the last minute.  Maybe I am just a really bad interveiwer - who knows?  But it sounds like you do have some backup - which will really help.

We are going to shell out the money for a nanny placement service - because trying to balance my job, seeking out an emergency backup and watching Ben was driving me crazy.  I figure we will either use the money to pay for a referral service (who will send a backup anytime you need one) or pay for my nervous breakdown.  So we picked the agency.

Then again - I know people who have had great success w/those sites - just really vet your applicants.

Good luck!!

Amy&Steve0421

And you can pm me if you want info. on what we are paying, etc.

BirdGirl01

We pay $18/hour - split between 2 families - for our nanny share.  We started when the girls were 4 months old.  Every nanny I interviewed wanted $20/hour for 2 babies (and $16-$18 for 1) if we were going to pay on the books, which was the only option we would consider.  We're in Alexandria though.  I might expect a little less in Oakton.  Honestly, I'd be concerned about hiring someone who agreed to $10 an hour for twins in this area. 

We found our nanny on DCUrban Mom.  I interviewed a lot of nannies who were personal recommendations on our neighborhood listserve, but hired our nanny after she emailed us based on our posting for a nanny share.  I never would have expected to hire someone that way, but she's been great.  

ETA:  Also, keep in mind that federal law requires that you pay overtime at time and a half for anything over 40 hrs per week when you're negotiating an hourly rate.  We didn't run into that issue b/c our hourly rate is $9 an hour, but that was a serious consideration when we were looking at hiring a nanny on our own.  Time and a half for 5 hours a week at $ 27/hour is a LOT of money.  You can back into your rate.  So if you want it to work out to $18/hour for 45 hours/week, you say that the hourly rate is $17.05 and overtime is $25.60 = $810.  The same as if you were paying straight time at $18/hour.