An unemployed friend of mind agreed to me hiring him to do some housecleaning for me as I am recovering fron an injury. I have a one bedrm condo 1073 sq feet.

He vacuumed 3 carpeted areas (LR/DR?BedRM)& washed the hardwood floor around the areas the carpet did not cove. He vacummed the carpet in my small walk-in closet and the bathroom. He washed the hardwood floor in my office area, washed the kitchen floor, did thorough dusting in all the rooms (in the living rm I have glass tables & wall unit) , cleaned the bathroom. I did the laundry but he carried the loads for me.

I asked him what I owed him and he said he had no clue whatever I wanted to give him. I paid him $65 and gave him $10 towards his gas because he lives 45 min away and drives a jeep suv.

Was that fair? I have no idea what house cleaning costs.

It all really depends on the area you live in but $75 seems very fair to me. The best way to figure it out is to calculate how many hours it took him to do the work (not counting any time you spent chatting). Then, you divide the hours into the dollar amount to figure out how much you are paying him per hour. Again, depending on the area you live in, cleaning people who work privately (not through companies like Merry Maid who are bonded & insured and cost the client more money) generally charge anywhere between $10 to $20 per hour for their time, sometimes more. So, you and he might agree to a $15 per hour fee.? Up to you guys. If he is happy, that is all that matters.

OK thanks I live in Washington DC

It depends on your area wages and all that stuff, but to me $75 dollars seems quite fair for one days work.

In DC, like NY, & LA, it normally would cost more than $15 per hour. Very easily it could cost you $25 per hour. It sounds as if you are worried you cheated him. Is that the case? If so, don't worry. It sounds very fair for the work performed. If you need a better comfort level on this, why don't you both agree to an hourly rate between the two of you, and make it understood the chatting time doesn't get calculated into the deal. This way you avoid any possible disagreements in the future. You may also want to suggest that he try talking to a few people, and if he finds out he should be charging you more on an hourly basis, to come back and discuss it with you. You don't want to be unfair to your friend, and he doesn't want to overcharge you.

Yes in DC if you hired a outside firm it would be more, but again this was an unemployed person who you are doing a favor for in giving him work,

So if he is happy it is fine

That sounds about right.

Yes I wanted to make sure I did pay him enough and was worried I had not. I told him I would certainly use him again. As one posted said yes I was doing him a favor because I know he needs the money I also did myself one because I had someone helping me whom I know & trust. When I paid him I asked him to be honest and not hold back & tell me if the amount was OK or not. He said it was fine.

I had him take me to do a couple of errands one day last week and he would not take any money for it . I noticed his gas was low so I told him to pull in a gas station and gave him $40 to put gas in his car and he said that was too much but he is very humble and I know appreciative.

When I asked him what he had gotten helping others he said they just gave him what they could. I told him to be honest with me if he felt the money was not adequate and he said it was fine. Next time I will talk about it with him again first.

I do that kind of work and the agency I work for receives $15.00/hr. Which is comparable to this area. You can check other agencies or other personal ads in your newspaper or even call your local Job Service for average rates. But I think you were more than fair with your friend.

Thanks everyone for the feedback and advice

Sounds quite fair to me. I under charge and $7 to $10. An hour is what I average. But with the gas I am thinking of charging at least $5. every 15 miles (I have a vehicle that takes a lot of gas).

Gas eats up any of the profit, doesn't it? I get reimbursed at .40 cents a mile, which still does not cover a whole lot but it helps.