Can anyone help me to find a cleaner? We are near Villefranche du Perigord and have been unable to rent out our house for the last 2 years, due to the difficulty of finding a good, responsible cleaner. Is a notice in the local boulangerie the only way? Thanks for any help.
Might help to say where you are as this would be a very localised requirement - perhaps edit your post?
There are some on SF who provide such services such as @tim17 who might be able to provide some advice.
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Thanks Graham. Done!
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My friends would do it but they are near Bergerac so probably not worth their while ?
Are you resident in France? ie eligible to use CESU scheme?
Many legit cleaners now are cheque emploi only as easy for them. You could ask an aide à domicile company but they will charge you 23€/h+, and may not be prepared to take on something that is a business.
The best option is usually word of mouth. Ask all the people who also rent out in your area.
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Also try an advert in Gens de Confiance the chateau next door use them successfully or Leboncoin.
If you need a referral for Gen Dr Confiance send me a message.
Thank you Peter - but we are about an hour and a quarter from Bergerac so it wouldn’t be worth their while.
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I would say always go on recommendations and avoid cleaning companies. You pay more for them but their employees don’t see more than the minimum wage and that is often reflected in the quality of the work that is done.
You would be better off finding someone locally willing to do it and paying them a good wage so that they are willing to go the extra mile.
Also as @JaneJones said try the CESU scheme. It’s a very good way of employing someone without too much hassle. You pay out more each month but you have a 50% rebate on your income tax. For 100€ net wages, (2 hours/week at 12.50€ an hour), you can expect to pay around 70€ monthly in social charges. Half the total amount paid in each tax year is then deducted from your taxes.
I calculated this to see if it was worth getting a cleaner this year. Instead of paying tax, I get just under 1000€ back! I consider that well worth the extra monthly spent and I won’t have to clean the bloody shower anymore!!
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I’m not sure if non-residents are eligible to claim rebate for CESU? Presumably OP is non-resident otherwise she would have cleaned the house herself?
But a great scheme! We have a cleaner this way (but such a dearth locally that thy charge more than minimum).
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@JaneJones I don’t think they can if they are non residents. Like you say if they were on site, then surely they would clean the gite themselves to be able to rent it
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But very useful information all the same Thank you.
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This was all very helpful, thank you all for your replies. I know one person locally who rents out but he and his family are adjacent to the gîte so do all the work themselves. But he might have some ideas!
Good luck, too far for me (I’m between Bergerac and Perigueux) to help out otherwise I’d be happy to do caretaker and changeover duties.
Thanks for replying. Could you move a little nearer?!
Your local supermarket may have a small ads board for customers? you may well find someone offering their services. Or you could see if customer services desk will help you put your own ‘Help wanted’ card up.
Aide ménagere, which can include things like babysitting, gardening, diy etc as well as cleaning, is deductible up to quite a high amount off your income in France. YMMV but if possible could be worth making a point of following @DeTolkTW 's suggestion?
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The mairie?
I’m going to follow up all your helpful suggestions. Thank you. I’m also looking for a pool expert but that’s probably asking for a lot!
no sorry about that!