The Rise of the House Manager

The Rise of the House Manager

Change the air filters. 

Restock the fridge. 

Schedule an oil change. 

As your family and space grows, so does the amount of recurring tasks required to maintain the household. 

Even the most well-intentioned and organized couples can find themselves seriously miscalculating the amount of ongoing effort required to keep a family running. 

And for single mothers, this never ending checklist can lead to overwhelm and burn out. 

This is where a house manager can help. 

What is a house manager?

Previously exclusive to the financial elite, House (or Estate) Managers help their clients coordinate the day-to-day operations of their household.  

These operators would essentially serve as the chief-of-staff for wealthy families, coordinating the services between other members of the staff such as cleaners, nannies, and chefs. 

They help coordinate house projects, manage relationships with service vendors, oversee household budgets, and can even help with travel logistics. 

For families with multiple properties or valuable assets such as art and other collectables, these estate managers provide consistent oversight across the portfolio of properties, ensuring that they maintain their value. 

A New Era of House Managers 

The concept of hiring a part-time house manager has become more popular for families with working parents, looking for more balance when maintaining their workloads. 

While there are varying job descriptions for these part-time house manager roles, the general consensus appears to be that a House Manager should not be treated as a house cleaner or nanny. 

While they may handle light tasks in these areas such as loading the dishwasher or restocking supplies for your nursery, these duties are typically still managed by people directly in those roles or by the family. 

Ultimately, the specific job description can be decided by the home owners, based on the needs of their family. 

So how could a house manager help you? Here’s a list of things you may want to delegate: 

Household Maintenance 

• Scheduling household maintenance services (ex. Landscaping, pressure washing, etc.) 

• Coordinating emergency maintenance services (plumbers, HVAC, etc.)

• Scheduling deep cleaning services 

Household Organization 

• Opening packages and putting away deliveries 

• Swapping out seasonal clothes 

• Taking down holiday decorations 

• Restocking household supplies 

Light Cleaning 

• Loading and unloading dish washer 

• Loading and unloading the washing machine and dryer 

• Sweeping and vacuuming floors 

• Picking up around the house 

• Washing and replacing bedding 

Meal Preparation 

• Grocery shopping 

• Cleaning/ restocking fridge and pantry 

• Washing/ prepping fruits and veggies 

Childcare Support 

• Researching and coordinating summer camps 

• Scheduling doctors and dentist appointments 

• Organizing kids rooms and closets 

• Sorting and donating old clothes and toys 

Transportation Maintenance 

• Gassing cars 

• Taking cars for detailing 

• Renewing car registration  

Pet Support 

• Walking dogs 

• Feeding pets + Refilling water

• Taking pets to vet appointments 

• Dog daycare pickup + dropoff 

Travel Support 

• Scheduling trips 

• Assisting with packing 

• Prepping guest room for visitors 

Other Errands 

• Returning and exchanging purchases 

• Shipping packages 

• Picking up dry cleaning

• Shopping for gifts 

• Hiring and managing other household staff 

• Order new house supplies

• Assisting with packing 

• Assisting with other property/ assets such as cars and boats 

• Helping to manage rental properties 

To build your own list, you could simply jot down the tasks that come up for you over the course of a month, and then review the list to determine what you’d like to assign out. 

House Management for Every Budget 

$ - Create A House Management Guide

If a household manager does not fit into your current budget or lifestyle, it may still be helpful to go through the process of building out a house management guide. This document would outline all of the recurring tasks required to maintain the household and could be used to divide up tasks between members of the family. 

$$ - Hire Part-Time

Hire a part-time house manager to come in one to two days per week, assigning them specific tasks or small projects to complete during that time. The house manager would be a contract employee paid based on an agreed upon hourly rate. 

$$$ - Hire Full-time 

Full-time house managers typically make over 100K a year, but the specific rates would depend on your location and the complexity of the duties they are assigned. As their full-time employer, you would also need to consider things like health insurance benefits, time off, and retirement planning.  

Where to Find a House Manager 

Service websites such as Care.Com can help you discover local house managers in your area. There are also a growing number of small businesses that specialize in this type of work such as Seaside Staffing Company which has locations in most major metros like DC, LA, and Chicago. You could also post these roles directly on hiring platforms such as Indeed and Zip Recruiter.  

Hiring Considerations 

As always, when hiring someone in the home, it's important to consider the specific skills you need and your family’s safety. In her video, Kaci Diane, emphasized the importance of hiring someone who thinks proactively about the needs of the home. 

For safety, it's important to vet any company that you use for hiring. Ask for references and details on how they handle any issues that may arise. Ensure that any house manager hired has had a thorough background check, including driving records.  

Would you hire a house manager? Let us know in the comments what types of tasks you would delegate.