Pay for house cleaner or do it myself?

[aspentosh]

We're renting out our house and so it needs to be deep cleaned before the tenants move in. DH wants to pay for a "move out cleaning" (probably $250ish) while I want to DIY and save the money. WWYD?

Other factors:
We'll have a 5 month old (this may be what sways me)
We'll be moving into our new house, which will also need to be cleaned and put together
The house is only ~5 miles from our new place
We'll have about two weeks between when we move out and when the new tenant will move in
It's not a huge house- about 1300sq ft

[heygrey]

i'm super cheap and even i would pay in this situation, provided you have the cash for it.

[ECB]

I'd pay.

[thedash]

If you didn't have the baby I think cleaning it yourself would be reasonable, if you really didn't want to spend the money. With a 5 month old I would definitely try hard to find room in the budget for the cleaner.

[mrssandro]

I would pay. Mainly if you have a baby to take care of.

[Deleted]

If $250 is an easy expense for you, I'd pay. I think it also depends on how "deep" you'll need to clean. If the place is really dirty, I think $250 is a steal. If it just needs a good dusting/wiping/vacuuming I'd be more inclined to just spend a few hours doing it myself. If you're all moved out and don't have to clean around furniture/pictures/clutter it will be much easier. Especially if you can do things in waves (like wipe down all the cabinets as you pack the stuff in them, clean the stove ahead of moving out, etc).

Also I guess depends on if you have someone to watch your kid while you clean. I wouldn't want to have to have the child present while doing it.

Our last home was a 1200 sf condo and I wouldn't have paid someone $250 to clean it because it only took a few hours and wasn't that hard.

[shell403b]

cleaners. cleaners. cleaners. hell to the no to doing it myself. I'm super lazy.

[raangoli]

I would rather pay for the new house to be deep cleaned. Why? Because I figure that when the tenant moves in, they will want to clean it themselves. Even if my landlord told me that the house/apartment has been professionally cleaned, I wouldn't trust someone else.

Although the same can be said of your new house, but if you're the one hiring the cleaners for the house you're moving into, I'd be more willing to trust the level of cleanliness.

[roadhead]

Having the new place cleaned to my satisfaction seems more important to me than paying for someone to clean the old place. You know your house better than I do, but I'm assuming it won't need too much scrubbing- just a wipe-down and a vacuuming. I hate other people's grime, though, and would totally pay someone to deep clean for me before I moved in!

[Roc A Bee]

Are they getting in the cabinets and wiping everything down? Hell yes, I'd pay. If it is just a vacuum and wiping down the counters, I'd do it myself.

[Deleted]

I hate cleaning. I would pay.

[Roc A Bee]

Also, I would pay for the house I was moving into to be deep cleaned. Every house I've moved into, I've cleaned it beforehand, so it is likely your tenants will just clean again.

[sratsey]

I was in exactly your situation and in the end I cleaned it myself but my daughter is 3 and she was in school that day. It's exhausting and you have a baby to worry about plus everything else.
PAY.

[gt7301b]

I would pay. I hate cleaning and it takes me FOREVER!

[aspentosh]

May 23, 2012 12:21:53 GMT -5 Roc A Bee said:

Are they getting in the cabinets and wiping everything down? Hell yes, I'd pay. If it is just a vacuum and wiping down the counters, I'd do it myself.

According to the guy I talked to- they clean everything inside an out, including appliances and all cabinets.

I've been cleaning as I go, but with two drooly dogs it's not easy. DH has helped, but I still can't help but think it might be nice to NOT deal with it.

And we are definitely having the new house cleaned before we move in!

[phunluvin82]

I just moved in January and the renters of our old place stipulated that they wanted it professionaly cleaned before agreeing to sign the lease. I was honestly so glad b/c I had started to do some cleaning myself, but I was exhausted from all the packing/moving/unpacking and was running on empty...and this was WITHOUT any kiddos to look after.

Our old place was also only ~5-6 miles away and was less than 900 sq ft...and yet I was honestly SO over it. I thought it'd be a quick job, but when I really got down to it, I realized there was a LOT to be done.

ETA: Though, if we'd had prof movers and hadn't had to move each and every item of furniture we owned with just the 2 of us, then maybe I wouldn't have been too exhausted for the cleaning

[Deleted]

pay

[oregonpachey]

I just paid someone to do a deep clean for me so I vote for pay to get it done.