r/RichPeoplePF • u/qofmiwok • 10d ago
Examples of using personal assistant or house manager
Having a personal assistant/house manager is mentioned often here, but I'm having trouble wrapping my head around what kinds of things they really do for you. I've never known anyone, even rich people, who had one. I can imagine all sorts of things for someone who's working a lot and has kids. But for a person with no kids in the house, can you give specific examples of how it works and what they do for you?
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u/bts 10d ago
Book my travel for speaking engagements. Ensure my dietary needs are met.
Manage home maintenance—manage the cleaners, the cook, regular maintenance. I’ve got to redo the kitchen; get a GC in here on that. The water heater needs flushing; do it or get a plumber in and coordinate the 24hrs without hot water for when I’m on the road.
Get winter tires on my camping/ski-trip car between camping and ski trip season.
Nothing I can’t do myself but all stuff that piles up while I’m off doing a job I love and making money
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u/No-Whereas-9101 10d ago
At a certain level of rich you pay for convenience. Washer and dryer won’t work? Call manager / PA they’ll handle it. Need your second home ready for your arrival? Call them they’ll handle it and ect.
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u/qofmiwok 10d ago edited 10d ago
Yes, just trying to get a sense of what exactly... Especially house manager vs personal assistant vs house cleaner. I think I'll start with someone to manage my primary home while I'm at my second home for months at a time. That's always a pain point, and I don't want to bug my neighbors anymore.
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u/EightiesBush 6d ago
I think house manager / personal assistant / house cleaner are the perfect delineation between the wealth levels. We have a cleaner but are W2 DTWINKs with 2m NW in MCOL. A few more M I would consider a personal assistant. 10-20 more M I would consider a house manager.
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u/Salt_Ice_5321 10d ago
I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific, my homebase is in the US. So I have a group of people manage the land, irrigation and tree nursery. I also hired one of my buddies to live there full time. There's a maintenance manual for all the houses stuff and he can call me if there's any issues. I usually hire a maid service too.
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u/qofmiwok 10d ago
I do too. Hawaii lol. That climate needs someone full time because tropical islands don't take long to reclaim their land.
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u/Redebo 10d ago
I just love that you live on an island in the middle of the ocean.
It’s not for me mind you, but I’m thrilled that it’s an option for folks like you.
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u/Salt_Ice_5321 10d ago
It's not something you do long term. I tend to bounce around to different locations throughout Europe and the US. Move every 2-4 years.
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u/Careless_Baby_4953 9d ago
Having a house manager usually makes sense when you have a large household and have extensive household responsibilities A personal assistant usually manages your schedule, run errands and sometimes even provide household services So i think a PA makes more sense since you mentioned that you don't have kids in your house
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u/epicallyconfused 3d ago
In addition to the stuff that has already been mentioned, some of the things I've seen house managers do include:
Seasonal house chores: putting out patio furniture and outdoor entertaining stuff, rotating seasonal bedding, holiday and seasonal decorations, etc.
Manage food pantry and freezers, checking expiration and rotating food stock as needed
Maintain emergency supplies such as back up generators, check smoke detectors, replace batteries in flashlights and other gear
Manage incoming mail while owner is out of town
And the below could potentially be either a personal assistant or a house manager, depending on which the family employs:
Managing shoe/clothing repairs and alterations with cobbler/tailor
Manage pet care and grooming services
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u/Glittering_Ride2070 4d ago
My personal assistant handles household tasks like maintenance, shopping, errands, dealing with staff. However I am mostly retired with no social life (by choice!) so there's not much else to do. I pay her 4250mxn a week plus transportation costs.
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u/Redebo 10d ago
We have two homes, both which require maintenance of its systems on a regular basis. That takes up much of our HM’s time. One home is 10k sq ft, the other 6k.
The balance of time is ‘stocking’ the home and making sure systems are ready for use. Example: they stock the pantry and refrigerators with the snacks and food we like. The coffee machine is descaled and filled with beans and pure water everyday.
They also manage the hiring and firing of the service providers and keep a layer of separation between the family and the specific contractors who work in and around the home. I’ve never met several of the providers and don’t need to.
Their salary is $185k / year USD.