For those of you that have a house just for daycare, I have some questions.

My two provider friends and I were wondering how you would make a profit. One of these friends used to own two centers herself. We just figure the laws must be different because we can't have a home in a residential area unless we live in it. We'd have to get another building zoned for business. Therefore it is a center and not a home child care.

If you have a house is it in a residential neighborhood? If you don't live in it than can you have more children? We have to be licensed and can only have up to 10 and then because of the age restrictions it only makes sense to keep 6 because the other 4 wouldn't be full time. Plus if we did have the full 10 we'd need another person and have to pay them.

We could only make a second home work if it worked like a center meaning we would be allowed to have a lot more children to cover the mortgage of the second house. Plus then you have to pay the mortgage to the house you live in, workers, etc.

We can see the advantages of not having it in your home as far as not having daycare stuff all over and people in an out of your home but financially we are at a loss as to how it works out to be profitable.

The only way we can think that one here would (if we were allowed) is to have a lot more children and more adults. It would basically be center-like and not home-like though as there would be tons more children to make it profitable.

So how does it work legally and financially where you are?

How many children do you watch, how many adults are full time/part time, is the size of the house a factor in how many children can be there, etc.

Thanks, Laurel

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I have a separate house for my daycare.
My daycare is open 1st, 2nd & 3rd shift, mon-fri.
It only takes 3.5 kids to pay the wages for a shift of 10 children.
I am licensed for 12. (10 if I have infants on the shift.)
I do not have a mortgage on it, I paid cash.
I have converted upstairs into an apartment for me on days I pull doubles.

Does it help?

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Hmmm, I've never considered that there could be more than one shift. That is interesting. Did you have to hire help?

I would imagine even if you paid cash for the house then it would be a while before you'd show a profit because you'd have to consider the cost of the house into your actual profit. Unless the house was a gift and then that would be different (and great )

I could only do 10 if some of them were school aged and that would only happen during the summer.

I'm not considering it but just wondered.

Thanks, yes that helped!

Laurel

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My daycare is in a residential neighborhood about 2 blocks off the main highway. My city does not have zoning laws that affect in home child care as they consider it to be a "gray" area.

Whether I actually live in my daycare home or not does not affect the number of children I can have in care. The ratios stay the same either way.

I could more children IF I licensed as a center but I haven't done that because I like my smaller group and in my state if you are licensed as a center you MUST take school age children too.....which I will NEVER do again.


The financial and legal aspects of having a separate home in which I don't live in aren't any different for me....regardless of whether I lived here or not.

The ONLY two things that would be different are my property taxes would be considered "Homesteaded" rather than "non-homestead".

Non-homestead taxes are about twice as high as regular property tax.

I watch 10-12 children age 5 and under daily. I only take 2 part time families and everyone else is full time. I charge an average of $150-160 per space.

Other than my DH who comes in and helps daily with lunch & rest time, I have no other assistance. My DH is not a paid employee.

Our state requires 35 sq ft of space per child for indoors. My child care house is approximately 1200 sq ft total. Outside we are required to have 75 sq ft per child. My yard is HUGE so I have more than enough yard space.

My mortgage on my child care home is around $600 per month. That includes the property taxes (approx. $1500 yearly) as well as my structural liability insurance. I pay liability insurance separately. My utilities are electricity and heat. They are fairly reasonable here.

I make a pretty good income and don't really see how having child care in my home would net me any more since I would have to pay for the wear and tear on my home whereas, I am probably a lot more lenient with some of the activities we do here BECAUSE I don't live here... (If you are interested in actual numbers/profit, PM me and I will help if I can).

Also, I think the mental perks are too good to beat! I don't have time off "at my work", I don't vacation "at work"...kwim? I close my door at 5:00 every day and don't think about or stress about work again until the next day when I open.

The boundaries between my personal life and my business life are separated by 7.5 miles so it's all good.

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Wow, $600 is really a low mortgage. Around here you can't even rent an apartment for that let alone have a house. A dumpy apartment here is $950. My house is paid off now but it ran around $1100 to $1200 a month depending on if taxes/insurance went up or not and that was only because we took out the mortgage almost 20 years ago. We also have a homestead exemption.

I don't really think I have much wear and tear on my house at all. Maybe we paint walls more often but that is about it. Plus we can take off a percentage for wear and tear on our taxes.

I don't really feel like I vacation at work. I think of this as my home first and foremost. Just saying... If I did feel like you do then it would bother me. If I am on vacation for a week, I put all child care things in the garage or close them up in an extra bedroom. The last time though I didn't because they just don't bother me. Also I have grandchildren so they play with things when they are here. Their grandma has the coolest house. Just the other day my granddaughter said "You have so many cool toys!"

I think you would have more monthly income doing it from home because you wouldn't be paying the $600 mortgage, the utilities/upkeep, etc. but it probably works out because you can have 10. At my home, I also pay an exterminator (Florida), grass cutting service (Florida all year round grass cutting ) and things like that. I think of things like if the AC were to go out too, etc. I'd have to also get those for a separate house so don't think it would pay me. Maybe with 10 but then I also have times that I am not full so it would worry me when numbers got low. I also charge between $150 and $160 per spot. You also have a free employee. (How lucky for you!)

I'm thinking in the short term you would be making less but maybe long term you'd make more because when you retire you either have another house to sell or rent or live in.

Well now at least I see how people are doing it. It really had us stumped.

Thanks for the info!

Laurel

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That is probably true....but then again, I don't have a mortgage payment on my own home so....

I don't have grandkids yet so my home is exactly the way I left it when I went to work.... quiet too

I also really like the added elements of no blurred lines as far as early drop offs (I am physically NOT here so...) and stuff like that.

When I hire a sub, I don't have to leave that person in my "home"...kwim?

As far as the upkeep goes, my DS comes and mows and shovels for me, my DH plows and does all upkeep since he is in the contracting business anyways so that part never seems like an expense.

The utilities here (in my area) are relatively inexpensive. My electric bill at daycare is RARELY over $40 in a month.

...and yes, when I am done with child care I will still own additional real estate.

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Another benefit is that the daycare home is always child safe and licensing ready! You dont have to worry about what you may have left out over the weekend or making sure everything is in its place for a pop in inspection.
I have a duplex. I live in the top part, my daycare in is the bottom part

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Were there years that you did have a mortgage payment on your own home? If not, then I can see where that would be ideal. I'd do it too.

The only reason my house is paid off is because we are older and finally got it paid off. We actually got it paid off six years earlier then we should have because we won the Florida lottery. Not enough to quit but enough to pay off our house early. Wish we could do that again! It did allow me to take less children. I think it was money well spent as it is very nice not having to take six anymore.

Laurel

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I have a separate home that I rent out for my daycare. The rent is $650 a month and 2 of my full time kids will pay the rent and another full time child pays for the utilities.

I am licensed for 10, but when I was doing daycare from my home in a residential area I could only be licensed for 6.

My dad has a lawn service and does all of my yard work for free

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So then the house you rent is NOT in a residential area? Is that what you are saying?

I'm asking because when a relative of mine lived in Columbus, Ohio I remember residences and businesses seemed to be kind of intermingled. It was weird. You'd see a nice residential street but at the end of it was a factory.

Laurel

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It's not in a residential area, it's about 1/2 mile outside city limits. I tried to rent a separate house in a residential area for daycare only and the city wouldn't let me.

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Yes, the first few years I did child care I had a house payment too but it was really cheap....

My DH and I also have ZERO debt. We own our vehicles and have no credit cards. Our only expenses are living expenses such as utilities, food and clothing, etc.

A little back story...

My DH and I bought 40 acres of property in 1990 for $15,000 (privately...no mortgage or bank pymts) We owned a mobile home and moved that mobile home onto the property.

In 2006, we took out a home equity loan against the property for $35,000. We used that money to build our home.

My DH is a contractor/wood worker so we didn't have to hire anyone to build the house. My DH is very skilled in not only wood working but plumbing and electrical work too (oh, and mechanics...LOL!). The loan we took out to build the house was a 60 month loan. In 2011, we made our last home equity loan payment and the house and land became ours free and clear with no lien holders and no money owed to anyone.

Since we never had a traditional mortgage, we were able to take out a mortgage on the child care house. In 1992, we purchased the daycare house (2 bedroom, 1 bath on 2 LARGE city lots) for $39,000.

So yes ALOT of things and situations enabled us to be in the position we are in and I am grateful for that. Had we not been able to do things this way, I would never have quit my job at Head Start and gave up the job security and benefits.

After 3 years of running the child care in the black, my DH was able to quit his job (He was a union worker for a road construction and paving company) and become self-employed himself.

Neither of us could ever imagine going to work for someone else ever again.

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Well that sounds great. I wish my husband was handy. He is good with electronics and cars but other than that, we just hire someone.

Sometimes I can imagine working for someone else. Before this job, I worked in a Montessori school that I loved. Then we moved out of state but I loved that job. I also love this one or have for years. I am getting to where I'd like to semi retire so I just took less children. That is the good part about our job. We can up or downsize whenever we'd like.

Laurel

P.S. I'd never want to do 10 children although you do have help at the hardest times. Well lunch/nap is the most hectic time to me anyway.

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Dang BC does hubby have a single younger brother

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He does.... but let's just say everything my DH knows is everything his brother doesn't.

They couldn't be any more different...the only thing they have in common is the same parents.

Depending on how old you are....I do have a son that is single and VERY much like his father.

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