Many expatriates work long hours or travel quite a bit. It is not unusual to take advantage of domestic help in Houston. Some families consider au-pairs, but most simply hire local help. Local domestic help is offered by maid service companies, professional individuals or part-timers that need to earn some extra money. Some help only speaks Spanish or broken English, so you want to consider that when picking a local person or an individual professional.
For domestic help in house, Houston has housekeepers and cleaning services. There are some differences you need to be aware of to find exactly what you are looking for. For repairs and maintenance, different companies and professionals are hired on an as-needed basis.
Houstonians also hire services for outside of the house, such as yard work and fence work.
Most people locate these professionals through word of mouth, so be sure to ask neighbours, friends, members of your religious organization, and colleagues at your place of employment for qualified referrals. Your local embassy may also be a tremendous resource for local referrals.
If contacting a service company, it is important to tell the service what you need to have done and ask what they can provide and in the private selection process, be sure to interview several candidates until you find someone that meets your criteria and desired price.
We’ll list some examples of companies in the following sections, but to find more or individuals, you can also visit local online classifieds such as http://www.craigslist.org or print classified ads within the local Green Sheet newspaper or local neighborhood paper
