Guidelines And Rules
STUDENTS must, at all times, respect the privacy of the host family and others in our home.
Our address, phone numbers, or any of our personal information should never be given to anyone without our prior consent. NO EXCEPTIONS.
If you don’t know the person extremely well, please do not have them pick you up or drop you off at our residence. This will keep ALL of us SAFE at all times. Please do not take rides from strangers EVER. We will NEVER suggest that you take rides from strangers. We do not taxi STUDENTS around Los Angeles. STUDENTS can purchase a bus pass to get around in the Los Angeles area.
Please do not use our mailing address for your personal use. We recommend the rental of a local mail box at a nominal monthly charge, 6 month rental, or annual rental, depending on your length of stay. This eliminates any confusion between our mail and yours upon your departure.
STUDENTS will not invite ANYONE into our home unless prior permission has been expressly granted by the host. STUDENTS may not have anyone in the house when we are not home, even if the guest has been granted permission at an earlier date/time. NO EXCEPTIONS.
In view of security concerns, when STUDENTS intend to come in late (after 10PM), please inform the host accordingly.
STUDENTS must, at all times, keep their room clean.
We do not have a “home” phone for general use and recommend cell phones to all our guests.
Use of all appliances (stove, laundry facilities, TV, DVD/VCR, printer, etc.) is a privilege at all times, so please use them accordingly.
Smoking is not permitted in the house, however, outside the house, at the street is okay.
The student or visitor is expected to organize her own laundry both for personal effects and for linen, towels etc.
Light cooking is permitted, but clean-up after meals is expected.
GUESTS are to be dressed appropriately at all times; remember we are a family.
Cancellation: Once a STUDENT pays for their room in full, we cannot give any refunds less than 30 days prior to your arrival date. If you wish to cancel you must cancel prior to 30 days of your scheduled trip. We have to turn other students away based on your reservation. So we need more than 30 days to find someone else to take the room.
DEERING’S Homestay Rules
No food is allowed in the bedrooms. Food in bedrooms will attract unwanted ants, flies, odors and possibly other unwanted critters.
No alcohol/drugs are allowed in our home at any time.
Southern California is in a “water crisis” and we will do our part to conserve water. No more than ONE shower per person daily and showers should be no longer than 5-8 minutes. If anyone consistently goes over the 10 minute limit, steps will be taken to install a timer on the water supply and shower time will be set at 5 minutes.
When STUDENTS leave the house, please turn off all lights in your bedroom. NO EXCEPTIONS. PLEASE TRY TO CONSERVE ELECTRICITY AT ALL TIMES.
We offer wireless internet to our STUDENTS. If you plan on conducting a web phone/webcam session, you may only do this between 10:00am and 9:00pm. If you need help to configure the wireless connection on your computer, please ask.
Students must clean up after themselves at all times and in all rooms of the house. If you eat breakfast or dinner, please dispose of all food particles in trash and rinse your dishes after use, leaving them in the sink for loading in dishwasher.
GUESTS should maintain the cleanliness of the hall bathroom at least once a week. That includes the shower/tub area, toilet, sink, mirror, mopping of the floor and emptying the trash into the black container located on the backside of the garage no later than NOON on Sunday. Black, blue and green trash containers are moved to the curb on Sunday afternoon and collected every Monday morning at 6:00am.
Cleaning supplies are located in the hall closet directly across from the bathroom.
Please maintain the cleanliness of your bedroom, sweeping/vacuuming and dusting at least once a week. Please empty your personal trash by NOON every Sunday into the black trash container located on the back side of the garage. This will help control unwanted critters/insects and odors.
STUDENTS are allowed to wash one load of clothes per week. Sundays, between NOON and 6PM, are set aside for STUDENTS to use the laundry facilities. Laundry products are located in the laundry area. For instructions on how to use washer/dryer, please ask.
Breakfast foods and beverages will be made available to our STUDENTS each day: toast, hot/cold cereal, coffee, tea, juice only. Occasionally, (on weekends only and schedule permitting) a hot breakfast will be prepared consisting of items such as bacon or ham, eggs, potatoes, pancakes, toast and fresh fruit.
Dinner is usually a home-cooked, buffet-style meal (we occasionally order in) and is served between 6pm-7:00pm. If STUDENTS are going to be late, please call by 5pm and let us know. If we do not receive a call, dinner will not be kept and the student is responsible for their own dinner. Please do not eat any foods, besides breakfast foods, that you have not purchased without asking permission to do so. STUDENTS can always purchase food and store it in the kitchen.
If a STUDENT breaks anything in our home the student is responsible to pay for the item in full within 3-5 days.
Loud and rude behavior will not be tolerated. STUDENTS must respect our family environment at all times. No yelling, no loud talking, no loud music, NO PROFANITY. Talking on your cell phone must be done in the privacy of your bedroom or outside and out of hearing range.
Prior to leaving, STUDENTS must clean their bedroom and the hall bathroom. STUDENTS must leave their room exactly as it was when they first arrived in our home. We now charge a $25 cleaning fee that will be refunded upon the STUDENTS final departure after inspection of their bedroom and the hall bathroom.
If a STUDENT has a concern or question for us, please wait to ask your questions or voice your concerns until we are not busy and/or we are awake. Please respect our privacy. If our doors are closed and it’s after 9pm, do not knock unless a real emergency exists.
A REAL EMERGENCY can be, but is not limited to: (please use common sense)
~ a fire
~ a flood
~ profuse bleeding
~ a life threatening situation
~ one of our pets has misbehaved or escaped out the front door
