If there's anything more difficult than hiring a day nanny it's hiring a live-in nanny; someone who will actually be sharing your home. Except for their day off, the nanny will be living in your house, eating your food and helping to care for your children so it's vital to choose someone who you can get on with and who will fit in with your household.

When hiring a live-in nanny, it's important to be clear what you will expect of them and what they can expect of you. You need to ask yourself some questions and write down the answers to prepare yourself for interviewing potential candidates.

How many hours do you expect them to work per day or per week?
How many days off will they have?
How many nights a week will they be expected to babysit?
Will they have to bath and dress your children? If so, will that be every day or just weekdays when you're at work?
Will you expect them to do all the household laundry or just care for the children's clothes including washing, ironing and putting them away?
Will they have to cook for the children and if so, how often?
Do they need to be able to drive?
Will they have to take the children to school or do the household grocery shopping or any other errands such as delivering and collecting dry cleaning?
If the nanny is expected to do shopping and so on, how will you fund this? Will you provide a credit or debit card on a specific account or cash? The nanny won't be earning a great deal so he or she won't be in a position to use their own money.
Do you mind whether your children's nanny is male or female?
Can you tolerate a smoker even if you don't permit smoking in your house?

Hiring a live-in nanny poses lots of questions like those above and you can probably add a whole lot more of your own.

In addition to all the daily bits and pieces something important to consider is accommodation for the nanny. He or she must have their own room so that they can have privacy. If possible, it should be big enough for an armchair, a table or desk and a television so that they have somewhere to spend their leisure time away from your family. It would also be much better all round if your nanny had a bathroom to themselves or at least one that they would only share with the children; is your house geared up for this?

Lastly and most vitally, how do you propose to locate candidates and carry out the necessary background checks to be sure that hiring a live-in nanny doesn't turn into a logistical nightmare?