For most people, home is one of the biggest expenses. There’s rent or a mortgage, plus bills, repairs, insurance and everything else. What if your home could also make you some money? It would cover part of those costs and leave more cash in your pocket. Here are seven ways to earn extra money from your home.
1. Rent Out Your Parking Space
If parking is tight where you live and you have a driveway or an assigned space, you could rent it out for extra cash. It’s an easy earner if you don’t drive, and even if you do, you can still make money from the spot while your car is elsewhere. All it takes is listing the space on a parking app and setting your price. Rent it out while you’re at work or away, or offer it for a longer stretch, such as by the month or year.
Live near a stadium or a busy venue? Then you can charge a premium for your space. Before you list it, check whether this kind of rental is legal where you live, because some cities have banned it. If your neighborhood has restrictions, look at your HOA rules as well.
Parking apps you can try are JustPark and CurbFlip.
2. Look After Pets
Are you an animal lover? If you have some spare room, think about boarding pets at your place. You could build a kennel in the backyard or try in-home boarding, where someone else’s dog, cat or parrot stays with you.
To begin, put your services, rates and availability on a pet sitting app. You can also offer doggy daycare, dog walking and pet grooming. Once positive reviews start coming in, you could have a real business on your hands.
Pet sitting apps worth trying: DogVacay and Rover.
3. Sell Things From Your Yard
If plenty of people walk or drive past your home every day, you can make the most of that traffic by selling from your front yard. Offer things you no longer need from the garage or basement, items you make yourself, extra produce from your garden or firewood. Where your neighborhood allows it, you could put up a sign advertising what you sell.
Watching over your yard all day might sound like a chore, but for smaller items you can set out an honor box for payment. For bigger items, leave your contact details so buyers can get in touch with you. That way you can carry on with your day as usual.
4. Let a Film Company Use Your Home
Did you know your home could appear in a movie, and you could be paid for it?
Film companies are constantly looking for places to shoot, and your home doesn’t have to be a mansion to get noticed. Just list it on a few location scouting websites and see what comes of it. According to Locationshub.com, the daily fee for renting out your property is about the same as one month’s mortgage payment. And if you rent your home out for fewer than 15 days a year, you don’t have to report that income to the IRS, so the earnings are tax-free.
It may be a long shot, but land one of these jobs and it could cover your mortgage for several months. List your home on FilmLocationsWanted.
5. Offer Your Land for Camping
You probably know you can rent a spare room on Airbnb, but you can also rent out part of your yard for someone to pitch a tent or park an RV. That’s a good option if you’d rather not have strangers inside your house, and it works especially well if your area draws campers. Set clear rules about what campers can do on your property, covering things like campfires, bathroom access and electrical hookups.
Before listing your yard, confirm that your city permits it and that you have the right insurance. List your yard on Airbnb. For RVs, you can post a listing on the parking apps.
6. Rent Out Your Shed
The same goes for your basement, attic and garage. People will gladly pay you for a place to store their things. If your basement or other space is already packed, hold a yard sale to clear it out.
Next, measure the free space, take a few photos and list it on a storage app. If the space is pest-free, climate controlled or easy to reach from outside, say so in your listing. Spell out what you will and won’t store, and when renters can come to get their belongings.
List your storage space on StoreWithMe and Store at My House.
7. Take In a Foreign Exchange Student
A spare bedroom could house a foreign exchange student. You’ll have an interesting guest and earn some money too. Offer meals, a private bathroom, rides or laundry and you can earn even more.
Exchanges usually run from about 6 weeks to 6 months, so you’re not signing up for something huge. You could start with a short stay to see whether it suits you and your family. To get going, contact the housing department at your local colleges and universities. Approval can take a while, since it involves an interview, a background check and a home visit. Once you’re approved, though, it can bring in steady money.