Everybody wants to earn extra money. But few people have the time to work a second job. There is another answer: Generate semi-passive income from things you already own. And of all your possessions, none lends itself to making money like your home. Indeed, your home can generate more cash than dividend stocks, if you play your cards right. Here are 3 ways to earn with your home.
Storage space: $50 – $300 per month
When it comes to low-maintenance side hustles, nothing quite compares to renting out unused storage space. Why? People tend to place their stuff in secure storage and just leave it there. For months. Sometimes, even for years. Whether it’s because they’ve left their college town for the summer or they’re trying to figure out what to do with Grandma’s household goods, the typical consumer of storage space drops it off and doesn’t need access to it until they pick it up months later.
And, while renting out your spare storage space won’t make you a millionaire, it can generate consistent income for otherwise unused space.
Rented space can be a closet, an outdoor (but rainproof) shed, a garage, a room — or just the space under the bed. The amount you earn will depend on where you live (big cities pay more) and how much space you have to spare. But it’s pretty common to rent out closet-sized spaces for $50 – $100 a month. Larger spaces, like a basement or garage, typically rent for $200 – $300 a month.
The two best sites to rent your storage space, according to SideHusl.com research, are Neighbor and Stache. Both sites charge storage-owners just a 5% commission on rentals and are available in most parts of the country.
Dog park: $10-$20 per hour
Got a yard? It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it does need to be fenced or far from traffic. If you’ve got that, you’ve probably got the ability to rent out your yard as a dog park.
A site called SniffSpot markets private properties like yours to people in need of a safe space to exercise their pets. Rentals are done in advance and are booked by the hour. Guests are also advised to leave the space the way they found it, so they should be picking up after their own animals.
While hourly rentals are relative cheap at $10 – $20 per hour, popular yards can earn hundreds per month. After all, if your yard is booked just three hours a day at $10 an hour, that’s $30 a day, or roughly $900 a month.
Rent to filmmakers: $50 – $500 per hour
By far the most lucrative of the 3 ways to earn with your home is to rent your house or yard to filmmakers. Filmmakers are often willing to pay top dollar for sites that convey the right message, regardless of whether that’s Brady Bunch or Little House on the Prairie.
Typically, homes are rented by the hour at rates ranging from $50 to $500 per hour. The normal work day in the film industry, regardless of whether they’re shooting an advertisement or a feature, is long. So, you can expect to get paid for anywhere from 10 to 14 hours for a single day of shooting. In other words, you could earn $500 – $7,000 in a single day.
A variety of sites, including Giggster, Avvay, Peerspace and Splacer advertise, book and collect for people willing to rent their homes for filming. Most sites charge a 15% commission and pay immediately following a rental.
Your best bet is to sign up for all four. And set your prices just a touch cheaper than similar houses in your area, if you want to get a quick booking.
This was our strategy when we sought to test out how the process worked. By setting an hourly rental price at $100 an hour (similar homes were listed at $150 per hour or more) SideHusl.com’s editor was able to secure a booking within a few months. Even at that relatively low rate, the single-day shoot netted $1,455, after Giggster’s 15% commission.
