If you have a house, you’ll want to squeeze every last penny you can get out of it. As the cost of living continues to rise while wage growth is still relatively slow, times are still tight for many people. Whether you are struggling to make ends meet or are just looking to free up a bit of extra cash, there are a few things you can do with your property.
Get A Lodger
If you have a spare room that you aren’t doing much with, why not consider renting it out to a lodger? This is a great way to earn some extra cash from a space that was previously going unused. If you don’t like the idea of having someone in your house 24/7, many people who commute for work will only need the room during the week. Before you let out your room, you will want to make sure you have a secure rental agreement in place. Allowing someone you don’t know into your house can be a daunting prospect, so make sure you are 100 percent comfortable before inviting them in.
Use the Room as a Hotel
Instead of letting out the room fulltime, you can have people book to stay there at certain times of the year. The beauty of this option is that you are in total control to let it out whenever you choose. If you live in an area that is a tourist hotspot, this can earn you a pretty decent income. There are plenty of websites available to help you out with the whole process so everything is made much more straightforward. Sites such as Airbnb allow landlords to rate guests so you can have some peace of mind before you have anyone to stay.
Rent Out Your Drive
If you don’t feel comfortable with the prospect of having strangers to stay in your house, why not let out your drive? If you live in a busy city centre or near a transportation hub of some kind, people will be looking for parking spaces and they will be willing to pay decent sums of money to rent them. People who live near an airport can consider setting up and charging for a transfer service. Make your rates cheaper than the airport and people are likely to use your service.
Car Rental
It really is a sharing economy we live in these days, so people are even renting out their own cars when they are not using them. Of course, you need to have appropriate insurance cover beforehand. People are always looking to save money wherever they can, so they may come to you rather than a faceless car rental firm.
Offer Storage Space
If having people in your house or your car doesn’t appeal to you, holding onto their things for a while may be a better option. Utilise an unused attic or basement, and you can make money without doing anything at all. People who are going abroad for some time or simply have some bulky items are willing to pay for a safe place to store them. Again, it’s a case that they are likely to save money with you rather than using a big storage warehouse.
Sell Your Old Things
There’s probably plenty lying around your house that people are willing to spend money on. Sites like eBay and Gumtree make it easy to advertise your wares and receive payment. As so much has now moved online, you may find that you simply don’t need your old CD and DVD collections. Similarly, it may be time to get rid of your old phones or laptops that have just been sitting around in your wardrobe. Decent second hand clothes of all kind can be worth a decent sum of cash. Not only will you make money, you will free up some valuable space in your house (which you could use to store other people’s things!).
Turn Your House Into A Set
This one may be a little more unusual, but there’s money to be made by allowing filmmakers or photographers to use your house as a set. This is particularly true if you have an interesting property, or live in city that architecturally interesting. There are a couple of website available where you can advertise your home, so why not try it out?
These are just a few ways that you can make some valuable extra cash from your home. You only need to try out just one or two to make some additional income.
