3 Ways your property can earn its keep
There are a number of websites popping up for renting out everything from your car to your garden tools. However, the greatest asset you have is the easiest one to overlook – your home, your garage, and any other real estate you hold. Here are three ways in which your property can earn its keep. Best of all, we’ll share the advantages of this strategy and tips on how to make the best of it.
Rent Out a Room
If you have a spare room or two, a great way to earn money is by renting it out to a lodger. If you’re renting out a room in your primary residence, you could earn up to £7,500 annually tax free - a significant increase from the £4,250 threshold. Earn less than this, and you won’t have to fill out odious tax forms. Renting out a room doesn’t have to be a lot of work, either.
The high cost of urban properties has given rise to the Monday to Friday commuter (someone who rents a room in town for work but returns home on the weekends). Services like MondaytoFriday.com match prospective week day tenants with landlords who would love to get rental income but have the house all to themselves over the weekend.
On the flipside, you can rent out a spare room to tourists. That’s typically going to be over the weekend. Yet you can receive more for short term lets, and you can limit rentals like this to when it suits you. There are sites that cater to these rental arrangements, and you can set requirements like saying “no students”. A side benefit of using sites like this is that landlords and visitors rate each other, so you can vet tenants based on reputation without having to carry out a detailed background check. Many sites offer insurance against damage by guests as well.
You may be able to take advantage of similar websites if you have a home office, garage workshop or a desk in a back room that you aren’t using. You could rent out this space to individuals who need a place to work, or you could list that as a perk for those who rent a bedroom from you.
Regardless of who you want to rent to, look at your property as the target tenant would. If you’re renting to college students, mention proximity to the university and how easy it is to live there. If renting to young professionals, advertise the property based on proximity to public transit or major employers. If you’re renting to a family, you’ll want to list amenities they’ll appreciate. Take the time to learn about the rental market you’re aiming at and price your room or residence at the ideal rate; you won’t earn any money if you’re too greedy and price yourself beyond what those tenants would pay.
Rent Out the Whole House
Buying homes to rent remains popular despite the 3% stamp duty that went into effect in 2016. Buy to let mortgages are also being targeted; for example, the tax write-off for mortgage interest is being eroded. By 2020, landlords will no longer be able to claim their mortgage interest against the income tax paid on the rental income they receive. Mortgage lenders are now demanding 25% or greater deposits on buy-to-let properties and want to see rental rates at 150% of the mortgage payment to ensure you have margin. However, you can still see decent returns if you rent out property you already own, especially if it is already paid for.
If you really want to make serious money, consider renting out your entire home while you’re on holiday; you might recoup the cost of your own trip. Or rent out your holiday property / home when you’re not there to help pay for it. Do your maths before renting out a property though as you'll want to earn enough profit after accounting for the mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, maintenance costs and any other costs to be worth the effort.
One potential strategy is renting out part or all of your home to photographers and film crews. You could earn hundreds or thousands of pounds per day, though the higher fees go to quirky homes or those in popular areas. Note that this may require being out of the house all day while they’re filming.
Rent Out Your Driveway
If you’re ambivalent about letting strangers into your home, know that isn’t the only way to make money using your property. You could rent out your parking space or driveway instead. Depending on where you live, you could rent out your parking space or room in your garage on a daily or weekly rate. If you live near an airport, you could earn even more by charging them for a ride to the airport too.
If you’re willing to take the time to clear out your garage and sell your old stuff, you’ll earn money from that while gaining more space you could rent out to others to park their car. Some people rent out their cars, too, when they aren’t using them. There is a dazzling array of websites and tools available to help you monetise your greatest asset - your home. You could turn your property into a source of revenue, limited only by what you’re willing to do.
Original Author: Jess of Make Life Sweeter