Tips on how to Make Your Home pay for Itself!

Real estate is expensive so being able to make money from the property you own without being a landlord can help.

Below is an example of multiple ways you can make money from a property.

This was originally published in February 2016.

How to Make Your Home Make Money for you!

The home we are writing about specifically had 4 bedrooms, 2 living and 2 dining areas in the main house plus an ensuite and walk-in robe to the master bedroom.

It had a one bedroom granny flat attached, a swimming pool, a large driveway and yard.

We rented out rooms, used Airbnb and had other options when we lived here.

There are at least 4 scenarios, each putting you in profit with a home like this.

The flat rented for $300 and the house for $550 per week.

The electricity and water are combined for the properties and previously it was the responsibility of the main house tenants to pay both.

1. Live in the Granny Flat and Rent out Upstairs

In homes such as this one, renting out the main home provides a higher income.

It’s a great option for a first home buyer/young couple.

Be extremely clear when you are renting it out that you are the landlord and live there.

2. Rent the Flat and a few Rooms

We lived in the main house with the flat rented to someone else.

By renting out the master bedroom, we made $200 to $250 a week with boarders and at other times rented other rooms for between $150 and $200 per week as well.

Realistically, this house can be split into two with only the bathroom and laundry shared because of the design of it.

You could easily rent the flat and however many bedrooms you wanted for a total of $500 (flat and one bedroom) through to $950 (flat and 3 bedrooms rented long term).

Alternatively, if you rented rooms through Airbnb, we rented them for $50+ per night, which nets you more than a long-term tenant.

A few tips on Airbnb

Overall, you can make a lot more with Airbnb with a little effort, much of which can be outsourced now. It fluctuates though.

If you prefer to know exactly what you are getting each week, get a long term tenant instead.

We have a full guide on using Airbnb with our top tips included.

3. Rent Both and Live Elsewhere

You can have any home as a full-time rental property, renting both the flat and main house while you rent elsewhere.

4. Rent the Flat, a Room and Create a Studio

When we lived here, the front main lounge was also a studio.

We had chairs we could set up, a large wall-mounted TV and did workshops on social media, photography, marketing, blogging etc.

This provided various work from home options and made part of the house a tax deduction.

Other ways to Make Money From a Home

With any property, there are other options aside from renting a room or making it a rental property.

Rent the pool to a swimming or fitness instructor, rent the driveway to someone to store their boat or caravan or check out other options here.

Making money from property doesn’t have to be complicated and if you look with an open mind, thinking outside the box, there are many opportunities to be found!

What to Look for in a Property to Make it pay for Itself

With our passion for property, there are specific things we look for.

1. The floor plan

A floor plan with potential and lots of options is essential.

We want to be able to have some privacy, alter the floor plan slightly by doing something such as putting up a wall to create an extra bedroom and options along those lines.

2. Think Up, Not Out

How much space is in the roof and can any of it be turned into an attic?

If you want to extend down the home later, are there spaces within the home that would easily accommodate stairs without interrupting the flow of the home?

3. What Else can it be Used for?

What skills do you have that might be useful in the home e.g. hairdressers, beauticians, photographers, tutors etc.

Is there space in the home that can be convereted for clients?

4. Think Creatively

We rented the garage to a small business owner who needed space to sew and leave her designs set up.

Other times we rented it for storage from boxes through to a Mercedes.

Other people have selected properties that are large enough they can put a caravan or storage shed on the property to rent it out.

With the space your property has, what can you do with it?

How To Maximise It

Theoretically, with the home we used as an example in this post, you could earn over $4,000 per week if you maximised every option.

Remember, this is theoretical, not guaranteed. Also, you need to check insurance, council regulations and so on before embarking on any ideas.

1. Live in one Room and Rent the Rest

Long term tenants net you $950 in the above example. or if it was fully booked on Airbnb, each room individually and the unit separate you could get over $3,500 a week, more during events like Summernats or when Parliament is sitting. (Based on current rates in the area and what we previously rented rooms for.)

2. Run Workshops

If you have skills in any area you can fit up to 15 people in the front lounge room to run workshops on anything such as social media, marketing, blogging, photography or 5 – 10 if you wanted to do crafts, cooking, singing, instruments, tuition etc.

At $50 per person, you could easily make $750+ per week doing 1 workshop a week.

3. Rent the Pool to a Swim/Aerobics Instructor

This can be trickier and needs specific legalities to be adhered to.

They can pay you a flat fee for use and it can be accessed via the side of the house so they do not need to disturb you.

Set up a contract with times it can be used, terms and conditions plus insurance details.

From our research, most charge $60+ for 30minutes of at-home lessons for up to 4 children.

Check with council regulations if this was an option you went for anywhere though.

If you asked for $10 per hour or $10 per session and they did 10 hours or sessions a week that is $100 minimum.

Or use a platform such as Swimply to rent out your pool.

3. Rent The Driveway

With this house, there is ample space for a caravan in the driveway or boat in the carport, along with parking across the front.

The highest number of cars we had parked here was 10 (driveway and front lawn, so completely on the property, not the street_.

You could make from $40 per week for renting some of the driveway or carport the space for storage for a boat or caravan.

Of course, the simplest option is to live in the granny flat, rent out the house and let it pay for itself without much effort at all.

How have you made money from a home?

You might also like:
How to rent a room on Airbnb
101 ways to make money from home
50 ways to live for free

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