Getting cash quickly is never easy! Or is it! No and I don’t mean going down the route of hunting for the latest remortgage rates trying to find the best remortgage deals, only to get into more debt and over burdening interest rates. We are talking about being a little bit clever and a putting in a little bit more effort! Find out how you can make extra cash from your home with our top ten ways of making money from where you live!
1 Have a Foreign Language Student or visiting Lecturer rent a room: As English is still widely used across the World especially for business then the UK is a popular spot for overseas students to learn English. As such a number of Language Schools have sprouted up across the UK and what do overseas students need, yes, somewhere to stay. So the opportunity here is rent a room to a Language Student on a short term basis! Finding out where if there is a school near you is a good start.
2 Be on the movies: Yes that’s right, make your house famous! Just think of all the television programs and films made each year in the UK and then think about where they are staged, and then you start to realise that magazine, TV and film companies are going to need homes to feature as backdrops for films, television series and magazine film shoots. Sounds exiting! The biggest need is really inside the M25 where most of these organisations are based though locations in the major cities will also be required. More than likely it will mainly be the exterior of your home that the company will be interested in as they will often shoot internal shots in a studio. Various agency organisations exist which you can sign up for free and work on a commission basis (i.e. they get paid if they get you work). Payments could be up to a £1000 per day but of course there would be some level of disruption.
3 Become a multi-storey: Well maybe not a multi-storey but you could still charge people to park on your land. Popularised by some young entrepreneurs based in and around London this form of cash generation has spread in popularity across the UK. Basically if you live near a train station, airport, stadium or city centre then you can earn money by renting out your drive! Simple, yet brilliant, helping people avoid extortionate parking fees and making a pretty penny yourself. Beig next to an airport or a station is particularly lucrative with commuters spending anywhere up to £80 a month to hire out space for their motor. Agency type websites are popular as they help with paperwork and effectively market your drive.
4 Get a Lodger: OK, perhaps not the most creative way to make money from your property, but it is by far the most effective. By taking on a lodger, you could earn up to £4250 a year, tax free, under the Governments Rent-a-Room scheme. Not only this but the housework and utility bills are then shared between the two of you. Plus it gives you a fantastic opportunity to meet new people and make new friendships. Flat share websites report that a huge 2,700 more households in the UK have taken on a lodger over the past year. Following the recession, homeowners have realised just how financially significant it can be to rent out a bedroom. When looking for a lodger though, ensure that you complete all the mandatory references and paperwork to ensure that the lodger can afford the rental payments. Also produce a written agreement which outlines in detail the rights of each party and provide the lodger with a copy. And be prepared to lose some privacy too.
5 Mid Week Letting: Commuters, why not live nearer work and travel less, spend more time in bed or be in the office first? Homeowners (in cities) why not rent out your spare room to a commuter during the week? Saving the commuter cash, giving them more time and earning you more cash. All for a minor inconvenience. But think of the excitement of meeting new people, think of earning more dosh and think about the fact that every weekend you get your privacy back! If your working too and living in a big city this type of room letting can offers the best hassle to reward ratio. It’s a win-win-win situation for city dwellers with a spare room, commuters who want to save cash and the planet.
6 Start a Bed and Breakfast: OK so this may be drifting into the ‘major undertaking’ and ‘large effort’ arenas but this is an opportunity for some people, maybe the retired, the recently unemployed or redundant. This is probably not the best idea for those of you with already busy lives but if you like a challenge!! Firstly it does help if the place you live in is the sort of place that attracts Customer to B&B’s. If it isn’t then you might want to move on. You will also have to understand the legislation that goes with running a B&B and a small business so this definitely a project for the determined. Again ‘Google’ provides information on all aspects of setting up a B&B including organisations that run course on this subject.
7 Rent a room as a daytime office: This is quite explanatory to be honest. There is a surprising level of workers who struggle to find a quiet and secluded place to work from that is situated close to their work place. If you don’t have a bedroom to rent out, but have a spare room that isn’t being used for anything other than a bit of clutter, then this could be just the option for you! Offering a room to be a daytime office for someone will not only provide you with some extra cash, but it also gives you comfort in your home being occupied throughout the day.
8 Empty House = Wasted Money: If you are leaving your house unoccupied for any extended period of time, it may be worth considering renting it out. Helps if the home is in a good location and probably best to use an agent so that all the necessary protections are in place.
9 Sell Unwanted Land: Have a look at how the grounds around your house is used and how that land joins to your neighbours. It may well be that by selling small parts of your land will make a big difference to your neighbour’s property (access etc) for which they would be happy to pay for. It could be a way to go if you need the cash you could make some quick money!
10 Clear out your Clutter: There are more innovative ways to clear out the bits and bobs you no longer use in your home than just uploading them onto EBay. How about holding a Garage Sale? Or pack up and head over to a Car Boot Sale? The latter can not only be enjoyable but you can shift your old gear and perhaps pick up a few bargains of your own too!
Who said earning money had to be monotonous? Break away from traditional ways of freeing up some extra cash and be a little more creative, you could earn more than you thought!
So, there you have it, an Englishman’s home is not only his castle, it’s a potential gold mine too!