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Your home is one of your greatest assets. But as the cost of living continues to rise, you might be wondering how to leverage your home to help you generate additional income.
The excellent news is that there are numerous ways to make money with your home. Some of these methods are also completely passive, whereas others leverage parts of your property to create new income opportunities.
How To Make Money With Your Home
1. Rent Out A Spare Room
One of the simplest ways to earn money with your home is to rent out an extra room to help pay off your mortgage early.
Getting a roommate is one way to get started. Alternatively, some homeowners go the Airbnb or VRBO route and get involved in the gig economy. In both cases, having a section of your home rented out each month can provide serious cash flow.
Take Airbnb for example. According to recent data, the average US Airbnb host saw $13,800 in income. That’s an average of $1,150 per month!
2. Invest In Income-Generating Real Estate
This real estate income opportunity involves other people’s homes, not your own. And you don’t need to be a millionaire to get started either.
Instead, you can begin investing in income-generating real estate properties through various investment platforms. These companies are democratizing real estate, letting anyone diversify their income with a historically strong asset class.
Here are three of our favorite real estate investing platforms at Homeowner:
- Arrived: Invest in shares of vacation rentals and family homes starting with only $100!
- Fundrise: Join one of the largest real estate investment platforms and buy shares starting at $10.
- CrowdStreet: Access exclusive commercial real estate deals with a minimum $25,000 investment.
In all these cases, your investment is entirely passive. You never have to worry about finding tenants, property maintenance, or the hassles of being a landlord.
3. Start An At-Home Side Hustle
There’s never been more opportunities to make money from the comfort of your own home. And starting an online side hustle is one of the fastest ways homeowners can supplement their income.
Don’t know where to start? Don’t sweat it: here are some of our favorite methods you can use to earn extra cash every week:
- Freecash: Get paid to complete easy online tasks like playing games, watching videos, and surfing the web.
- Survey Junkie: Share your opinion and cash out with gift cards or PayPal money!
- FlexJobs: Find high-paying and flexible remote jobs and freelancer gigs.
- Branded Surveys: Another leading survey panel with fast $5 payouts.
4. Earn Passive Income While Watching TV
Want some extra PayPal cash or gift cards in your wallet? If so, then InboxDollars is for you.
This U.S. rewards website pays members for completing easy, everyday tasks. Watching videos, answering surveys, playing games, and even uploading your grocery receipts are all eligible ways to make money.
The best part is that new members get an instant $5 sign up bonus. Signing up is also free and takes 30 seconds and your email.
This is the perfect money-maker if you do your household’s shopping and want exclusive cash-back offers. Plus, you can use InboxDollars’ other earning options while loafing around the house watching TV.
👉 Get $5 from InboxDollars now!
5. Get Paid To Save Energy
While it might surprise you, one way to make money with your home involves using less energy and helping the planet.
Reducing energy usage saves you money on energy bills upfront. Plus, certain energy companies are also willing to pay their customers to use less energy during peak times.
These companies are willing to pay homeowners because it’s cheaper to pay people to be less wasteful when the energy grid is under strain. So, you can potentially get free cash while helping out the planet.
To see if you qualify, just use this free tool. It tells you if the energy companies in your area are part of this rewards initiative and helps you get paid.
Note: energy rewards are available in these states: California, New York, Texas, Colorado, Delaware, District Of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Illinois, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania.
6. Rent Out Your Driveway
Have an empty parking space or driveway? Then you’re looking at some potential quick cash.
The sharing economy has let people rent out unused assets to people in their neighborhoods, including parking spots. And you can use a tool like SpotHero to list your parking space or driveway for sale and charge renters monthly for using it.
7. Rent Out Extra Storage Space
Like renting out your driveway, you can also earn money with your home by renting out extra storage space to people.
We recommend using Neighbor to get started. It’s basically the Airbnb of storage space. As a Neighbor Host, you can rent out all sorts of extra spaces, including attics, basements, sheds, garages, spare rooms, boat storage, and more.
You get to set your monthly rental price and rules for when renters can access their stuff. So, you don’t get renters passing through your property anytime they want.
Neighbor also provides hosts with up to $1 million in liability protection to keep everyone safe.
8. Start An At-Home Business
This idea is for the entrepreneurs out there.
Like at-home side gigs, creating an at-home business is another proven way to earn an income from your home. This idea can take more upfront work than a side hustle, but oftentimes, your earning potential is far higher.
Several at-home business ideas you can consider include:
- Start a dropshipping business
- Become a bookkeeper
- Start an Etsy shop
- Make and sell candles or other craft goods
- Become a blogger
- Become a virtual assistant
- Try out print on demand
- Become an online tutor
- Try voice over acting
- Freelance online
9. Make Money Pet Sitting
Enjoy spending time with furry friends? If the answer is yes, then an at-home pet sitting business could be for you.
Plenty of gig workers get started with companies like Rover. With Rover, you can offer services like pet sitting, dog walking, and overnight pet care to people in your neighborhood. You set your own rates and availability too, so it’s like running your very own business.
10. Add A Rental Unit
This idea is similar to renting out your home or a spare room. The idea is to add a completely separate rental unit on your property and to then rent it out or list it on Airbnb.
You’ll need enough space on your property or backyard for this idea to work. Plus, you’ll have to get approval from your city and ensure the new dwelling unit abides by the local bylaws.
11. Start A Backyard Garden
If you’re a bit of a greenthumb, you can potentially make money with your home by starting your own vegetable garden. Growing fresh produce and selling to local friends or at farmer’s markets can provide a steady stream of cash once your garden is up and running.
People also do this by raising chickens and selling organic eggs. So, don’t be afraid to get creative when monetizing your property.
12. Sell Stuff You Don’t Need Anymore
Has it been a while since you’ve done some Spring cleaning?
If you’re like most people, there’s probably some boxes of unused stuff collecting dust in your basement or attic. So, take an afternoon to do some decluttering and list stuff you don’t need on marketplaces like eBay and Craigslist. Alternatively, take a weekend and host a garage sale to find cash buyers.
13. Leverage Your Home’s Equity
A home equity line of credit, or HELOC, is a line of credit where you use your home as collateral. In other words, you’re leveraging your house to take out a loan.
Homeowners can consider HELOC loans if they need a windfall of cash for some reason. Oftentimes, this cash can be used to pay off higher-interest debts like credit card bills or personal loans. Some people have also used HELOC loans to fund a new business or venture.
The risk of this strategy is that defaulting can result in your home being foreclosed. So, consider the pros and cons and if a home equity line of credit is right for you.
👉 See if you qualify for personal loans with nationwide lenders!
14. Host Events
Depending on your home, you might be able to rent it out for private events, photoshoots, or other occasions. This is similar to Airbnb, but you can use websites like Peerspace to list your home for certain types of events.
15. Invest In Your Own Home
One final way to make money with your home involves investing into home improvements that increase your home’s market value.
There are several kinds of upgrades that can increase home value, including:
- Bathroom remodels
- Upgrading to energy-efficient windows
- Landscaping
- Kitchen improvements
- Adding a deck
- Finishing the basement
- Upgrading flooring
Granted, these improvements are upfront expenses. But you might be able to break-even or turn a profit when it comes time to sell depending on the market and type of home improvement.
Final Thoughts
If you've been itching to turn your home into an income source, we hope this guide provides the inspiration you've been looking for to get started.
There are so many ways homeowners can boost their incomes. All you need is a gameplan and consistency to find success. Plus, you'll be amazed at how quickly your home can help you make money with just a bit of effort.
Note: This is a Fundrise endorsement and we receive compensation when you sign up with the provided links.
