Here are a couple comments I received to my post titled Principle 1: Maximize Income from All Sources that I thought you all would be interested in. They are from two people who are earning extra money in a unique way -- by renting out portions of their homes. Here's the first commenter:
I have had one or more persons paying rent at my own house since I bought my first property. First a friend that I know since college and now my wife. From time to time other friends.
By using low rents, and bigger house that could be afforded independently, we have all enjoyed the spare cash made available that doesn't have to go to a landlord or a bank.
Ok, I'm not sure about charging your wife rent, but the concept is still valid. Here's the second comment:
I also have someone renting my basement. The rent money goes directly towards other investments. I have been renting space in my house for nearly 4 years now. Originally, this strategy helped me get out of debt. Then the strategy helped me build a pretty high net worth. Ironically, I shared my experience and recommended to the others the same strategy. Everyone used to laugh at me. In fact, I recommended this strategy to a realtor more then 3 years ago and he called me crazy. I was crazy until he bought his first house and paid the entire mortgage by renting the rooms in his house.
If you're willing to think out of the box, there are all sorts of ways to creatively create cash -- even more than can be contained in one post. You can even turn your hobby into a career and love what you do while you earn.
For more on making money, also see the Free Money Finance Guide to Making More Money.
Renting out space is certainly a great idea. But the legality needs to be checked. Lots of towns have rules that say you can't have more than 3 or 4 non-relatives living in the same house. There are rules that govern boarding houses etc.
Posted by: Joe F. | June 12, 2006 at 12:15 PM