Yahoo Finance 8 Things You Can Rent Out for Fast Cash
You can rent just about anything these days, from Christmas trees to chickens and goats to more conventional belongings, such as cars and a spare room.
But there's an easier way to maximize savings and even make extra money on the side. If you're a dedicated penny pincher looking to earn additional cash, you can easily join the rental market by letting others borrow your stuff. If you're searching for ideas, look around your home and consider renting out the following items and services.
[See: 10 Foolproof Ways to Reach Your Money Goals.]
Your driveway. Maybe you're not crazy about strangers renting out your home. But what if you could earn a significant income from letting someone use a spot in your driveway or garage? With AirGarage, a company that matches homeowners with drivers who don't want to pay exorbitant parking prices, you can earn up to $100 a month by letting drivers park at your home. Best of all, you can set the price for your spot based on your location and availability, and you can pause your listing or pass up rental requests if you need your parking spot unexpectedly.
Your basement or spare room. Nxtstor, a peer-to-peer self-storing booking site, matches people who want to store things with those who don't mind storing it for them. So if you have an attic, basement or shed with extra space, consider listing your space on the site. "Some of our hosts are earning upwards of $400 a month using basement space," says Brandon Gotlieb, who is based out of Columbus, Ohio, and the co-founder of Nxtstor.com.
Another room in your house. Say you have a spacious living room that would be an ideal place for a baby shower. Or maybe you could envision one of your rooms in your home as a meeting place. Or perhaps you think your backyard would be great for a photo shoot. If you don't mind letting others put the space to use when you're not using it, consider browsing websites like Thisopenspace.com, Splacer.co or Peerspace.com. As for how much you can earn, it's how much the market can bear. Maybe you'll charge $25 or $250 a day for a room. The best thing to do is look around at the websites and see what other people are charging for their backyards, living rooms and kitchens and ask yourself: How much do I need to make a day or an hour to feel good about having strangers use my space?
An RV. If you own a recreational vehicle and it's parked in your driveway for a good part of the year, consider turning to companies such as Campanda, Outdoorsy and RVshare to rent out your RV. RV owners have a huge opportunity to monetize their vehicles and turn it into a financial goldmine, says Niklas Kubasek, the COO of Campanda, based in Boston. Kubasek says that RV owners renting out their vehicle on Campanda twice per month often make $2,500 to $3,000 a month.
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Your other recreational vehicles. If you have a boat that you won't be using for much of the year, check out URentMe.com, a company that lets consumers rent out their boats, motorcycles, snowmobiles and RVs. You can make up to $5,000 a month, according to the website, with the caveat that the amount you generate depends on how many days you're renting out your vehicles and the quality of the equipment you have.
Your truck. People often search for trucks when they have something they need hauled. Travis Sevilla, a marketing manager for GoShare.com, a truck-renting site, says their users "rent out their trucks and vans to people and business who need moving and delivery help on demand. In short, you can think of GoShare as the Uber for trucks." The only snag? You'll need your truck to be insured, however, you can get supplemental insurance through GoShare. Also keep in mind, the year of the vehicle needs to be 2003 or newer due to GoShare's own insurance requirements, and you'll need to pass a background check.
Sevilla says GoShare users can make $41 to $71 per hour, depending on the type of truck they own. "This means that truck owners can finally make some money with their vehicle for all of those times people just need a friend with a truck," he says.
Your camera. If you own expensive camera equipment, consider turning a profit by renting it out at KitSplit. Some of KitSplit's members list cameras for rental prices as low as $15 a day and others list their expensive camera equipment for upwards of $600 a day.
Another popular camera renting company, ShareGrid, allows you to net $20 to more than $200 per day. The amount you can earn generally depends on the quality of your camera equipment.
Your clothes. Sure, you could sell your garments to a thrift store. But on the other hand, you can also rent out your clothes and generate more money in the long run. Erin Scanlon, a senior majoring in communications at North Carolina State University, says she often rents her clothes through an app called Curtsy. It focuses on dresses and high-fashion clothing.
"I post my clothes on the app where others can see and love the items in my online closet," Scanlon says. She then will arrange for a time and meeting place to hand off the outfit to the renter. However, you don't have to meet the person renting your clothes. The company also offers shipping labels, if you would prefer to drop off the item in the mail. Scanlon says she has made $100 from her rentals. She likes the idea because, as she puts it, if she rents out her more-expensive outfits, she can potentially make money back on the clothes she bought.
[See: 10 Money-Saving Websites to Check Before Shopping.]
Style Lend and Rent My Wardrobe are other clothing rental companies worth checking out. Both businesses are similar to Curtsy in that they focus on higher fashion. By renting out your clothes on their platforms, you could theoretically make hundreds, or even thousands of dollars per month -- if you have numerous expensive outfits that consumers would want to rent and wear.
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