Strategy 29 of 107
Rent the home by the day for photo shoots, filming and small events
What it is
List the house, yard or a single room with a location-rental service or your city's film office.
Steps
- List the house, yard or a single room with a location-rental service or your city's film office.
- Set house rules, a damage deposit and the hours; confirm your homeowners insurance and HOA allow it, or add event or production coverage.
- Rented 14 days or fewer a year and lived in as your home, the rent is generally not reported for tax (more than that, it is). Send each booking's net to principal.
Repeat: Each booking.
Measure: Net booking income for the year (enter as a yearly amount).
Try it in the calculator Enter its amount in "Yearly amount to principal". Add a payoff goal of 5 years to see what is still needed.
Risks
- Damage, neighbors and noise rules.
- Bookings are uneven and cannot be counted on.
- Over 14 days, the income is taxable and expenses must be split.
Who it fits
Married couples, Single, Business owners, Higher earners, Average household
Needs
Any homeowner with a mortgage.
How predictable
Depends on people or program rules (tenants, family, IRS records, lenders)
A worked example (hypothetical, not guaranteed)
Picture a hypothetical household (married couples). They owe $300,000 at 6.5% with 30 years left. The required payment is $1,896 a month, and that payment, which comes from income, never changes in this example.
They follow the steps: list the house, yard or a single room with a location-rental service or your city's film office.
Suppose it brings $6,000 once a year on principal. The loan would be paid off in 17 years 11 months instead of 30 years, saving about $173,949 in interest. To finish in five years, they would still need about $3,488 a month more from other strategies. That is why the five-year sequences stack several at once.
The amount above is chosen only to show the arithmetic. It is not an estimate of what this strategy will produce for anyone. Put real numbers from the fact finder into the calculator.
Sequences that use it
- Home side-gig stack: Booking days, parking or storage space, and a room or unit each add a little. Every net dollar goes to principal; the total from income stays the same.
- Business owner's home stack: Meetings in the home under the 14-day rule, day bookings, the right tax payments, and a sweep line for uneven income. Keep records for every day rented.
Sources and more information
Where to get help
Related strategies
- 30. Rent out the driveway, garage, shed or attic for parking and storage
- 27. Build or convert an accessory unit and rent it
- 31. Put the land to work: hunting lease, timber sale, billboard or cell-site lease
- 26. First-time buyers: a Mortgage Credit Certificate
- 35. Home sharing through a nonprofit matching program
- 36. Landowners: a genuine conservation easement on land you keep