How rural home owners can make money from their house
I
n PART 1 I explained how the internet is allowing us to exploit the money making power of our homes. In PART 2 and PART 3 I presented the opportunities that are available to owners of city centre and surburban homes.
In this final installment I will be doing the same for rural homes.
The opportunities
I have separated the moneymaking opportunities into "Easy wins" and "Not so easy wins". The easy wins are more straight-forward to implement, whereas the not so easy wins may require some sacrifice or greater effort on your part.
Easy wins
Make money from your outdoor space
Websites such as
www.storemates.co.uk enable you to rent outdoor spaces for large items such as boats or caravans.
Expect to generate at least £750 a year for renting out land at your property.
INCOME = £750
Rent your shed, your garage or a spare room for storage space
Specialist websites such as
www.sharemystorage.com will help you rent out extra space in your home for storage. Such spaces can include your roof-space, a spare room, a shed or a garage. The space has to be dry, secure and accessible.
The earning potential of your storage space is based on the size of the space. Expect to earn around £100 a month (£1,200 a year) from renting out a garage or large shed. You could earn in excess of £200 a month (£2,400 a year) if you are renting out a large garage.
For the purpose of this post I am using the lower of the two figures.
INCOME POTENTIAL = £1,200
Reduce your water bills by fitting a water meter
Most of us spend too much on our water bills. Even larger households can benefit by fitting a water meter. By installing water saving measures such as water butts and water-efficient shower heads, you can greatly reduce your water consumption.
Note: Find out how much your household could actually save at www.ccwater.org.uk
SAVING POTENTIAL = £100
Reduce you Heating Bills
UK homes can be draughty which increases our reliance on central heating to stay warm at home. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) the average household spends £23.20 each week on electricity, gas and other fuels.
Bulking up on your insulation is the best way to make your home less draughty. This will in turn help you save on your energy bills. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that householders could save
£310 a year on energy bills by topping up on their loft insulation and by installing cavity wall insulation.
You may be able to access Government grants to meet the costs of your insulation upgrades. Check out the
Energy Saving Trust website for further information on the Government support available.
SAVING POTENTIAL = £310
Replace your old boiler
According to The Energy Saving Trust, upgrading an old boiler without controls with a new, top of the range, A-rated, condensing boiler could save households living in a detached house
£490 a year.
SAVING POTENTIAL = £490
Generate your own heating or power
Most rural homes do not have no access to mains gas heating. As a result your heating bills will generally be higher than for urban home owners. However, the space available at rural homes offers you a range of options to generate your own energy. This could comprise generating your own heating or generating your own electricity (or both). Take your pick from:
Of the above options, wood burning stoves could offer the greatest saving potential for rural home owners. If you have a reliable, local, log, wood chip or wood pellet supplier, or even better, if you have you own wood supply, then a wood burning stove with back boiler could dramatically reduce your energy bills.
The
Energy Saving Trust website provides advice on the Government funding support available to help meet the cost your energy generation installation.
The savings on your energy bills from generating your own electricity and / or heating will depend on a number of variables; including your current energy usage, the age of your property and your existing central heating system. For the purpose of this post I have applied a savings estimate for rural homes of around £500 a year.
SAVING POTENTIAL = £500
Not so easy wins
Starting a B&B or “homtel"
Start your own B&B or the more informal 'homestay' or 'homtel' alternatives.
For the purpose of working out the income potential I have assumed that you will be taking in guests on a part-time basis only.
INCOME POTENTIAL = £750
Grow your own Food
Tending an allotment size plot in your garden, with a variety of vegetables, can produce enough crop to save the typical household around £300 a year on their grocery bill.
Want to take it further? Keep chickens to provide fresh eggs for breakfast and to reduce your grocery bill by a few more pounds.
Feeling brave? Consider bee keeping. Bee keepers can make over £260 per hive per year. A large garden can accommodate multiple hives.
SAVING / INCOME POTENTIAL = £600
Renting your home for a photo shoot or TV shoot
If you own a house with unique design features and your property is in an accessible location, you may be able to earn money from your home by hosting a TV crew or photo-shoot. You can register your home through specialist websites such as
www.location25.com.
You can expect to earn £500+ per day per shoot. This is not a regular income, so I have assumed only four days of photo-shoots a year. This would deliver earnings of £2,000.
INCOME POTENTIAL = £2,000
Car wrappings
Car wrapping companies such as
Money4Space operate by matching up businesses that are seeking to advertise with drivers that are happy to display their ads. Once matched up, the car wrapping company will arrange to apply the ad to your car. You will be paid for each month that you display the ad.
This one is not for everyone! Most of us don't want to turn our cars into mobile advertising hoardings. Obviously, if you have already sold your car this option will not be available to you.
You can earn around £1500 a year for displaying an ad that covers the whole of your car. Your earnings will reduce to around £900 a year for an ad displayed on the sides of your car. If you only want the rear screen of your car to be covered, expect your earnings to drop to around £250 for a year's ad campaign.
For the purposed of this post I have included the £900 a year option.
INCOME POTENTIAL = £900
Summary
'Easy Win' Measures
|
Income / Savings
|
|
|
|
|
£750
|
|
|
£1,200
|
Reduce your water bills by fitting a water meter
|
£100
|
|
|
£310
|
|
|
£490
|
Generate your own heating or power
|
£500
|
Total
|
£3,350
|
‘Not So Easy Win’ Measures
|
Income / Savings
|
|
|
£750
|
|
|
£600
|
|
|
£2,000
|
|
|
£900
|
Total
|
£4,250
|
The final tally
Implementing all of the above options would generate sources of income and savings worth £7,600.
By using your Tax Free Personal Allowance you would not pay Tax on any of this income (assuming that you have no other sources of income).
House-Saver's View
I have presented a number of money making and money saving ideas to show how lucrative your home can be.
The internet is creating ever more opportunities to make money from your home and also from the possessions in your home. There are even specialist websites that enable you to rent out you lawnmower or power tools.
I would love to hear your ideas for making money from your home.
David
www.house-saver.co.uk
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