Tips for Making Extra Cash by Renting Out a Spare Room

Where many people see an empty guest room, you are thinking about turning your empty space into a way of making extra cash by renting it out to a guest. In fact, the average going rate for renting a room is as high as $65 per night depending on the location of your house. Whether you are considering renting out a spare bedroom for a few nights to a vacationer or something more long term, you should know the ins and outs of renting out a room.

Use a Website

There are plenty of websites out there that will help you rent out a room in your house for a small period of time in order to make some serious cash. For example, Airbnb.com and iStopOver.com can aid in getting a room rented out in no time. Simply post a picture of your location and room with some pertinent information and you can be well on your way to making money. This has become increasingly popular over the past few years. In fact Airbnb.com has over 70,000 listings in the US alone. This is probably due to the fact that these types of sites help tremendously in finding renters trustworthy tenants.

Clear Out the Clutter

Before you can properly advertise your guest room and find a tenant you need to make it ready to live in. This means clearing out the clutter and making the room presentable. Make sure to take out any personal touches such as family photos, as tenants do not want to feel like they are intruding.

Paint The Room 

People don’t want to feel like they’re sleeping in a prison or boarding room so make sure to spruce up the room before attempting to rent it out. This includes repainting it with a bright and cheerful color as it not only makes the room feel cozier, but also makes it feel bigger. If you’re going to spend money on anything to redo the room your renting out then paint is the first thing you should invest in.

Keep In Mind That Big Beds Rent Better

If you have anything smaller than a queen bed in your guest room then you may want to consider upgrading to a bigger bed. This is because a bigger bed opens up the doors to your room getting rented out by a much larger pool of potential guests. It is also recommended that you purchase brand new sheets in order to give the room a fresher and cleaner feeling.

Get Professional Photos Taken

If you use a website in order to rent out your room they may send out a photographer to take photos of your room for free. Otherwise, you may want to consider hiring one in order to get great photos of your room from all angles.

Use Common Search Terms When Listing Your Room

If you reside close to a major city or a lake or park then don’t hold back from bragging about it. By putting in key search terms that are relevant to your location and the room you’re renting out, you can get your rental listing at the top of the search results. It is recommended that you avoid search words such as budget, bargain and cheap. This is due to the fact that the price is already listed and so it’ll speak for itself. On top of this, those words can often be associated with poor quality. Instead you should think more along the terms of beautiful and luxurious or peaceful and calm in order for guests to get a feel for the atmosphere they will be staying in.

Finances - 18 Jun, 2014 - No Comments