With property prices falling faster than Gordon Brown’s facial expression, I’ve been thinking about ways to make money from your house. Three ideas spring to mind:
- The most obvious one: take in a lodger. If things got tight at Thrifty Towers this is what we would do, although the idea of there being a second person to fight for the TV remote is pretty horrifying.
- Register your house as a film shoot locations. I’ve put our house on the Screen Yorkshire database. Admittedly it isn’t quite as grand as some of the other locations for hire, which include York Minster and numerous stately homes. But I figured that next time they’re making a gritty northern drama, requiring down-at-heel abodes against a backdrop of low grey skies, we’re a shoo-in.
- This is more about saving money than making money, but a holiday homeswap is a third idea. You swap homes with another family for a week or two in the holiday location of your choice, thus saving bundles on accommodation costs. This concept has been around for a while, but I suspect that with purse-strings tightening, it may become more popular still. One new website ukholidayswapshop, is dedication to holiday swaps within the UK; it’s free to register and list your property. Then you wait for interested parties to contact you; if you want to shop around on the site, it’s a £15 fee. Seems reasonable enough – although I suspect that if you live in, say, Penrith, you may have more luck than if you live in Middlesbrough.
What do you think? What can we add to this list?
Image credit: wonderlane.
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Hi Miss Thrifty
Many thanks for your nice email and mention on this fantastic site! You rightly point out that most folk in this present economic situation are feeling a little strapped for cash and that perhaps the idea of home swapping for the purpose of a mini break or holiday will become more and more popular this year.
If your readers were to become part of our growing community of house swappers – £14.95 is all they would have to pay for a whole years worth of breaks away. It is worth pointing out that the vast majority of people live in places that have a lot to offer – we may not see it ourselves because we never do the touristy thing on our own patch or we may consider what’s there is nothing special.. BUT… there are many reasons why people may want to visit your part of the country: they may want to visit family and friends, attend weddings and other special and important occaisions; it is not always the case that people are looking for a break away by the coast, in the country or in another town or city. Please also remember that the more people who list their properties with us, the more choice everyone will have to get away without it costing a fortune – tightening ones belt really doesn’t have to mean having a miserable time in 2009!
Please check out our newly launched website
http://www.ukholidayswapshop.co.uk and list your property today.
Why not consider a holiday house swap in the UK this year… the perfect way to beat the credit crunch!
There are a number of free websites where you can register your driveway as a parking space and rent it out. This is great if you’re out all day long anyway and the drive is simply sat there empty and ideal if you live in walking distance of a city centre, train station or airport. Try http://www.parkatmyhouse.com or http://www.yourparkingspace.com or put an add in your local paper or office notice boards.
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