6 Real Estate Side Hustles to Make Extra Money & Gain Experience

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So you want to earn extra income. Wouldn’t it be great if the side hustle you chose to work was aligned with your real estate goals?

Well, you might have guessed that I wasn’t going to leave you hanging. Here are six profitable side hustles in the real estate field that I believe can help you achieve your goals.

One way or another, these side hustles will help you learn more about real estate and build some solid connections in your market.

1. Mobile Notary

My friend Doug is a mobile notary, and he loves it. There are a few reasons that being a mobile notary might be a great side hustle for you.

1. Solid pay
2. Flexible hours
3. Networking opportunities
4. Familiarity with loan documents.

I actually used a mobile notary recently to sign loan documents at 6:45 p.m., in a FedEx that closed at 7 p.m. Needless to say, this mobile notary was an absolute lifesaver for me. Every notary around was closed, but this notary was able to meet me at the FedEx in order to get my package off the delivery truck, signed, and overnighted back to closing within 15 minutes.

Thankfully, this allowed me to get my closing documents in on time. Without a mobile notary, I wouldn’t have been able to make it happen.

The mobile notary I used said that her going rate was $15 per notarized signature, plus travel costs. In my case, I would have paid $80 for 15 minutes worth of work. Not a bad gig for that notary.

One of the greatest things about this side hustle is that it is completely flexible as to when and where you want to work.

2. 3D Imaging

A newer side hustle in the real estate world is 3D imaging.

You may have seen this before and just not realized what it was. When you 3D image a home, you create a video that people can click on to “walk through” a property. These are the 3D videos you can use to click through from room to room of a home for a true sense of what it would be like to walk through that home.

Depending on your market, real estate agents may be willing to pay you anywhere from $100-$400 for you to 3D image a home they have on the MLS.

The best part of this is that it is an extremely simple side hustle. You simply show up to the home, let yourself in via the lockbox, and then set up your tripod and 3D camera. You set it up in the first room, duck out of sight of the camera, scan the room, and then move the camera to the next room.

There is an app that will help you ensure that you image the entire room, and then you move to the next room. All in, you should be able to do most homes in 30-60 minutes depending on how distracted you allow yourself to get in between scannings.

Not a bad return on investment, and again, you get to choose when and where you want to work.

At this time Matterport seems to own this industry in terms of cameras and technology that is specifically designed for property walkthroughs. There are definitely startup costs associated with this side hustle, but it can be quite lucrative. On top of that, you are going to build relationships with a lot of real estate agents and professionals in your market.

3. Inspector

Becoming a home inspector may sound like more of a job than a side hustle, but it can certainly be both.

There will be classes required in order to become a licensed home inspector, and you’ll want to hone your craft with plenty of practice. However, once you have proven yourself as a home inspector, you can easily set this business up in such a way that you can inspect the homes on your schedule.

Home inspectors get paid fairly well, but it does require a little more effort than the previously mentioned side hustles. The biggest benefit to this gig is how knowledgeable you become at inspecting properties. This will easily save you thousands of dollars as a real estate investor and help you mitigate risks in your own deals.

Related: 4 “Real Estate” Side Income Streams to Sustain You As You Pursue Investing Full Time

4. Appraiser

I know, becoming an appraiser is similar to becoming an inspector, and is not a side hustle. That being said, I wanted to keep this list confined to things that will actually help you as an investor, as well as earn you some extra cash.

Becoming a real estate appraiser will absolutely give you an edge when running numbers on potential purchases. On top of that, it is another job that will provide you with networking opportunities and allow you to set your own schedule.

5. Rideshare Driver

At first glance, this doesn’t seem remotely related to real estate, but hear me out.

Driving for a rideshare service like Lyft or Uber allows you to become intimately familiar with the neighborhoods in your city. You are literally getting paid to drive through neighborhoods all over town and talk to locals. You can figure out what neighborhoods are good to invest in and which to avoid at all costs.

You’re literally getting paid to drive for dollars. Keep tabs on homes you drive past that look abandoned or disheveled, and then you can send mail-outs to them.

Not only will you learn your way around town, have your finger on the pulse of the market, and be able to spot potential deals, but you’ll also be able to talk with people in the area. Perhaps one of your passengers has a home to sell. Maybe one of your passengers has money to invest and is interested in becoming a cash buyer or private moneylender.

You never know what may come of driving for a rideshare company in your market, but there are some definite opportunities. I love the idea of driving for a little while whenever you move to a new market, and I think you should consider it.

6. Online Influencer

Becoming an influencer is often laughed about, but I can tell you firsthand that I’ve had a lot of partnership opportunities flow through my online network.

Obviously, this isn’t really a paid side hustle, and it isn’t something you will get paid for doing right off the bat, but over time it can become extremely lucrative.

You won’t always be able to put a dollar amount on the relationships and opportunities you get through your network, but they are vast. I’m here to tell you that networking and relationships have proven more valuable for me than any dollar-per-hour side hustle ever could.

Take it from me, building an online presence, while a slow process, is 100% worth your time.

Related: 3 Impactful Ways to Use Social Media as a Real Estate Investor

And More

If none of these side hustles appeal to you, there are plenty of other options out there for you to earn extra income. These are just a few of the side hustles that I believe can also help you improve as a real estate investor.

The bottom line is this: If you want to earn extra income with side hustles, you absolutely can. If you want to find a side hustle that is synergistic with your investing efforts, that is possible.

Nothing is impossible, but you have to put in the work.

What side projects are you working on to enhance your real estate business? 

Let us know in the comments.

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.