Five Ways to Make Money from Your Condo

[Jennifer Hashisaki]

With more and more people looking for every opportunity to make money, some condo owners are discovering new and creative ways to earn extra cash. Condo.com outlines five of the most popular methods used:

1. Rent out your condo

Probably the most obvious method for those whose condo is their second home would be to rent your condo to someone else. This can be done on a month-to-month basis or on a more long term timeframe such as a six month or twelve month lease.

2. Weekday renting

If you don't feel comfortable completely giving up occupancy of your condo, you may be able to find someone willing to rent it from you on a "weekday only" basis. This is a particularly popular medium for businessmen and women who work away from home regularly. There are some certain advantages to renting your condo this way. For one, you would have access to the condo on the weekends, which works out well for those who only use their condo as a second home to visit on weekends and special occasions. In addition, the type of people that would rent your condo for business purposes are much less likely to damage the residence or throw late night parties.

3. Sell unused space

Many condos come with a garage, but some owners find that they have little or no need for such space. You can take this opportunity to lease out this space to someone looking for some storage room. You can start with friends and family and work from there. Perhaps someone you work with may be interested. It will be much easier for you to find a taker if the person already knows and trusts you, since you will have possession of their property in your home.

4. Rent an unused parking space

If your condo association provides you with a certain amount of parking spaces per unit, a great way to make some extra cash is to lease out any spaces you do not regularly use. Perhaps you don't own a car, or if you're single you may only use one of multiple spots. Families with more than one driver or tenants who have regular visitors may jump at the opportunity to have an extra parking spot at their disposal when needed. You can make an agreement which would provide them with one of your parking spaces in return for a set amount of money monthly.

5. Rent "office space"

Many condo owners in downtown or metropolitan areas have had success in allowing an individual access to an unused room during the day as a private workspace. If you have Internet, cable TV, telephone or a fax available in your condo, you can setup a desk and hookups for these services in a spare bedroom which would allow a daytime worker a peaceful and private work area which would not require them to travel long distances between other locations he or she may need to go to throughout the day.

If you're looking for any sort of extra money to supplement your income, creativity is the key. Some condo owners feel that since they do not own a traditional suburban-type house, they are not able to do anything with their home other than renting it out to another tenant. If you take a little time to evaluate which amenities or areas of your condo you are not using, you may be able to find a number of ways you can make money from your condo.