Making Money with Extra Storage Space

This space is normally devoted to making the best use of your garage and creating better storage throughout the house. One topic we haven't dealt with is how to manage a house with more storage space than needed.

I thought about this recently after hearing about a woman who no longer drives and decided to rent her garage to a neighbor in desperate need of additional storage. This reminded me of some old friends who had a large, unused barn, which they turned into a money maker by renting space during the winter for boat storage. Access for the boat trailers was so easy, and the protection offered by the barn so dependable, that these folks could count on a full barn (and regular supply of rent checks) every year.

So, do you actually have empty space around your property that a neighbor might treasure for storage purposes? There might be some potential insurance and liability issues that you would want to discuss with a competent professional, but once that hurdle was passed you could find yourself with some easy money, and happy neighbors.

• Top Ten Overlooked Storage Spaces

Photo © dwstucke