Easy to Earn Rental Income

In the 1950s, my Grandmother purchased a large house which had once been a mansion for the owner of an international rubber company. She divided the house into 5 apartments and over the years lived in each one while she rented the other 4.

In Grandma’s previous home, she rented rooms and took in boarders. When times were tough financially, she moved her family to the attic rooms and rented all the bedrooms. In all, she had over 60 years experience as a landlady and loved making friends with her tenants.

My Mother bought a 2-story house and converted the upstairs into a 2-bedroom apartment which she rented to families for 20 years. She converted a back porch on the 1st floor to a bathroom and added outside steps to reach a new doorway cut into the 2nd floor apartment. She also added a sink and moved cabinets from the basement to create a large eat-in kitchen for the tenants.

The first time I rented out a room was when my roommate moved. So, I advertised in the newspaper and found an excellent person to share my lease.

Much later I bought a 100-year-old house where I rented out rooms for 20 years. I chose that particular house because it had rental capability as there were 20 rooms and central hallways on each of the 4 floors. Renting rooms instead of houses or apartments reduced the financial risk; if one tenant did not pay, most of the others did.

I wanted a business where I would not be tied down as I like to travel. I would give emergency electrician and plumber phone numbers to the tenants and then I would leave.

Later, I built a garden apartment in half the basement since it had full windows and doors on 3 sides. The door leading to that apartment from my kitchen also locked on my side so I had complete privacy. I added an additional bathroom on the first floor and in the garden apartment, making a total of 8 bathrooms. (In one of the 1st floor bathrooms I added a bathtub to a converted hall closet by having the tub extend through the wall and under the stairs to the 2nd floor.)

The best feature of my new garden apartment was that my huge kitchen windows overlooked the section of my garden where I placed a park bench next to a little pond with a waterfall. A bird feeder hung next to the window and we could watch the birds, rabbits and squirrels from our breakfast table. The garden bloomed 12 months a year in the shade in Pennsylvania with little or no maintenance.

For directions on how to have a garden like this with little work

Later I took out an equity loan on my home and purchased urban row houses to rent. I sold all the properties when I wanted to move to the country and started teaching and writing books.

Two tenants purchased row houses from me and deposited payments directly into my checking account. The best part of this arrangement was that the deeds were still in my name until settlement and I had no maintenance costs. Monthly, the tenants gave me money for water, taxes and house insurance so I was sure they were paid.

Good luck in your endeavors in this remarkably easy way to make money by having rental properties.

PS: You also might consider opening a bed and breakfast in your home. Rooms rent for $100 or $200 per night and you can provide a simple continental breakfast or something more elaborate. Even though I have stayed in lovely bed and breakfast establishments, I do not have any experience in running one; you will have to look elsewhere for more information on this business.

PPS: You also might consider renting out storage space in your garage, shed or basement. If you rent space on your property to store a boat or an RV, there is little work for you. Just be sure to make things very clear in writing and receive money up front.