Make money from your property

With property prices now either stalled, or in decline, savvy homeowners will be looking to squeeze as much as possible out of their biggest asset. The good news is that there are ways to make money from your home with out selling up says Lindsey Rogerson

For most people, the roof over their head is the single biggest asset they are ever likely to own, so it makes sense not to be complacent and to sweat this asset as much as possible. With the chances of ‘free money' from ever rising house prices now well and truly receded into the background for the foreseeable future, homeowners will have to look for other ways, in the here and now, to make money from a home rather than simply sitting back and watching the residential property market climb ever upwards. By maximising the return from your home, you can use the money to buy that designer handbag, take the family on holiday, or even pay off some of the outstanding debt on a mortgage.

 

Rent a room
First up for those with room to spare, the government's rent-a-room scheme allows a person to earn up to £4,250 (tax free) each year by renting out a room in their home.

 

All a homeowner has to do to meet the taxman's rules for the scheme is to ensure the room is fully furnished. It is possible to charge more for the room than £4,250 a year but tax will have to be paid on any rental income above that amount. That said, £4,250 would be more than enough to pay for a family of four to spend two weeks at sports haven Club La Santa, next summer.

 

Or for the more sensible, according to mortgage broker Charcol, redirecting the £4,250 to a £100,000, 20-year repayment mortgage (with the market-average interest rate of  6%) would trim £36,855 in interest and knock nine years and six months off the length of the loan. And just think how much more cash there would be to play with each month if the mortgage no longer had to be paid!

 

Rent the entire house
For those who don't have the room to spare, it is still possible to make a bit of money from renting out a home simply by timing when you take your summer holiday. Edinburgh has an extremely buoyant summer rental market, focused around its world-renowned festival. And some homeowners living in and around Wimbledon and Ascot have been cashing in on the famous tennis tournament and race meeting for years.

 

In Edinburgh, according to property company Factotum, it is not unheard of for three-bedroom properties in the city centre to command upwards of £1,100 a week. While Tennis London, which specialises in renting properties out to visiting tennis players, has properties of all sizes on its books, with the typical three-bedroom home renting out for around £1,750 a week, during the tournament. Although some properties of the same size were let out for just short of £4,000 a week during this year's tournament.

 

It is worth shopping around to find a good deal on agent fees as some property management companies can take as much as a 30% cut of any rental income, and remember, anyone choosing this option will have to pay tax on the money they make. It is best not to try to outsmart the taxman, as inspectors at HM Revenue & Customs are just as capable as holidaymakers of looking at property websites to see which homes are available to rent.

 

See your home on TV
Finally, it is not just owners of historic piles who can earn money renting their home out to film and TV companies. Ros Davis of locations company Edinburgh Film Focus says she has everything from bungalows to city-centre flats on her books. Equally, London-based Amazing Space breaks down houses into their constituent parts for its clients, so it could be that your amazing hallway or bathroom catches a director's eye and is all that's required.

 

Davis warns that loaning a property out to a film company can be extremely disruptive and advises homeowners to vacate while the film crew is in residence. But as production companies typically pay between £500 and £700 for a day's filming, some homeowners may consider the inconvenience well worth it.

 

More information
For more information on all of the options outlined, visit the following websites:

www.factotum.co.uk

www.tennislondon.co.uk

www.edinfilm.com

www.amazingspace.co.uk


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