How to Monetize Your Backyard
Necessity, being the mother of invention and everything else, it’s no surprise that when the economy tightens the screws on people, they tend to get creative with their sources of income. When you’re struggling to pay your bills, everything starts to look like an opportunity: you start pricing everything in your garage for sale, you stay up at night coming up with brilliant ideas for new products or services , and you start looking for opportunities to monetize. something you already own, like a car or a house.
When you’re trying to make money from your home, the obvious first thought is a platform like Airbnb . But this has many disadvantages, especially if you do not have a specific apartment or separate living space, and there will indeed be strangers in your house. However, if your home has some sort of backyard, you have more options than you might think when it comes to generating new streams of income. Here’s how you can monetize your backyard so you can use your property without interacting with strangers inside the house.
Build an Auxiliary Housing Unit (ADU)
If you have a large enough backyard and it’s allowed by local law, you might consider building an auxiliary living unit (ADU) or converting an existing structure, such as a detached garage or shed, into living space. Tiny houses or RVs don’t require foundations or plumbing connections, and you can buy one ready-made and just have it delivered to your backyard to start collecting that sweet rental money. However, you will need to carefully check the local zoning ordinances in your area. While some municipalities have made it easy to place ADUs, or tiny backyard homes, to ease the housing crisis, not every local area is a fan. Even if it’s legal, you’ll need to make sure you meet the minimum square footage and septic requirements – sometimes it’s a lot easier to convert an existing structure. But if you can pull it off, it can be a steady and reliable source of income – and there are even companies likeRent the Backyard that will actually build a rental house in your backyard and manage all aspects of it, just by paying you a portion of the rent. fees.
Make a campground
If your backyard is big enough (and a little scenic), you can rent it out for camping. Hipcamp and Tentrr are like an AirBnB for your backyard, offering a variety of programs to turn your outdoor space into a campground. Services range from having the entire campsite delivered to your home and set up, to simply listing your property as available for homemade campers. Your property may not be eligible for the list depending on its size, location, and other factors, but if so, this could be a great way to make extra money just by letting people sleep in your backyard.
Start a farming operation
Farms don’t have to be big to be profitable. If you only have a few acres of backyard (an acre is approximately 43,500 square feet), you can still start a small farm or garden business that can be profitable. The key is choosing the crops to be sold, which will require some research into your climate and what grows well in it, as well as the needs of your local community. If you’re planning to grow your produce for profit, it’s a great idea to talk to local restaurants about the fresh, local ingredients they need for their menus – the farm-to-table move could be a goldmine for you.
If you have a sunburned finger or the idea of spending time doing hard work on a tiny farm is not appealing, another option is to rent out your backyard to gardeners. Sites like YardYum make it pretty easy to advertise your property, and people who can’t find space in a community garden will pay you rent to grow their wares on your property.
bees
Keeping bees in your backyard can generate income in many ways, from producing your own honey to sell or renting bees to local farms for pollination purposes. You can rent hives from local businesses, often with all the ancillary services that allow you to collect honey for your own use. If you’re not in the mood to learn the ins and outs of keeping bees, you can go as simple as renting your backyard to beekeepers who are always looking for places to put their hives. Platforms like LeaseHoney make this relatively easy – just fill out the form with your yard specifics and interested beekeepers will get in touch.
breed chickens
Chickens do very well in the backyard and chickens can be profitable in many ways, especially from selling the eggs they lay. Hens lay about four or five eggs each week, so depending on how many chickens you raise, you may be swimming in more eggs than you could eat in a short amount of time. It takes a lot of work , from initially researching the type of chicken you want to raise to building shelters and getting the right feed, but chickens are relatively easy and make great pets for kids. You can also try to build a “ chicken rental ” business that is growing all over the country.
Host events
If you have a beautiful backyard with a private driveway, you can rent it out for weddings, events, or photographers looking for a scenic backdrop. What’s nice about this option is that you don’t actually do the work, you just rent the space and if you rent it out for less than 15 days at a time it’s often tax free (but check with the tax office) . a professional before assuming this is the case in your situation). It does require some local connections to take over the business, but once you hook up with some event planners and photographers, this can turn into a serious steady income.
sell compost
Composting is not only environmentally friendly, but it can also be quite profitable. While many people use their compost for their own gardening, you can sell the compost you produce to other gardeners and local farms (and if you add worms to your compost , you can get even more money for the compost because it will super rich). Keep in mind that each state has its own laws and regulations regarding composting, including how it can be sold and transported, so you should check your local regulations before diving into them.
Turn it into a parking lot
It’s a little constant, so think carefully before committing. If you have a backyard that you rarely use, you can turn it into a parking lot to rent out spaces. Parking is always in high demand and people are often very happy to pay reasonable rent to park their cars in a relatively safe place. However, in most areas you can’t just park your car in the yard – in addition to the HOA rules, there are usually local laws prohibiting this. So to get this income stream, you need to contact your local building office, get a permit (if you can), and turn at least part of your backyard into a legally authorized parking lot. However, once this investment is completed, you can look forward to years of passive income.
Be a playground for dogs
Have you ever thought about combining the income potential of your yard with the pure joy of dogs? Now you can do just that by renting out your yard as a private dog park . Platforms like Sniffspot allow you to rent out your yard by the hour to local dog owners who want to give their puppies a place to run and play in a safe environment. You may need to invest in some quick upgrades like fencing or doggie water sources, but once you pass the test, you can have a steady stream of extremely excited dogs racing around your yard and earn money to boot.