As vacation rental app Airbnb and other like it become more and more popular, more homeowners are renting out their spaces for income.
In fact, in order to make ends meet, 51.2% of homeowners said they had to rent out a space in their home, a study from Homes.com said.
While it costs more to own a home than to rent one, homeowners are taking advantage of the rental market, and making the most of their extra spaces.
What part of the house are these homeowners renting out? Of those surveyed, 42.9% said bedrooms, 26.9% said finished basements, 16.6% said a detached guest house, and 13.5% said they rent out their garage apartment.
Notably, 11% of Millennials told Redfin that they would get a roommate to help pay their home bills, and 10% said they would rent their space on a home rental site such as Airbnb or VRBO.
According to the survey, 74% of homeowners rent out their properties in order to make some extra money. Meanwhile, 33.3% said they used rent money to go towards paying off their mortgage.
Beyond that, 22.4% of homeowners used the extra funds to help pay their property taxes, while 18.6% said they put renters money towards utility bills.
Some are even will to put safety aside in the name of money, as 4.2% of homeowners said they skipped screening their potential tenant.
On the other than, some took the more trustworthy route, 49.2% to be exact, finding their tenant through a friend.
Meanwhile, 45.4% said they found a tenant through family, 29.7% found a tenant through social media, 21% found a tenant through a rental website, 19.3% found a tenant through Craigslist, 18.4% found a tenant via “For Rent” signs, 15.6% found a tenant through a rental app and 5.1% came from a personal website.
Experiences with renters also vary. According to the study, one in four said they had to evict a renter while 80.5% said they had a positive experience while renting out their space.
