Post: #1

After tanking hard in the stock market this year on investments I know where ultra-risky, ive been brainstorming alternate sources of income.

I've read the other threads however most seem to be direct toward individuals wanting out of their current life-sucking jobs to make more money and/or be location dependent. The coding language thread really piqued my interest, however it seems like most jobs would require a specific location and be salary based.

I current have an absolute tits work from home job, however, and wouldnt dream of quitting. It requires only 30-40 hours a week and is location independent except for the requirement of US only (federal job). I have a substantial amount of free money every month coming from the job after rent, food and partying, that I need to put to good use. Send a PM if you have an engineering degree and are interested (it took several years to get to this point so its not something you can jump into). There arent many of us socI dont want to publicly divulge.

I was really interested in the housing market, namely renting out a condo in a different
location that I liked so that I could bounce between cities, however that ship seems to have sailed. Im patiently waiting for another good year in the future to buy on a dip.

i hate to clutter up similar posts, but as aforementioned, I think current solid income with low hours puts me in a different position. I have the time to learn something difficult that could pay off, coding or website design, so long as it didnt require me to be anywhere.
I also have money that could be put to work, maybe $2-3k per month.

Does anyone else have a gut feeling that housing will crash again? Probably with a big market correction.

Post: #2

Have you thought of doing the airbnb thing? Rent a big house in a popular city (I think you live in Miami so Miami should do it) and start renting the rooms.

Post: #3

(04-27-2014 07:59 AM)pitt Wrote:  Have you thought of doing the airbnb thing? Rent a big house in a popular city (I think you live in Miami so Miami should do it) and start renting the rooms.

Is there a way to do this and pocket the spread? Or do landlords figure out quickly your scheme and demand a piece? I can see this working on a house with an absentee landlord, especially if she's a nice old lady or something.

Post: #4

Sales Copywriting, if you learn it right, can be pretty damn lucrative.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #5

Depends on your skill set.

Affiliate marketing and sales would be the most universal skills. You can go anywhere in the world if you have the ability to sell. An important skill that is part of that is Sales Copy writing as Beyond Borders mentioned.

Post: #6

Sector Rotation is about as close to "reliable" as investing gets.
http://davidvs.net/hobbies/investing-dividend.shtml

Becoming as good as the experts only takes a few hours per month.

Post: #7

(05-13-2014 08:48 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  Sales Copywriting, if you learn it right, can be pretty damn lucrative.

I read a book about sales copywriting a while back (if I remember the title I'll post it), and the author was explaining that he would hire people to do everything for him, from cutting his grass to cleaning his house, because it made economic sense for him. The reasoning was that the time he spent writing earned him more than enough money to eclipse the costs of paying other people to do things for him.

I'm not sure it's as accessible a field as people (like the author of that book) make it out to be, but if you could break into it and do it well, that would be a huge source of income.

Post: #8

I second the airbnb thing. Do it somewhere touristy - I've seen very rich guys doing this in places like Paris and Prague (always full of tourists) charging per night what the rent would be for 2 weeks. If you get keen, buy places and do the same (capital growth + hugely inflated rental return).

Post: #9

Hmm

Post: #10

(04-27-2014 08:30 AM)Tommy Eyes Wrote:  

(04-27-2014 07:59 AM)pitt Wrote:  Have you thought of doing the airbnb thing? Rent a big house in a popular city (I think you live in Miami so Miami should do it) and start renting the rooms.

Is there a way to do this and pocket the spread? Or do landlords figure out quickly your scheme and demand a piece? I can see this working on a house with an absentee landlord, especially if she's a nice old lady or something.

I had to move cities in August but couldn't break my apartment lease without incurring a rather large fine. I've been renting it out successfully on Airbnb since then (see my post here), although at the beginning I was worried about management finding out and making trouble, as my lease specifically forbids subletting.

Fortunately, I'm one of several hundred units and have flown under the radar so far. While being a drop in the bucket helps, I've also been careful only to rent to folks who won't attract attention, such as business travelers and older couples. I consistently turn down requests from large groups and college kids, although I'd likely do that even if I owned the place just as an extra precaution.

Post: #11

(11-03-2014 11:56 AM)Isaac Jordan Wrote:  

(04-27-2014 08:30 AM)Tommy Eyes Wrote:  

(04-27-2014 07:59 AM)pitt Wrote:  Have you thought of doing the airbnb thing? Rent a big house in a popular city (I think you live in Miami so Miami should do it) and start renting the rooms.

Is there a way to do this and pocket the spread? Or do landlords figure out quickly your scheme and demand a piece? I can see this working on a house with an absentee landlord, especially if she's a nice old lady or something.

I had to move cities in August but couldn't break my apartment lease without incurring a rather large fine. I've been renting it out successfully on Airbnb since then (see my post here), although at the beginning I was worried about management finding out and making trouble, as my lease specifically forbids subletting.

Fortunately, I'm one of several hundred units and have flown under the radar so far. While being a drop in the bucket helps, I've also been careful only to rent to folks who won't attract attention, such as business travelers and older couples. I consistently turn down requests from large groups and college kids, although I'd likely do that even if I owned the place just as an extra precaution.

I am curious as to the %age of occupancy & numbers you had?

e.g. Your apt rent = 900$ a month + 100 Utilities.
What rates were you charging on AirBnB (daily, weekly & monthly) and what kind of occupancy you had (given the location) and breakeven v/s profit.

Post: #12

(11-03-2014 07:30 PM)xmlenigma Wrote:  I am curious as to the %age of occupancy & numbers you had?

e.g. Your apt rent = 900$ a month + 100 Utilities.
What rates were you charging on AirBnB (daily, weekly & monthly) and what kind of occupancy you had (given the location) and breakeven v/s profit.

The apartment is located in the center of a medium-sized city in the southeastern United States. While that alone gives it an excellent logistical advantage, it also happens to be several blocks away from a large sports arena that regularly hosts popular events, such as NFL games. It's within walking distance of at least a dozen bars and restaurants, and about a fifteen minute walk from the heart of downtown.

The unit is a 1 bed/1 bath, ~700 square feet. The complex is large (about 250 other units), with a parking garage, several pools, a gym, and a well-kept courtyard. The apartment itself is very nice, with modern finishes, stainless steel appliances (including a washer/dryer combo), and hardwood floors.

Expenses:

My rent and utilities (power, water, trash, pest control, cable/internet) come out to about $1100/month. Stocking up on basics like toilet paper, tissues, laundry detergents, and so on is about $20/month.

I utilize a cleaning service after each rental to tidy up, do the laundry, rinse and put away dishes, etc. They charge $60 per cleaning, but I tack on a $20 cleaning fee per stay (not per night) so the net cost to me is $40/cleaning. I have a minimum two-night stay, so the number of monthly cleanings is always less than the total number of days booked that month. The average stay is 2.5 days.

Airbnb charges both the renter and the host a fee for using the service; for me it's 3% of my revenue.

Pricing:

I price weekdays at $100/day, weekends (Fri/Sat/Sun) at $130. I average 12 weekdays per month, and 9 weekend days. I almost never rent by the week or month.

I average 2 special events (like football games or concerts) per month at the nearby stadium, and those nights are priced at $220. They mostly occur on the weekends, but for the sake of calculating estimates here I'll assume one weekend and one weekday special event per month.

Final numbers (per month):

Revenue:

11 weekdays @ $100/day: $1100
1 weekday special event: $220
8 weekend days @ $130/day: $1040
1 weekend day special event: $220

Gross revenue: $2,580

Expenses:

Rent/utilities: $1100
Cleaning fees: $336 (21 days divided by 2.5 days/stay, multiplied by $40/cleaning)
Airbnb's cut: $80 ($2640 x 3%)
Apartment supplies: $20

Total expenses: $1,536

Net Income: $1,044

This doesn't take taxes into account of course, but I should be able to write off all or most of my expenses.

Post: #13

Lovely breakdown One last thought.. hotel prices in that area? I guess those are conducive to sending people and business to your Apt?

Are you handling these in person or have delegated it to someone while you are in some exotic locale?

Post: #14

(11-04-2014 01:33 AM)xmlenigma Wrote:  Lovely breakdown One last thought.. hotel prices in that area? I guess those are conducive to sending people and business to your Apt?

Are you handling these in person or have delegated it to someone while you are in some exotic locale?

Hotels downtown range from a low of $130 to a high of $350 per night. My real competition is other Airbnb users, who have comparable prices with comparable offerings. My niche is being the closest place in the city to the stadium, and at this point I'm one of the few renters with double digit 5-star reviews. If you're looking for a place in the center of my city, I'm at the top of the search results list.

I don't meet my renters in person, but I do handle all the work myself. I bought a programmable deadbolt lock for keyless entry, and the work now merely consists of waiting for reservations to come in, sending them check-in and check-out information, and emailing the cleaning crew once they leave. It helps that my apartment complex (which is gated) allows guests to use a call box to ring my cell, which lets me unlock the front gate remotely. I've been renting it full-time for the past four months and haven't gone back a single time.