One way that I think home-ownership becomes more viable is if you are able to use a portion of the property to generate revenue. With the right setup, this could come close to paying a portion, or all, or even more than, your mortgage payments. Of course, going this route assumes you are able to get a mortgage or some type of loan in the first place.

My goal for this section of the site is to explore ways to make money off of a home that you are also planning on living out of at the same time. Otherwise, it’s not you buying a home, it’s you seeking to get into real-estate investing, and while those subjects are somewhat related, it’s really not the point of this website. I’m simply wanting to view this subject from a “what if” perspective. Such as, “what if I were to get a home big enough to rent out a portion of it, could that make it so that I could qualify for a loan, or afford a loan in the first place?”

Theoretically, any of the more affordable DIY options on this site for building your own home could be also used to make an affordable income-producing property. I think that, for example, you could easily build a log cabin and have an extra room or two that you build into the floor plan that you plan for renting out. Or maybe plan to build a small guest cabin on the property, for the same revenue generation purposes.

But, realistically speaking, it seems like a lot of income producing properties are NOT built or acquired debt-free. Maybe this is because the income makes it easier to qualify for a loan, and having the cash-on-hand from a loan makes for a much quicker process to get things started and finished.

Basically, I’m interested in using this space to explore all the options I come across regarding having a home that, instead of costing you money every month, it actually puts money into your pocket. Regardless of whether a loan is used, or your own elbow grease, thriftiness, and hard-earned cash, I think there’s something smart and cool about having a home that actually pays you to live in it!

So here’s the ideas I’ve come up with so far regarding income properties:

Duplex/Condos
Discussed in the “Buy Nice” section of this website. Basically, the idea is to live in one half and rent out the other half. Probably the easiest method would be to rent it out on a monthly basis. However, other options could include renting out specific bedrooms to college kids, or turning it into an air bnb type of thing. Which leads us to the next option…

Air BnB, etc.
The general idea here is to turn that extra bedroom, or maybe the guest house out back, or whatever qualifies, into a guest lodging space. You’ll rent it out online via the available platforms, and simply act as the host for the space. If you are in a good location and your occupancy rate is high enough, this could definitely bring in a lot more money than a monthly tenant would  bring in. Of course, the work-load is going to be much higher too.

Bed and Breakfast
Similar to the Air BnB concept, only this takes the business operation to a much higher level. Many people have a dream of making this their reality. However, many also find that once they get their “dream BnB” setup, it’s a LOT more work than they had imagined. But… it is still a viable option if you have a willingness to work hard, can market your property, etc.