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Ever wondered how you could turn unused space in your home into extra cash?
On Neighbor.com and its associated Neighbor app, you can do precisely that by renting out extra space on your property and inside your home to nearby people in need of a place to store their things.
Storage is a service that is always in hot demand. Neighbor lets you take advantage of this need to generate passive income by offering up extra space in your home to a renter in need of private storage space.
You can rent out your driveway, storage shed, attic, garage, or basement. Get creative!
If you think this opportunity may be right for you — read more to find out how Neighbor works, the benefits of hosting/renting and how you can become a host or rent a space.
What is Neighbor?
Neighbor is a website on which you can rent out any unused space in your home to people who live close to you and need extra storage space. Instead of using a storage unit, they come to your home to store and pick up their stuff.
Neighbor.com was started in 2017 after one of the founders had a disappointing experience with a storage facility and decided to move his goods to his friend’s home instead. Much more satisfied with that arrangement, he turned it into a business idea.
The founders decided on calling their new business “Neighbor” because they wanted it to connect people within the same community. People naturally trust their neighbors and storing with a nearby host eliminates the hassle of having to drive across town to a storage facility.
Currently, Neighbor startup operates in all 50 states and Washington DC. Chances are, there are at least a few nearby users in your town. If your storage needs go beyond clothes and appliances, Neighbor offers boat, car, and RV storage in many cities, as well.
How does Neighbor work for Renters?
Instead of paying huge prices at storage facilities , you can rent your neighbors spare attic, unfinished basement, garage, or driveway for much less money. Listings display the size, type, location, and price of the storage offered. Once you are approved to rent the space, your debit or credit card is charged (in advance.) Billing is automated and you pay for the upcoming month.
There is a renter guarantee to ensure safety and security. It offers 25,000 against damage or theft at no extra cost. You must register your property through Neighbor in order to use this.
How does Neighbor work for Hosts?
List your spaces
Write a short description of the space(s) available and how much you'd like to earn from them.
Select Renters
Review renter requests (including what they want to store and when) and approve them.
Schedule a move-in
Schedule a move-in time with your new renter.
That’s it!
What is Your Earning Potential?
When using Neighbor, you determine what to charge for your space. However, to attract renters and maximize your earning potential, it helps to use the following factors to guide you when determining a price:
- The size of your space: The more square feet you have available, the more you can charge
- Your location: If you live in a pricier area of the country, you will be able to charge more for your space. Neighbor.com also provides a price range for storage areas, and where you live is a factor that goes into determining that range.
- The cost of traditional storage in your area: As a general Neighbor guideline, you’ll want to charge around 50% of the price of traditional storage in your area.
- What other Neighbor users in your area are pricing their storage at: In order to quickly attract your renters, you’ll want to price your storage in the same range as others in your area. Competitively pricing your storage ensures your best chance of success to find renters and make a profit.
Does it Cost You Anything?
It is free to list your space on Neighbor. When you connect with a renter, the app charges you 4.9% for a gross reservation fee. In addition, Neighbor charges you $0.30 for every payment you receive from a renter.
Neighbor Insurance Policy
As a host, you are not liable for any damage against your renters’ possessions not caused by you. Neighbor also provides you with a $2 million insurance policy against damage or loss caused by a renter to your property. This policy activates if and when your homeowner’s insurance will not cover the damages.
Safety Guarantee
Since Neighbor recognizes how important your home is to you, they have your back.. Renters trust hosts to take good care of their belongings, while hosts trust renters to be mindful of what they store.
With Neighbor, hosts can and are encouraged to vet renters by talking with them online and even meeting in person before letting them use their space. Hosts can choose to have renters verify their photo ID. Neighbor has nationwide customer service to ensure questions and issues are handled effectively. Neighbor’s $1M Host Guarantee protects hosts from personal liability.
Easy Payments
Getting paid through Neighbor is simple, secure, and guaranteed.
Neighbor offers payout protection. This means that host payments are guaranteed as long as the host’s space is occupied, even if the renter stops paying.
Hosts are paid through Neighbor’s secure payment processor trusted by Amazon, Google, Target, and millions of other businesses.
After you securely connect your bank account to Neighbor, host payouts will be directly deposited in your account at the end of every month.
Flexibility
Neighbor gives you the flexibility to set your price, the length you rent your space for, and how much access to your space the renters have. While there are guidelines that help you maximize your earning, you can ultimately charge whatever you want for your space.
As a host, you can choose the amount of time for which your space will be available. You can choose to rent it out for several months, weeks, or even days — for those who are looking for quick storage options while moving.
Finally, you can decide when your renters can access your space. You can choose between 24/7 access, business hours, or on request.
How to Become a Host
Signing Up for Neighbor
Neighbor makes its signup process relatively easy.
First, you click the “Become a Host” button on the upper-right-hand side of the Neighbor homepage.
The site will then direct you to the form seen here. Fill it out with your first name, last name, email, phone number, and a password that you can easily remember.
Next, it will ask you to verify your email. Once you do that, your browser will take you back to the home page and you can now list your space.
Listing your Space
To list your space, navigate to the homepage and click on the “List Your Space” button at the top-right corner. The site will then take you through a multi-step process you’ll need to complete in order to list your space.
First you need to enter your space address, and list if you can store a vehicle. Describe your space and the size, and what hours renters can access the space. Then set your terms for rental duration and price which has a recommended range based on your choices.
Now you can create the listing. Give your description, photos, a profile picture etc. You can list references, and you must verify your identity. Neighbor will give you an estimate of how much you will be earning that year. There will also be a message underneath that Neighbor will pay you $50 for every referral.
Once you are finished with all the steps to complete your listing, it will go live for the renters in your community to see. Be sure to respond to renters in a timely fashion and you are off to the races!
Making Passive Income as a Neighbor.com Host
Neighbor is the storage rental app that is best described as: an alternative to renting a storage unit, peer to peer storage, Airbnb storage space, parking space available for rent, or garage facilities for rent.
Overall if I want to rent my space for storage, Neighbor is a great option. Whether you are looking for passive income streams, or private storage for rent Neighbor is a storage rental business that can’t be beat.
