Beth Mumma opened the gate to her fenced-in storage lot that she rents out to local people who need temporary storage space.
"I'm fortunate to have to have a lot, a 20-by-30 lot that people can take advantage of to store vehicles and trailers, jet skis, and boats," she said.
Until recently, it was just an empty fenced-in lot next to her home. Now, she is getting paid every month for renting out space in it.
She does it through an app calledNeighbor, which some call "the Airbnb of storage."
Invented to fill a need
Co-founder and CEO Joe Woodbury came up with Neighbor when a friend couldn't find a vacant storage unit nearby.
"It came from having a need, which I think is how most good ideas come about," Woodbury said.
So, Woodbury and his partner came up with the idea of finding people with unused space, like a garage or garage space, and building an app so owners can easily rent out that space.
"It's an open marketplace platform," Woodbury said. "You can go on and list space in your home. It could be a garage, parking space, a shed, a spare bedroom."
The Utah-based Neighbor app is now available in every state.
How much can users earn through Neighbor?
Woodbury says rent is typically a third less than professional storage units.
- A garage can bring in $100 or more each month.
- A parking space can bring in $50 each month.
- A large closet can bring in about $20 each month.
Best of all, Neighbor handles all the billing, so space owners never have to call or chase down a late tenant.
"You don't see the renter for eight or nine months, and you are getting a direct deposit into your bank account every single month," Woodbury said.
Neighbor takes a small cut of the money.
Mumma loves it and just wishes she had more space to rent.
"It's very helpful for us. It supplements our income very nicely," she said.
Interested? Go to Neighbor.com to learn more and sign up.
Other sites like Stache.com or Storeathome.com offer similar services, as do several similar local companies, so you don't waste your money.
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