For large swaths of the British population, our home is our pension. That
said, our bricks and mortar needn’t just sit there inertly. Here are 10 ways
in which we can make our main residence work for us and provide extra income.

1 Go into showbiz

You can make from £750 to £5,000 a day by hiring out your home as a film
location. Magazine work is less well paid (£500 to £1,500), but it’s also
less disruptive as there aren’t film crews trampling over your lawns and
flower beds. The first step is to get your home on to the books of an agent.
They’ll handle contracts, ensure you receive the right fee and take a 15 per
cent commission. The two biggest agents are Sarah Eastel Film Locations
(www.film-locations.co.uk) and Location Works (www.locationworks.com).

2 Open a bb

Not for the faint-hearted, and especially not for home owners who aren’t
naturally outgoing. Some people may resent the presence of guests in their
homes, even if they are paying. The secret is to view your customers as
human beings, not visiting cash dispensers. And don’t put up little “Please
Do Not” notices all around the house. The best preparation for bb wannabes
is the book Start and Run a Bed Breakfast by David and Louise Watson. He’s
the chief executive of the Bed Breakfast Association, and the book is
advertised on www.bandbassociation.org.

3 Generate electricity

There are several ways of producing energy in your home. You can install solar
panels, erect a wind turbine, or set up a small hydroelectric scheme. Not
only can you use the power yourself, you can sell the surplus to your chosen
electricity supplier. According to the Energy Saving Trust (www.energysavingtrust.org.uk),
a typical domestic set-up could earn £730 in terms of electricity sold, and
another £110 in reduced bills.

4 Start a cookery school

You’ve got the kitchen – just buy a few more pots and pans and pairs of oven
gloves. If you’re doing it seriously, you may need to get planning consent
for change of use (from residential to commercial), plus extra insurance
cover and clearance from a local fire-safety officer. But basically, you’ve
got ready-made business premises. For examples of people who have done it,
see the Brook Hall Cookery School in Bucks (www.brookhall.net),
the Avenue Cookery School in Putney (www.theavenuecookeryschool.com)
and the Orchards Cookery school in Evesham (www.orchardscookery.co.uk).

5 Become a property developer

If you own your house, you own the land. And unless your property is
heritage-listed, you may be able to get permission to knock it down and
build two new (better) houses on the same plot.

This is usually only viable in reasonably expensive areas, as the cost of
construction remains constant, but the higher the price you can get for the
new homes, the more profitable the venture will be.

Post-construction, you can decide to live in one of the new places, or sell
both. The biggest barriers are the local planning department and the
reaction of your neighbours. Also, government departments have started
making noises about limiting “garden-grabbing”. During 1994-1997, only 11
per cent of new houses in England were built on previously residential land,
but from 2006-2009, the figure went up to 25 per cent.

6 Take in a lodger

There’s a big demand for rental at the moment. The website LSL Property
Services says average rents in England and Wales are at a record high of
£701 per month, while Findaproperty.com puts the figure even higher – at
£876 per month.

There’s a good practical guide on www.lodgers.com, as well as the website
www.spareroom.co.uk, which will show what else is available in your area and
the going rates. Note that you will be sharing the premises with the lodger,
and they will need access to a communal area (the kitchen, at least). This
will involve a lifestyle change, but the inconvenience may be worth it.

7 Become a Streetcar location

Hire-by-the-hour firm Streetcar (www.streetcar.co.uk)
uses your premises to station one of their vehicles and, in return, they
give you 20 hours’ free use of the car per month (worth more than £100,
depending on the type of car used). If you don’t need to use your car every
day, doing this might well enable you to sell your own car and save £6,000 a
year, which is what the AA reckons it costs to run a car.

8 Hire out your front drive

This service is in particular demand among commuters who need somewhere to
park on a regular basis. It’s most likely to pay if you live near a mainline
station or city centre. The going rate is £40-£75 a month in most areas, but
it shoots up dramatically in city centres (Manchester £130, London £375-£600
per month). You can also rent out your garage through the same company,
Parklet, www.parklet.co.uk.

9 Do a holiday swap

Save a fortune on hotel bills by joining a holiday homeswap website. You spend
your holidays in a Paris apartment or Mediterranean villa while the owners
stay at your house. The first time is the hardest; however, once you’ve
found that your guests haven’t destroyed your home, you stop worrying. Two
of the longest established websites are www.homelink.org.uk and www.homeexchange.com.
Annual subscription is around £120.

10 Cash in the attic

Now’s the time to de-clutter and see if you’ve got some hidden gems. Find a
plate made by pottery firm Poole Studio in the Sixties and it could be worth
£5,000. The holy grail, though, is a Rupert Bear annual from 1973, which is
worth £20,000 if Rupert has a brown face, rather than white. You can sell
your treasures at a car boot sale (pay £5-10 for a pitch), or flog them for
free in your front garden – but do advertise beforehand.