November 19, 2008
Do you have a flare for home decoration? Do you understand the real estate business? If so, I believe you can make money being a home stylist.
Some call this ‘staging’ and there is money to be made here. When homeowners can’t sell their properties, they need help and that’s where you become valuable. There are TV shows (Sell This House, The Stagers, The House Doctor) devoted to this industry and there is at least one college program devoted to the study of home staging.
There are at least two ways to make money in this industry. You can advertise yourself as a ‘home stylist’ and make your money by doing critiques of homes. (yes, this should be part of the realtors job, however most realtors are afraid of offending the homeowner by telling them the truth) You charge a set fee to examine a house and make recommendations somewhat like a home inspector.
The second way to make money is to be a full on home stager. Get paid a fee to decorate a home so that it appeals to buyers enough that it sells quickly. You can rent furniture to furnish the home, oversee the cleaning, de-cluttering, painting etc There are several great books available on this subject. I’d start with the one by Anne Maurice.
Making money in this line of work depends on getting the word out. Align yourself with real estate brokers to get referrals, advertise in real estate for sale papers and work with For Sale by Owners.
This is not a make money now plan, but it is a great way to set yourself up for a new career.
November 10, 2008
Every fall, homeowners are faced with the unwanted task of cleaning their roof gutters. Falling leaves, small branches and those little ‘helicopter’ seeds from maple trees accumulate in the gutters and need to be cleaned out.
Go door to door looking for houses that have trees near the house and also homes that are especially well looked after. They should be your best prospects.
All you need is a ladder, some rubber gloves and some determination. Charge $10 for a small house and $20 for larger ones. If you are ddetermined and are not bothered by hearing a few “no’s” you should be able to make $100 – $200 per day.
October 11, 2008
Here is an easy way to make some extra cash with very little investment. Wash some windows.
Your total investment for a ladder, bucket, squeegee and some bulk window cleaner shouldn’t total more than $60 or $70. The truth is, no one likes to wash windows and that is why this cash idea can work for you.
You can price your service at 1 or 2 bucks per window and since most homes have about 10 windows you can be making 10 to 20 bucks per house on average. With a little practice you should be able to do a window in 3-5 minutes with extra time needed for second story windows.
If you aren’t worried about doing some honest work you should be able to earn bebtween $100 and $200 per day. A great extra cash idea that can be started with very little money.
