Neighbor Review: The “Airbnb of Storage”- Earn Up to $300/Month Renting Out Your Extra Space
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For years Airbnb gained popularity and prominence by allowing people to rent empty rooms to anyone around the world. The concept is amazing, but many are understandably wary of letting strangers into their homes (especially during the pandemic) and the upkeep required to clean after each guest. It’s a lot more work involved to maintain a good rating!
But what if you could passively earn money without having to worry about a stream of guests?
For those with unused spaces at home, Neighbor can be your next source of cash.
What is Neighbor?
Much like how Airbnb allows “hosts” to make money by renting their free rooms to guests, Neighbor allows hosts to earn profits by renting out empty space within their homes. Hosts post listings on their own and set their own prices, and posting listings are completely free.
Whether you have an empty closet, guest room, space in your garage, a shed, a driveway, or a basement with room for storage, you can make money by renting the space to your neighbors on Neighbor.
To get a feel of how much you could earn, Becca P., a middle school teacher makes an extra $10,000 a year just by being a host!
The benefit for renters is that the average listing on Neighbor is about half the price of renting traditional storage space making it a beneficial arrangement for both parties.
How Does Neighbor Work?
Posting a listing on Neighbor is quick and easy to do. As soon as your listing goes live, you can field requests from potential renters, discuss what they plan to store and choose the best client for you. Neighbor not only provides the opportunity for hosts to earn cash but also to bring people closer together as neighbors help neighbors.
It’s simple to start:
- List your space for free (describe the space you have available, upload photos, and how much you’d like to earn)
- Review renter requests (what they want to store/when) and approve
- Schedule a move-in time with your new renter for their belongings
There’s no extra paperwork and Neighbor automatically deposits money into your account each month, even if the renter doesn’t pay.
What Are Neighbor’s Fees?
To cover processing costs, Neighbor takes 4.9% of the reservation cost plus 30 cents on every payment you receive. In addition, Neighbor takes a small fee from renters. These costs help keep the platform running and back up Neighbor’s $1 million host guarantee against personal liability. If something you’re storing is damaged by no fault of your own, Neighbor will cover the costs for the renter and protect you.
Is Neighbor Safe to Use?
In addition to the host guarantee mentioned above, Neighbor has a number of ways to ensure that payments are secured and protected. While renting out your space, Neighbor guarantees you’ll get paid even if the renter stops paying for whatever reason. Payments are made through Neighbor’s secure processor, so you’ll 100% get what you earn.
The Bottom Line
Overall, Neighbor offers a simple, community-based way for people to earn some cash by using up the empty, unused space in their homes. You’ll only be renting to people who live nearby, of course, since they need to actually bring their stuff to your home, so you get the chance to help your neighbors and boost your income.
One of the coolest aspects of the platform is that by introducing it into your community, you give it a chance to continue growing. There are no restrictions on where in the U.S. Neighbor can operate, so if it’s not in your town yet you can introduce it! Maybe you’ll start as a host, but in a few years, you may need to rent space. By that time, others in your neighborhood might be hosts too, and then can help you like you helped others!
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