Long Island couple rents out driveway and basement to boost income amid inflation

ELMONT, N.Y. — As inflation puts the squeeze on, some people are turning to creative ways to boost their income. 

As CBS2’s Dave Carlin reported Friday, it could be as simple as looking around your own home. 

Janee Boothe, a educator, and her husband Khamron, who’s in security, bought their house in Elmont last year. 

“After paying the mortgage and taking care of all the bills and all of that, we really don’t have any extra money to put into the house,” Boothe said. 

To make extra money, they rent out the top of their driveway. They get about $200 a month to store the car of a man who answered their post on Neighbor.com. 

“We can just park my car behind, or just park it on the street, either way,” Boothe said. 

They’re renting out their roomy, empty basement, too. 

“The app takes care of all of the fees, all of the liabilities, all the insurances, all that stuff. So it’s really not a lot of work for us,” Boothe said. 

It means every month they can bring in an extra $700. 

“We put it straight into our savings account. We’re looking to redo the basement so we have more space as our family gets bigger,” Boothe said. 

“If you have a backyard, for example, you could rent that out. Folk are renting out their pools … On a day like today, that would be absolutely perfect,” said Kristin Myers, editor in chief of The Balance, a personal finance help site. 

“When I was in Hawaii, car rental prices were absolutely insane. So I went onto the app Turo and there were hundreds of cars available for rent,”  Myers said.

Before you jump on any of these opportunities, you’ll want to do your research, Myers said. 

“Before you even start looking at one of the websites, you really have to look to make sure that what you’re doing is actually legal. If you are renting part of your home, whether it’s on Airbnb or Vrbo or any other websites, you have to actually make sure your local regulations allow it,” Myers said. 

Myers said your yard can become a rented film set or rented play area for a dog. You have the space, now monetize it.

Myers said it’s best for most people to stick to apps that have the know-how to set up the arrangements and insurance, as opposed to peer-to-peer apps (like Craigslist) where you’re often working out deals with nobody else as a go-between.