29 Ways to Make Money | Beyond Suburbia

29 WAYS TO MAKE MONEY FROM YOUR WELL DESIGNED HOME

AND NEIGHBORHOOD*

*America is still building homes and neighborhoods for Ward and June Cleaver, as if Wally and the Beave have never left home. Some of these ideas aren’t supported by local zoning codes, but the times are changing. Wally and the Beave are talking to city officials and lenders across the country. Wally predicts when gasoline reaches $4.50 per gallon, the Suburbanites will take to the streets, demanding these changes!.

Home Design

1. Rent Out a Room

Design in private entrances, locate bedrooms away from each other. Design two master suite homes with transition rooms between private and shared spaces. Sub meter so everyone pays his or her share. $300-$600 per month income

2. Rent Out “Granny Flat” Above Garage

Live/work homes have separate workspace, commercial potential. Large space potential. Sub meter. $12/sf per month and up.

4. Sell Part of Your Home

Design for private entrances, etc. Tenants-in-common or condo association is enabling legal mechanism. Sub meter so everyone pays his or her share. Big bucks $50-$150,000 and up

A dollar saved is a dollar earned! Increase the R-value in the walls and ceiling, so there is little need for heat. Waste heat from refrigerator, lights, computer, solar panel on roof, wood burning stove, or fan coil from hot water heater heat the home. Requires fresh air heat recovery exchange venting. Future proof your cash flow from post peak oil production spikes. A little bit higher mortgage payment (approx $6/month) cuts heating and cooling bill in half down to almost nothing.

6. Lowered Cost of Living

Install energy/water efficient washer/dryer, dishwasher. Less detergent, less wear and tear on clothes, less water, less energy to dry. Even more savings with a shared laundry; save space in home thus lower mortgage payment. Approx $3000 savings per household plus the cost of appliances. Install switched hot water recirculate pump. Saves water waiting for the heat.

7. Lower Heating Bill

Shared boiler, storage tank, and solar collectors, photovoltaic panels for pumping water. Sub meter so everyone pays his or her share. Less square footage in individual homes lowers mortgage approx $3-4,000 savings. Less equipment per household offers purchase and maintence savings.$

Local commercial space is owned, managed, and profits are shared by the neighborhood. Neighborhood decides where the commercial goes and partners up with a developer to get it built. Shop locally, profit share from leases and profits from revenue above agreed upon targets. Café, restaurant, ebay store, bookstore, pizza, deli, bakery, bank/neighborhood credit union, coffee/tea house, Post Office, healthy 7-11/Biofuel station, video rental store, ETC. Safer streets, with all ages walking to work, school, shopping, entertainment, the bus stop, and play. Big $$$$$ over one’s lifetime.

9. Profit Share from New Residential Square Footage

To make commercial successful, and streets safer, the neighborhood needs more residents. Create more residential spaces with infill, greater density, and residential above commercial. Income from newly created square footage is shared with neighborhood. New square footage (commercial and residential) is put into Community Land Trust, and neighborhood stays affordable, as an alternate source of income is created in lieu of open market gentrification. $$$$

10. Profit Share from Open Market Resale of Gentrifying Homes

As folks move out, part of their windfall is shared with neighborhood. The neighborhood’s good planning and location created the windfall value, it’s the neighborhood’s to share. $$$$

11. Fewer Autos per Household

Share a car, truck, RV, or a sailboat (for example). A Car Share Program, along with a good bus system or a cooperative neighborhood (see Clustered Homes) allows neighbors to live without everyone having to own a car. Save up to $6,000 per year in gas, insurance, maintence, payments. $$$$

13. Save Seven Years of Mortgage Payments

Creative mortgage payments. Make a ½ mortgage payment every two weeks, and cut 7 years of payments off of a 30-year loan. Or make a 13th payment every year, and save the same amount. Huge $$$$

14. Eco Tourism and Vacations

Exchange of innovative ideas and energy. Neighborhoods in vacation destinations, will find mutual benefit from partnering up with neighborhoods going for sustainability and economic justice. Vacations in an exotic place becomes a deeply satisfying experience, an inexpensive “working” vacation where an exchange of ideas and cultures leaves all parties richer for the experience.

15. Lower Health Care Costs…A Healthy Lifestyle

Walk more, drive less with a mixed-use neighborhood and a neighborhood trail system.

Reduce stress; more joy with emotional intelligence skills, healthy relationships, easier to live life and work with others.

Reduce Stress; Creative Banking Programs acts as safety net, support a Mortgage Pool, and offer reverse mortgages.

Stay active, engaged throughout life. Stay intellectually and physically active with meaningful, joyful work. In mixed-use neighborhoods provide facilities for a place to play ping-pong, do yoga, mediate, garden year round with a greenhouse, and dance, all within walking/biking distance in your neighborhood.

Live in a neighborhood that provides more opportunities to celebrate life. Locate community hot tub and sauna on a roof top deck; celebrate the sunsets.

Make it intergenerational; we all have a lot to give to each other. Youth remind us to stay young, free in our expression. Seniors have wisdom and a lifetime of experience, both of great value. $$$$

Cluster homes around a common courtyard, live independently, and yet have a greater sense of community after four o’clock. Great for singles. Huge opportunity to share amenities. Serve up popcorn and a video on the big screen in the home theater viewing room.$$$$

17. Lowered Elder Care

Age in place programs, where healthier residence accrue credits by serving seniors who need assistance (time banking). Local schools provide training so school age children and teens can assist seniors with errands, etc. Neighborhood guest room suites allow families to come for extended periods to help an elder after a fall or recover from an illness. Saves money by lowering cost of services. Provides peace of mind. $$$$

18. Assisted Living and End of Life Care

Neighborhood guest room suites allow an assisted living professional to live nearby affordably and provide care to the locals in need. Elder (time banking) training program includes death and dying skills. $$$$ Saves money by lowering cost of services. Provides peace of mind.

19. Successful Entrepreneur Skills

With 3-4 career changes the norm, mixed-use neighborhood provides training for future career changes and entrepreneur opportunities. Neighborhood profit sharing (see above) teaches business skills. Commercial kitchen, small startup spaces, office pool, nearby business center, pack mail all contribute to lower start up costs. Local facilities provide space to give a class, a presentation, or hold a conference. Global economy demands flexibility and change. Neighborhood entrepreneur support pays off in robust local businesses, bigger profit sharing. $$$$

20. Life Long Learning

Neighborhood facilities make learning a part of daily life. A computer “room” where all ages gather to share skills, tips, and tricks, a library/reading room, where magazine subscriptions are recycled, and a multiple purpose room where neighbors can give or take classes. Emotional, financial, and teamwork skills training are offered, all facilitate life long learning. Priceless $$$

21. Time is Money

Cooperation can give you time! A shared dinner plan, like in cohousings, give participants 7 out of 8 evenings off a month (for example) with a shared dinner where someone else does the planning, shopping, cooking and cleanup until its your turn.

Mixed-use neighborhoods allow for reduced commute times and time spent driving around town, chauffeuring kids, etc with work, shopping, and entertainment located within walking distance. How much is time worth?? $$$$$

22. Share Guest Rooms

A neighborhood cluster of guest rooms eliminates the need for guest rooms in each home. Major savings. Profit sharing as short-term rentals when available. $$$$$

23. Share Work Out Facility

Yoga space, gym equipment, possibly in a converted garage, made possible with the car share program. Eliminates the need for work out space in each home, shares the cost of equipment, creates a greater sense of community. Conveniently located. $$$

24. Share Shop Facilities Space

Woodworking shop, ceramics lab, weaving studio, etc, possibly in converted garages, made possible with the car share program.

25. Share Food Purchasing and Food Facilities

Freezer-buy local, organically grown meat, store and share wild game from neighborhood hunter/ gatherers.

Commercial Kitchen- place for shared meals program, entrepreneur production, neighborhood harvest canning. Profit sharing when rented out to caterers, bakers, assembled meals, weddings, etc.

Chicken Coup–source of eggs and manure, connection to the earth’s abundance.

Composting facility-conveniently located, earthworms love all paper (formerly trash). Builds local soil for healthy vegetables and water retention capacity. Chicken coup and compost facility odor and insect free with EM (effective microorganisms) sprays. Organic fertilizer, trash to treasure

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) memberships-local organic food, lessens transportation pollution, supports local farmers. Shared memberships takes the pressure off of having to deal with each weeks delivery.

Greenhouse-possibility for aquaculture, fish and vegetable production, extended seasons.

Wine Room-wine lovers can easily share their passion with neighbors. When a private club, liquor license isn’t necessary.

Beers on tap-better quality, reduces need for bottles, supports local producers, celebration of daily life, promotes family oriented pub and a greater sense of community. Smoke free, a place to unwind and enjoy local musicians.

26. Neighborhood Tool Library

“Lawnmower”, gardening tools, pond vacuum, ladders, hammer drill, plumbing snake, musical instruments, etc. Why own everything? Lessens home storage needs. $

27. Neighborhood Sports Equipment Library

Volley ball and net, basketballs, ping-pong table, pool table, croquet set, bocce balls, bicycles, tricycles, ETC. Lessens home storage needs. Promotes health and affordable fun for all ages $

Cisterns and recycled water. As a neighborhood in a drought challenged community remodels itself into a mixed-use, mixed-income more sustainability way of life, the water budget will require innovation and cooperation. In years of drought, doing more with less becomes essential around water usage. Creative, innovative, and pragmatic efforts will bear big fruit, allowing neighborhoods to move toward sustainability. No solutions, no building permits. Solutions will bring huge profits. $$$$$

29. Lower Insurance Premiums

The day will come where Insurance Companies, hammered by more and bigger Global Warming natural catastrophes will reduce premiums to households who live in sustainable mixed-use neighborhoods. Reduced homeowners insurance for low CO2 emitting lifestyle, reduced health insurance in neighborhoods with walkable lifestyles.$

Beyond suburbia lives a spirited, mutually-beneficial neighborhood…We’ll meet you there!