Author Topic: Renting Out A Shed: have you done it? Good idea or bad one?  (Read 3256 times)

Budgie

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Renting Out A Shed: have you done it? Good idea or bad one?
« on: December 25, 2019, 12:20:24 PM »
I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with renting out a garden shed? There is a 9x11 shed in my backyard that I am not using for storage. I am looking for ways to finance some landscaping projects I want to accomplish without impacting my budget and I thought that renting out this shed might provide some income toward that end.

This is not a shed that could be lived in and it has no climate control, but it could hold a lot of stuff. In my town, renting a non-climate control unit around the same size in a self-storage center runs about $80-95 per month, but of course those offer security and 24-hour access and aren't as "rough" as a wooden garden shed.

Anybody done it? Advice either way? Thanks.

LaineyAZ

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Re: Renting Out A Shed: have you done it? Good idea or bad one?
« Reply #1 on: December 25, 2019, 07:20:32 PM »
Haven't done it but I also have a good-sized backyard shed so I can see the temptation to make some money.

If you rent it, the renter would have to have access through your back yard - wouldn't that affect your privacy? 
And what about security concerns - do you normally keep your back patio door unlocked or have other items in your backyard that you would need to put away/lock down?  Would you restrict access to daytime hours? 
Worst case, maybe someone is storing illegal substances or stolen goods - could that ever be connected back to you?

Bottom line is I see this as more trouble than it's worth unless it's someone you know very well and trust, and you can agree on some basic access rules.

AccidentialMustache

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Re: Renting Out A Shed: have you done it? Good idea or bad one?
« Reply #2 on: December 25, 2019, 09:00:02 PM »
We "rent" a shed (1-car garage) to our lawn care guy, out at a country acre we own. It's near town and he likes it because he lives a ways out of town, so he can leave his equipment there and not have to pay gas to haul it into town. In return, the acre gets mowed. Works great for both of us. That he's there weekly in the spring/summer/fall and keeps an eye on the place is a nice side benefit for us.

When we build out there, I wouldn't be against the same sort of arrangement, but I suspect given our lawn guy's age and it being a few years down the road before we build/move, that he may have quit the biz by then.

theoverlook

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Re: Renting Out A Shed: have you done it? Good idea or bad one?
« Reply #3 on: December 26, 2019, 01:10:33 PM »
I've never done it but have heard of the website neighbor.com that lets you list storage space just like that. So you might be able to use it to gauge pricing and maybe even list if you decide to go that way. (Note, I've never used the site, just looked at listings on it, so I have no tips on how to use it or how likely it is to be reputable people contacting you from the listing.)

Budgie

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Re: Renting Out A Shed: have you done it? Good idea or bad one?
« Reply #4 on: December 26, 2019, 07:52:14 PM »
Haven't done it but I also have a good-sized backyard shed so I can see the temptation to make some money.

If you rent it, the renter would have to have access through your back yard - wouldn't that affect your privacy? 
And what about security concerns - do you normally keep your back patio door unlocked or have other items in your backyard that you would need to put away/lock down?  Would you restrict access to daytime hours? 
Worst case, maybe someone is storing illegal substances or stolen goods - could that ever be connected back to you?

Bottom line is I see this as more trouble than it's worth unless it's someone you know very well and trust, and you can agree on some basic access rules.

Good questions. I do not have anything in my backyard that could be carried away, and I would restrict access to daytime/evening hours. I think I would need to ask my homeowner's insurance about liability; I found a rental agreement template online but who knows if it'd provide protection in court.

I kind of think someone storing an illegal substance and who needs 100+ square feet to do so would want more security than my 4'picket fence provides, so I wasn't worrying about that, but now that you mention it, probably storing your stuff in the garden shed of a middle aged soccer mom and a couple of schnauzers in Christmas sweaters is pretty good camo. ;-)

As for more trouble than it's worth...could be. I'm gonna start by asking my insurance people and I'll post back.

Budgie

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Re: Renting Out A Shed: have you done it? Good idea or bad one?
« Reply #5 on: December 26, 2019, 07:53:05 PM »
I've never done it but have heard of the website neighbor.com that lets you list storage space just like that. So you might be able to use it to gauge pricing and maybe even list if you decide to go that way. (Note, I've never used the site, just looked at listings on it, so I have no tips on how to use it or how likely it is to be reputable people contacting you from the listing.)

Thanks! Never heard of that site, will check it out.

happy

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Re: Renting Out A Shed: have you done it? Good idea or bad one?
« Reply #6 on: December 27, 2019, 03:55:35 AM »
We rented a shed to a local  artist whilst his studio was being built. He paid his rent regularly.  He still has some stuff stored outside the shed that he is being a bit slow removing, but otherwise no problems and easy money.

bookguy

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Re: Renting Out A Shed: have you done it? Good idea or bad one?
« Reply #7 on: December 28, 2019, 08:38:47 PM »
While not a shed, the first house I bought had a six stall garage, unattached. Three single stalls and one large space that was also 3 stalls in total. I rented out the three singles and one stall in the large space. The house was in a sketchy neighborhood, but I never had any issues with people breaking in. The only issue I had was that the tenant with the stall in the large place stopped paying me after a while. Luckily, he lived across the street, and I hounded him until he moved his crap out. Then, about a year later, it turned out the the tenant who had the end single stall had some flammable materials stored in a paper 50 gallon drum, and it caught fire early one morning, burning down the three single stalls. He then wanted to know if my insurance would cover his loss. The fire was so hot it melted aluminum siding that was stored there. That ended my career as a landlord lol.

Would I do it again? As we used to say in the Navy, "Not just no, but fuck no." The money, which wasn't great to begin with, wasn't worth the problems.

former player

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Re: Renting Out A Shed: have you done it? Good idea or bad one?
« Reply #8 on: December 29, 2019, 02:19:25 AM »
If you are going to rent out, make sure you have a signed and witnessed agreement that if the renter stops paying then after a certain period (a month or two, say) you have the right to dispose of anything left in the shed as you like.  Otherwise you might be stuck with a shed full of someone else's crap and no good way to deal with it.

Budgie

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Re: Renting Out A Shed: have you done it? Good idea or bad one?
« Reply #9 on: January 02, 2020, 05:36:05 PM »
Thank you all. I heard back from my homeowner's insurance agent today and I was surprised to learn that as long as a tenant isn't using the shed to run a business, the shed and contents are covered by my policy.

I hear what you are saying about 1) sketchy people not paying and 2) hazmats. Any time I think of any storage unit, I think of an episode of Oprah where this guy had killed his wife and put her in a bin in a storage unit. Many years after he remarried, his new wife was in charge of the bills and stopped paying for the unit, thinking "If he hasn't needed that stuff in 20 years, he doesn't really need it" or whatever. When they opened it up to toss his stuff, he was busted. So scary!

I'll think about the risks vs. income...and what to add to the lease template I found online to protect myself if I go forward.