Rent Your Home By The Day!: Tip-of-the-Day #103

PUT YOUR HOME TO WORK FOR YOU!

When I worked in advertising, there were often elaborate photoshoots for clients producing catalogs, a new website or major refresh, and even commercials. There's only so much you can do in a closed studio set however. You can fake a backdrop or come in tight on a product sitting on a table so that you can't see anything but the table and the product, but what you can't easily create is the comfort and style that comes with photographing products in true lifestyle settings.

I worked on several well known home furnishings catalogs for instance, and they would actively seek out homes appropriate to featuring their wares best; light filled, modern, simple and probably most important, available for staging. For the right home and the right homeowner, this can be a lucrative business. "Renting" your home to cataloguers or even film producers to ensure the authenticity of their work, means money in your pocket.

It also means clearing out all your stuff, finding somewhere else to live (for the day, week or month that your home is inhabited) and being "okay" with the idea that you may come back to scuffed floors, walls and a microwave with foreign substance stuccoed to its interior.

I would say that the opportunity to both make some good money (rates can start at a $1000/day and go up quickly from there) and see your home "in lights" may make this a promising proposition for you.

Helpful tips if you think this might be for you:

- Publicize your location to scouts and services in your area and beyond
- If your property is chosen, gather information about the production company, the type of production and proof of insurance
- Know the logistics of the shoot such as how many people are in the cast and crew
- Have clear deal points, such as payment schedule and restrictions on the use of your property
- When the production is complete, inspect your property with someone from the company and make sure the production company restores your property to its original look and disposes of all trash

Check out sites like:
akalocations.com
nycfilmlocations.sothebyshomes.com
elliman.com
onthemarklocations.com
craigslist.org (in your city)

Good luck!