Renting Your Home for Film Shoots: The Little Known Lucrative Real Estate Niche With Big Profit Potential & Little Competition
What if you could rent your home for $300+/hr instead of $200/day? When you think about renting out your home, most people think of short-term rentals like Airbnb or VRBO. Have you ever considered renting out your home for film shoots? Film shoot rentals are a vastly untapped reservoir of opportunity that carries several unique benefits over both long term traditional real estate investing and AirBNB short-term rentals.
Josh Lawlor, the Founder of The Film Shoot Rental Roadmap, makes thousands of *tax free* dollars per day by renting his home for shoots, without the hassles that accompany other real estate methods. In fact, he made over $50,000 in his first 6 months!
Check out our episode we did with Josh
Demystifying Film Shoot Rentals
When you think of "Film Shoot Rentals", you might be thinking long-term, large budget feature film shoots. However for our purposes, we’re referring to less disruptive, one day video shoots, photo shoots, and commercial productions. The typical productions range from retail establishments promoting a new product line, start-ups creating content for a new website or social media campaign, or established brands shooting commercials.
Another misconception that is out there is that you need to live near Hollywood or have an amazing house. The reality is that film shoots take place across the United States, as well as other countries around the world. Since each shoot has unique location requirements, “regular” homes are just as
desirable as high-end homes. Small businesses exist in every city and every state in America, and they are looking for places to help market their products.
Additionally, you don’t need to know anything about the film shoot industry. Productions are
interested in your location, not your film industry experience. Film shoot rentals are quite flexible compared to other real estate niches. You decide when to host shoots, the size of the shoots you allow, which rooms of your house you make available for shoots. This flexibility makes this an ideal niche, even for parents with children.
Benefits Of Renting Your Home For Film Shoots
- Doesn't require a down payment, underwriting, or financing because you'e already living in your asset.
- Not subject to real estate boom and bust cycles.
- Unlike AirBNB, you don't need to vacate your home (these are typically one day shoots
where you can stay in your house the entire time). - More profitable than traditional long-term rentals and even short-term rentals (e.g., the
same house that might rent for $1,500/ month, or $200/ night on AirBNB, can rent for
$300+/hour for film shoots). - Don't need to live in a mansion or be near LA -- all different home types are sought after
as each production has unique style and location requirements. - Can start right away since you already have your asset (no need to go through lengthy
underwriting / closing process). - Potentially tax-free income.
- Because it’s so little known, there’s no competition.
- In addition to primary homes, short-term rental investors can increase revenue on short-term rental assets that may be struggling due to market conditions and/or changing regulation. Even thriving STR investors can benefit by booking shoots on the days with typically lower vacation bookings (as most shoots are booked on weekdays vs the traditional weekend schedule for vacation STRs).
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
While there are many benefits to film shoot rentals, if you’re not properly prepared, or “don’t
know what you don’t know”, consider the following:
- Not using the right listing platforms: not all listing platforms are created equal. In
general, you should use listing platforms that enable pricing transparency, as well as
legal and insurance protections. - Undervaluing your space: by mis-pricing your location, you’ll not only leave money on
the table, but are more likely to attract problematic, unprofessional crews. By charging
too much, you’ll miss out on opportunities for tax free income. - Miscommunication: failing to put in place the right communication strategies can result
in crews showing up early or late, or with a larger than agreed upon crew size. - Not screening production crews properly: can result in various issues associated with
less professional crews working in your home. - Regulatory issues: you can get into trouble by not being aware of or not following local
permitting requirements and other film policy regulations. - Legal & Insurance issues: not having the right legal protections or insurance in place can
leave you exposed.
How Do I Learn More?
If you’re equipped with the right knowledge and tools, you can avoid these issues and ensure profitable, hassle-free shoots. To learn more about starting your own film shoot rental journey, The Film Shoot Rental
Roadmap walks you step by step through everything you need to know to start earning money
renting your home for shoots!
