A MAN has revealed how he makes £8,000 a year through a side hustle that costs him no time or money.
Joe Gorham, from Brighton, Sussex, handsomely tops up his income as a full-time carer with a trick that many other homeowners could cash in on.
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Joe, 54, has been renting out extra parking spaces on his driveway since 2018.
The business attracts everyone from tourists to student nurses, and even people from the surrounding areas going to hospital.
He told The Mirror: “I started doing it because we had the spaces spare and we also had some issues with the house that needed to be sorted, we had to get a new roof because of a leak, and we also had to get the windows and the garage doors sorted too.
“It was initially for this but with all the price hikes going on it’s really helped us keep going.”
Joe recalled coming across the idea several years ago as he and his partner, who are keen cruise enthusiasts, were often left shelling out £200 per week for their parking in Southampton while they were on the seas.
A pal told him about YourParkingSpace, a site where people let out their spare spaces.
He joined up as a customer and managed to slash his costs to about £40 a week, leaving him with more money to enjoy his holidays.
Joe then had the idea to rent out three or four of the spaces on his driveway and got his first booking within two days – and they have been “pretty consistent” since.
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The house is just a ten-minute walk from the seafront and is close to plenty of good hotels and restaurants, he added.
There is even a charging point for electric vehicles.
He started out charging £8 for 24 hours of parking but has since increased it to £12.50.
However, he says that his prices are much lower than anywhere nearby.
Joe explained: “If you parked on Brighton Seafront, you are only allowed to park for 11 hours and that will cost you £33, if you go to the NCP car park it will cost you £48 for the day.
“The pay and display on our street costs you around £16 to park for four hours – so my spaces are pretty cheap in comparison.”
The service is friendlier too, as he goes out to meet his customers and offers directions and recommendations of what to do in Brighton.
During the pandemic, he offered the spaces for free to NHS staff and still refuses to charge cancer patients going for treatment.
However, he admits it isn’t always “smooth sailing” as strangers who haven’t booked just parking up on his drive.
Unfortunately, he can’t do much, as he explained: “I can’t clamp their car and I’ve got no way of contacting them either.”
He’s even had to cancel bookings last-minute and offer refunds as the space is filled by a random car, but says this is thankfully quite rare.
Joe also has to pay tax on all the extra income, as any profits over £1,000 have to be declared to HMRC.
YourParkingSpace also charges a 20% fee on top of all prices, which is where they make their money.
But he would still eagerly recommend it as a side hustle.
He added: “If you can do it, I would really recommend it as with everything that’s going on, it can give you that little bit of leeway with money.
“If you are going on holiday this year and you’re car parking space will be free, you can probably make £200 or £300 by renting it out so it’s definitely worth it, it’s really a good little earner.”
