A woman has revealed how she earns up to £7,600 a month renting her house out to holidaymakers while she lives on her driveway. Alexi McKinley, from Washington, America, opens her house up to Airbnb and VRBO customers two weeks a month to earn an extra income.
The 26-year-old became strapped for cash after taking maternity leave in January 2020, when she worked as a corporate sales manager for a Marriott hotel. Around this time, her husband was also forced to scale back his construction and tractor-services company.
The couple decided to take the risk after hearing about how an Alaskan family made a whopping £38,000 ($47,100) after listing their house over the summer months.
Alexi told Business Insider: "We thought that sounded like crazy money, and we were in desperate need of income.
"It was the middle of the pandemic and the future was very uncertain.
"Our goal was to pay our mortgage every month with Airbnb."
They set about taking pictures of their home and writing up the listing - and before they knew it, they had two back-to-back bookings.
Alexi added: "We went to Costco and bought new pots, pans, utensils, a paper-towel holder, and water to stock the fridge.
"We bought packs of sponges, soap, shampoo, conditioner, and blow dryers for the bathrooms.
"Anything we replaced found a new home in the trailer, which was nice because it already felt familiar when making the move."
While deep cleaning the house ready for their guests, the couple moved all their personal belongings into the locked master bedroom and garage.
They then vacated their home and moved into their 018 32-foot MPG travel trailer - which was parked up on the driveway.
She added: “None of our guests seem to care that we're in the driveway, and a lot of them even invite us over to hang out with them on the back patio.
"I do all of my work in my car or at Starbucks. My husband cooks outside on his Blackstone."
In their first year of renting, the couple managed to almost match the Alaskan family's earnings - banking £36,000 ($44,600).
Thanks to their new stream of income, the couple's £2,160 ($2,680) per month mortgage is always covered.
They usually earn between £2,400 ($2,970) and £4,500 ($5,580) a month, with their highest month being July 2021 when they earnt £7,600 ($9,430).
They also had enough money left over to pay for trips to Nashville, Tennessee; Maui, Hawaii; Huntington Beach, California; New York, Idaho, and Arizona.
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