How Should We Sell Our Parking Spots?
September 19, 2014 7:37 AM Subscribe
My girlfriend and I are renting a house close to a large US University. We have a spacious driveway with at least four extra off the street parking spaces. We would like to rent out these spaces. What are our options?
The options that come to mind are (1) selling semester/monthly access on Craigslist (2) Putting the spots up on some sort of parking exchange website.
My back of the envelope calculation says that we could make more by making these “daily” type spots and charge roughly half of the nearby parking garage. This would of course come with increased overhead and would probably be impossible to do without some sort of app or service.
My Questions:
(1) The only parking exchange type website we found was “Just Park”, which seems to be primarily a UK based service. Has anyone had success with this in the states?
(2) Are there any other parking exchange apps/services that people know of?
(3) Are there any legal issues we need to watch out for? Lets assume our landlord has given us the go ahead.
(4) Have you done anything similar? How successful were you? What did and did not work?
The options that come to mind are (1) selling semester/monthly access on Craigslist (2) Putting the spots up on some sort of parking exchange website.
My back of the envelope calculation says that we could make more by making these “daily” type spots and charge roughly half of the nearby parking garage. This would of course come with increased overhead and would probably be impossible to do without some sort of app or service.
My Questions:
(1) The only parking exchange type website we found was “Just Park”, which seems to be primarily a UK based service. Has anyone had success with this in the states?
(2) Are there any other parking exchange apps/services that people know of?
(3) Are there any legal issues we need to watch out for? Lets assume our landlord has given us the go ahead.
(4) Have you done anything similar? How successful were you? What did and did not work?
My back of the envelope calculation says that we could make more by making these “daily” type spots and charge roughly half of the nearby parking garage.Is that assuming that you get someone to park in your spots all or most days? That seems extremely unlikely to me. There may be some sort of parking exchange website, but most people aren't going to know about it and are going to go straight to the parking garage, even if it costs more money. I think you're better off doing a monthly or semester-long deal. It seems like less hassle and more security, since you'll know in advance how much you'll make every month.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:41 AM on September 19, 2014 [5 favorites]
Sorry: one big caveat to that last answer. If the university is a big sports school, and if you're anywhere near the stadium, you can make a lot of money renting out your parking spaces on game days. And I do mean a lot of money. Probably, all you need to do is put up a sign on the morning of the game and wait outside for someone to drive up.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:44 AM on September 19, 2014 [19 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:44 AM on September 19, 2014 [19 favorites]
I don't have answers to any of these questions, but I might ask you to consider this.
Will you or your girlfriend have to be on-site every day? Are you going to have to collect cash and checks on a daily basis? What do you plan to do if someone parks in your spaces without permission?
It seems to me that long-term arrangements may be much easier to administer.
But I agree with A&C above: if you're just going to do this on game day, you'll have much higher demand, because your spaces are much more valuable that day.
posted by Mr. Justice at 7:45 AM on September 19, 2014 [2 favorites]
Will you or your girlfriend have to be on-site every day? Are you going to have to collect cash and checks on a daily basis? What do you plan to do if someone parks in your spaces without permission?
It seems to me that long-term arrangements may be much easier to administer.
But I agree with A&C above: if you're just going to do this on game day, you'll have much higher demand, because your spaces are much more valuable that day.
posted by Mr. Justice at 7:45 AM on September 19, 2014 [2 favorites]
Check your lease; places I've lived under similar circumstances made it clear that any money we made on the property itself belonged to the landlord.
posted by tchemgrrl at 7:48 AM on September 19, 2014 [7 favorites]
posted by tchemgrrl at 7:48 AM on September 19, 2014 [7 favorites]
Our fraternity house at college had some extra parking spots. We rented them out by the semester. They still do it, and I think they are getting about $350 a semester in the upper Midwest. We had a form with all the usual language about parking at your own risk, etc. You could probably find a suitable generic liability release form online somewhere.
posted by COD at 7:48 AM on September 19, 2014
posted by COD at 7:48 AM on September 19, 2014
Response by poster: Sorry: one big caveat to that last answer. If the university is a big sports school, and if you're anywhere near the stadium, you can make a lot of money renting out your parking spaces on game days. And I do mean a lot of money. Probably, all you need to do is put up a sign on the morning of the game and wait outside for someone to drive up.
We have been doing this, and it has been very lucrative. It was what got us thinking about parking during the rest of the year.
posted by AfterAlbuquerque at 7:49 AM on September 19, 2014
We have been doing this, and it has been very lucrative. It was what got us thinking about parking during the rest of the year.
posted by AfterAlbuquerque at 7:49 AM on September 19, 2014
What does your lease say about this, if anything? I can't imagine that your landlord is ok with random people parking on his property. To say nothing of your landlord's insurance company. You're looking for a world of hurt if someone gets injured (or claims to have been injured) as a result of you offering this service.
posted by dfriedman at 7:49 AM on September 19, 2014 [8 favorites]
posted by dfriedman at 7:49 AM on September 19, 2014 [8 favorites]
Also, your own renter's insurance may not cover such use of your rented driveway, municipality may not allow such ventures.
posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 7:49 AM on September 19, 2014
posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 7:49 AM on September 19, 2014
When I was commuting by rail and did not have a parking permit for the nearby train station, I rented a driveway spot. Craigslist. Also, I think a small sign in your yard, the size of one of those candidate signs that says monthly parking available with a phone number.
What was helpful and necessary was clarity about the hours and days you are renting the spots. I was a daily commuter. They were offering M-F 6:00am to 8:00pm with the understanding I would sometimes work late. They did not want my car there in the weekends or holidays.
I think monthly is the way to go. You may forego some revenue, but you limit your risk of no one parking that day and you have it much easier in terms of operational issues.
posted by 724A at 7:52 AM on September 19, 2014 [3 favorites]
What was helpful and necessary was clarity about the hours and days you are renting the spots. I was a daily commuter. They were offering M-F 6:00am to 8:00pm with the understanding I would sometimes work late. They did not want my car there in the weekends or holidays.
I think monthly is the way to go. You may forego some revenue, but you limit your risk of no one parking that day and you have it much easier in terms of operational issues.
posted by 724A at 7:52 AM on September 19, 2014 [3 favorites]
Best answer: You're going to want to list these parking spots in the best way for your potential customer base to find them. If that's students at the local university, flyering around campus is probably going to get you better results than using a random website that isn't popular in the US. If there's an app for this, you're going to want to find out which app the local university students are using.
While I think in absolute terms you could earn more by parking people by the day, I don't think it's going to be easy to get "by the day" parkers to your spots. For one thing, you're not going to be able to just put up a craigslist ad or a flyer and be done with it. You're going to have to do a sustained campaign to constantly be attracting new people to your parking spots. I could see this working if you're able to put a permanent sign in your yard advertising the spots, but otherwise the energy you spend finding customers is going to eat into the added profits of doing it that way.
Additionally, if you're looking to appeal to students or university staff, most people like to park in roughly the same place every day. Maybe not the same specific spot, but, like, the same general area. I work on a large campus and have a particular structure I'm assigned to park in. Within that structure, I have a particular level/section I prefer. The idea that all these people who commute to the same place every day are going to perhaps opt to park with you, perhaps park somewhere else, on a totally random basis, isn't realistic.
I think you'd be better off renting the spots by the month or even by the semester, unless what you're really looking to do is occasional parking on game days or when there are events on campus. If that's what you're looking to do, your best bet to attract cars to your spots is going to be a sign in your yard, not an app.
posted by Sara C. at 7:53 AM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
While I think in absolute terms you could earn more by parking people by the day, I don't think it's going to be easy to get "by the day" parkers to your spots. For one thing, you're not going to be able to just put up a craigslist ad or a flyer and be done with it. You're going to have to do a sustained campaign to constantly be attracting new people to your parking spots. I could see this working if you're able to put a permanent sign in your yard advertising the spots, but otherwise the energy you spend finding customers is going to eat into the added profits of doing it that way.
Additionally, if you're looking to appeal to students or university staff, most people like to park in roughly the same place every day. Maybe not the same specific spot, but, like, the same general area. I work on a large campus and have a particular structure I'm assigned to park in. Within that structure, I have a particular level/section I prefer. The idea that all these people who commute to the same place every day are going to perhaps opt to park with you, perhaps park somewhere else, on a totally random basis, isn't realistic.
I think you'd be better off renting the spots by the month or even by the semester, unless what you're really looking to do is occasional parking on game days or when there are events on campus. If that's what you're looking to do, your best bet to attract cars to your spots is going to be a sign in your yard, not an app.
posted by Sara C. at 7:53 AM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
Also, re your reply, you might want to compare the amount you currently make for event parking to what you would get renting by the month or the semester, since surely the latter would cut into the former. Presumably people who rent a spot from you on a long term basis are going to assume they have access to their spot regardless of what events are going on locally.
posted by Sara C. at 7:58 AM on September 19, 2014 [7 favorites]
posted by Sara C. at 7:58 AM on September 19, 2014 [7 favorites]
Best answer: The way this works in the neighborhoods I've lived in is you put up flyers on telephone poles near your house and you say you have parking available, with a phone number. I've even seen the reverse, with people putting up flyers *asking* if anyone has parking available.
When you talk about monthly or semester parking are you thinking of people who would drive to work and park in your driveway for the day, or people who would park their car at your house instead of at their own house? Either could work. Work-day only people might be harder to recruit, but they would leave the driveway open for game-day parking.
If you're trying to recruit people away from the parking garage nearby, put up flyers (with the price you're asking) where people will see them as they walk to the garage.
Seriously, I think this is a situation where an old-fashioned photocopied sign is your best bet. You know where the people you're looking for are, physically. You don't know where they hang out online.
posted by mskyle at 8:01 AM on September 19, 2014 [2 favorites]
When you talk about monthly or semester parking are you thinking of people who would drive to work and park in your driveway for the day, or people who would park their car at your house instead of at their own house? Either could work. Work-day only people might be harder to recruit, but they would leave the driveway open for game-day parking.
If you're trying to recruit people away from the parking garage nearby, put up flyers (with the price you're asking) where people will see them as they walk to the garage.
Seriously, I think this is a situation where an old-fashioned photocopied sign is your best bet. You know where the people you're looking for are, physically. You don't know where they hang out online.
posted by mskyle at 8:01 AM on September 19, 2014 [2 favorites]
If I were you, I'd start with my personal network before throwing the parking spaces out to the whole world. Do you have friends that work at the university? Do you know anyone personally who is a student? It sounds like you'd be giving the spot-renter a good deal compared to the nearby lots and garage. Start with your friends and/or friends-of-friends.
Also - people who work at the university would have a steadier schedule (M-F, 9-5, etc). There would be less of "Can I just rent the space on Mondays and Thursdays when I have class, and that'll change next semester?" that you would be likely to get from students.
posted by Elly Vortex at 8:16 AM on September 19, 2014
Also - people who work at the university would have a steadier schedule (M-F, 9-5, etc). There would be less of "Can I just rent the space on Mondays and Thursdays when I have class, and that'll change next semester?" that you would be likely to get from students.
posted by Elly Vortex at 8:16 AM on September 19, 2014
...Has your landlord agreed to this? In writing? In your lease? Because, speaking as a landlord, my response is OMG MY LIABILITY INSURANCE.
posted by thomas j wise at 8:16 AM on September 19, 2014 [6 favorites]
posted by thomas j wise at 8:16 AM on September 19, 2014 [6 favorites]
Yeah, this might not be okay with your landlord. But I've seen some parking listings on Airbnb, and here's another app (only in beta in Boston, I think). I've seen a few other startups try to make parking spot apps, but no one really successful yet. The daily thing seems a little riskier and more hassle for you...Craigslist for a semester is probably a better option, if it is something your landlord lets you sublet.
posted by three_red_balloons at 8:33 AM on September 19, 2014
posted by three_red_balloons at 8:33 AM on September 19, 2014
Best answer: We used to do this. Some considerations:
Our city required a permit. Otherwise, because we weren't the landowner, we couldn't have cars ticketed/towed. Renters have a limited set of rights compared to landowners and this will vary by municipality.
We had to get permission from the landlord - naturally, he was keen on a cut of the money from the use of his land.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:36 AM on September 19, 2014 [6 favorites]
Our city required a permit. Otherwise, because we weren't the landowner, we couldn't have cars ticketed/towed. Renters have a limited set of rights compared to landowners and this will vary by municipality.
We had to get permission from the landlord - naturally, he was keen on a cut of the money from the use of his land.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:36 AM on September 19, 2014 [6 favorites]
Best answer: The other negative option you open yourself to, especially by making semi formal/official is taxation if you are not claiming the income. Now, it's pretty unlikely the IRS/State revenue will actually notice by themselves, but if your situation becomes a nuisance in any way to neighbors, or you end up in conflict with them, or your landlord, or one of your parking spot clients, about something else there is the potential someone may report you.
The game day parking happens at such a chaotic time no one is paying attention to who is parked where as long as it isn't in front of THEIR driveway, a more long term affair might draw more attention then you want depending on the neighborhood.
I think that in general it may be best to try to fill these spots in as unobtrusive a manner as possible. In theory the monthly option sounds pretty good, but you also may be promising something that someone else (landlord) could revoke unilaterally.
Which is not saying DON'T DO IT... rather just be aware of how many ways this could go pear shaped and be willing to deal with it if it does.
posted by edgeways at 8:37 AM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
The game day parking happens at such a chaotic time no one is paying attention to who is parked where as long as it isn't in front of THEIR driveway, a more long term affair might draw more attention then you want depending on the neighborhood.
I think that in general it may be best to try to fill these spots in as unobtrusive a manner as possible. In theory the monthly option sounds pretty good, but you also may be promising something that someone else (landlord) could revoke unilaterally.
Which is not saying DON'T DO IT... rather just be aware of how many ways this could go pear shaped and be willing to deal with it if it does.
posted by edgeways at 8:37 AM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
Monthly vs. Daily really depends on the general parking availablility situation there. If it's tight like around where I work or the garage is expensive, you don't need to do much advertising beyond a sign in the driveway. Enough people will see it just driving around looking for street parking.
I actually think daily would be easier if you had some sort of drop box to collect money and didn't have to be present. Extra complication for monthly: if someone paid you monthly and then arrived to find someone else in their spot, do they get a pro-rated refund? Seems like an extra nuisance to not just let people park in an empty spot, but to actually promise them the spot will be theirs in the future.
Another bonus of daily parking is that sometimes someone will leave after a couple of hours and you can re-sell the empty spot.
posted by ctmf at 1:01 PM on September 19, 2014
I actually think daily would be easier if you had some sort of drop box to collect money and didn't have to be present. Extra complication for monthly: if someone paid you monthly and then arrived to find someone else in their spot, do they get a pro-rated refund? Seems like an extra nuisance to not just let people park in an empty spot, but to actually promise them the spot will be theirs in the future.
Another bonus of daily parking is that sometimes someone will leave after a couple of hours and you can re-sell the empty spot.
posted by ctmf at 1:01 PM on September 19, 2014
In addition to your landlord, how do your neighbors feel about this happening on an ongoing basis? Are you creating any extra noise and/or traffic? Are you increasing the transitory nature of your ara by bringing in constantly changing ransoms?
posted by Room 641-A at 1:21 PM on September 19, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Room 641-A at 1:21 PM on September 19, 2014 [2 favorites]
Best answer: if you live in snow country, who shovels? Probably you. If your landlord pays for plowing, and learns you are renting the parking, unpleasantness might ensue.
posted by theora55 at 1:32 PM on September 19, 2014
posted by theora55 at 1:32 PM on September 19, 2014
Since this is a driveway, is it possible that the latecomers will park behind the cars that parked earlier? If so, you'll have to be there all day moving cars so that everybody can get out.
posted by JimN2TAW at 2:05 PM on September 19, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by JimN2TAW at 2:05 PM on September 19, 2014 [5 favorites]
I swore I fixed that. It should be randoms, not ransoms.
posted by Room 641-A at 2:17 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Room 641-A at 2:17 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
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