Homeowners get paid handsomely for renting their homes to production companies for movie, television or commercial shoots. Can you cash in and make your house a movie location rental?
A star is born!
Television and movie production companies long ago steered away from building sets in favor of shooting in real homes and businesses in order to achieve realism. Owners of these properties make nice sums of money in short periods of time by letting their property be used as a movie location rental.
Movies and TV shows such as The Godfather, Driving Miss Daisy, and Seinfeld were shot in private residences or businesses rented by film production companies. How much can you make? The general rule of thumb is that a homeowner can make the equivalent of a monthly mortgage payment for each day the film crew uses her property. Even a week of filming can yield over half of a year’s mortgage payments. For many homeowners, this is a big boost to their income. Even sweeter: If you rent your personal residence for less than two weeks per year, Internal Revenue Service rules typically do not require you to report the income. State law may not either.
And it’s not just TV and movies that need homes for sets. Television commercials are often shot in personal residences and business settings.
Additional perks of a movie location rental.
The film industry understands that despite the money an owner can make, he may be reluctant to give a large crew of strangers total control of his home for several days or weeks, not to mention being displaced for the duration. As a result, film crews take extraordinary care of movie location rentals. Before any shooting begins, a photography crew takes pictures throughout the house to create a record showing where every furnishing and accessory is placed so that at filming’s end, they can restore the decor exactly as it was. If any damage occurs, the production company’s insurance pays for it, not the homeowners’ coverage.
If the screenplay calls for rooms or exteriors to be a different color, the production company may paint all or part of the house. Thereafter, the owner can keep the new look or have the production company restore it to its previous look. You may even get some structural improvements out of the deal.
The production company will pay for your hotel accommodations while you are displaced, perhaps even with a daily food allowance.
As an added bonus, you might get to meet the on-screen stars. Production staff could have you on hand during some of the filmings and introduce you to the crew and even cast members between scenes. Finally, you’ll have the bragging rights of having thousands or even millions of viewers see your home on TV or a movie screen.
How do you get your big break in the movies?
You may not become a movie star, but to make your house available for its big break, you can register it online with Locations Hub. If your home is chosen as a movie location rental, it might lead to additional opportunities as other production companies become aware of your house as a location.
Related – Making Money on a Vacation Rental
