Chicago Real Estate Guide

Parking Income: ParkatmyHouse Coming to the U.S.

• February 17, 2012

by Mark Wellborn

A new website is trying to make sure that every usable parking space and empty driveway becomes available for car parking, and can be monetized by owners. ParkatmyHouse, a UK-born site that acts as a middle man between car owners and parking space owners, will launch in select U.S. cities in early March. No word yet on whether the service will launch in Chicago at that time.

Spaces can be rented for anywhere from an hour to a year. Car owners who need a place to park their car can punch in an area or address and find a number of spaces available for rent in the vicinity.

Like Airbnb, the website manages the booking and payment details to ensure the safety of the transaction and keeps the pricing decisions up to the space owner. While craigslist.org has some similar options, this website feels a little more secure. In return, the site takes a cut of the transaction.

According to a recent piece in Smart Money, the site has found a customer base across the pond.

From Smart Money:

One woman, for example, pays about $1.50 for 15 minutes to park her car and walk her daughter to school every day. And a church that’s near the bustling King’s Cross Station earned $180,000 a year renting out spaces – half of the church’s yearly income.

Does Chicago have a market for this service? Will homeowners near commuter public transit and major sporting venues soon be generating some cash?

This article originally published at http://chicago.urbanturf.com/articles/article/parking_income_parkatmyhouse_coming_to_the_u.s/5159