Neighbor.com Review 2024: Can You Make Money?

Whether you’re looking to make money or save money, Neighbor.com can help you out. This storage service helps people rent out their extra space and provides inexpensive storage for those looking for places to keep items they aren’t using. 

What Is Neighbor.com and How Does It Work?

Neighbor.com is a self-storage company. Think of it as the Airbnb of self-storage. Neighbor.com connects users with storage hosts that advertise free space in their homes, driveway, or elsewhere on their property.

Neighbor.com handles all the financial transactions, directly transferring the renter’s money into the bank account of the listing provider. It uses Stripe to manage its payment processing.

What Types of Storage Can Your Lease or Rent on Neighbor?

Neighbor.com provides a means of listing storage spaces from as small as a closet for a college student to as big as a warehouse.

The most common types of storage areas people list on Neighbour include:

• Sheds
• Carports
• Backyards
• Closets
• Garages
• Attics
• Driveways
• Basements
• Spare bedrooms
• Side yards (good for RV parking)

You can even find warehouses, shipping containers, and parking lots.

The Neighbor.com Customer Journey

The host experience is focused on making space, creating the listing, setting the price, and taking pictures.

Renters search through the listings, which is relatively easy. It is up to the renters to decide if they want to occupy the space. Each listing will display the price, the location, a description, and photographs.

Once renters have made a selection, they contact the host and may exchange some messages. Then they set a date and a time to move their things into the space.

Once a guest has a renter, they will set a date and time to show the tenant the space and put all their things into storage. Owners can inspect the items when they come in or afterward.

The host sets the times when the tenant can visit the private storage unit.

The renter can come to check or take out the items or put more things in storage. But remember that as a renter, you can only visit the space as often as the host authorizes and during times that are convenient for the space owner.

Payments are made each month through the Neighbor.com site.

Additional Features and Services

Neighbor.com services depend on its hosts, but certain features apply to all hosts and renters.

• Insurance Coverage – Neighbor protects from the host’s liability of $1 million and up to 90% of the market value of stolen or damaged items for those who purchase a protection plan.
• Secure Payments – Auto-pay is available for all renters. If the rent is overdue, the host will receive guaranteed payments as long as the space is occupied.
• First-Month Discount – For many storage ads on Neighbor.com, you’ll get a 50% rebate on your first month. However, you need to store for more than a month to get this reduction.

Other functionalities will vary depending on your host. Here is a list of services you can find on Neighbor.com:

• Smoke detectors
• Climate-controlled storage
• Vehicle Storage
• Private entrances
• Security cameras
• Non-smoking storage
• Locked areas

The online listing for any storage space will tell you what features the space includes.

What Security Does Neighbor Provide for Hosts and Renters?

Before accepting a renter, the host can check the renter’s profile and read what they have and would like to store.

Once they have given the green light, the hosts can inspect items stored in their additional space. They also have up to $1,000,000 in liability coverage for Neighbour damage.

Renters guarantee: Neighbor.com places a high priority on renters’ safety. It provides up to $25,000 of rental insurance against theft of your property at no additional cost.

Refunds and Cancellations

Cancellations can occur for both parties and work slightly differently according to the scenario.

For Owners:

• If you are the space owner and must cancel the booking before the renter has stored the property, the renter will receive a full refund.
• However, you may need to cancel after they’ve already stocked their belongings. In that case, you must give your renter at least 30 days’ notice before you take their belongings away.
• If you face a situation where you have to give less than 30 days advance notice, you will be charged for the inconvenience, and the last month’s fee will be refunded.

In contrast, here’s how cancellations work if you’re a renter:

• If you cancel four days before the start date or within 24 hours of your booking approval, you will receive a 100% refund.
• If you cancel within three days of the start date, you will receive a reimbursement of 80%, but won’t get your service charges back.
• Finally, if you cancel after the start date, you will not receive a refund and will pay the full month’s fee.

Prohibited Storage Items

🛑 The storage space owner can inspect everything the user stores and refuse any offer. There is also a list of restricted items for everybody, including:

• Firearms
• Fireworks
• Hazardous Chemicals
• Garbage
• Animals
• Toxins
• Drugs
• Explosives
• Pesticides
• Garbage
• Munitions
• Perishables.

☝️ Hosts are permitted to inspect the items to be stored to assure that no prohibited items are among them.

Neighbor.com Cost

Prices will vary depending on the location, size, and what your host decides to charge for the space.

Based on Neighbor.com’s data, renting storage space through their site storage space costs around $160 per month on average. In addition, there is a 15% monthly service charge. It’s roughly $20 less than the industry average.

At approximately $30 less than the industry average, you can get a deal similar to what you would do with traditional self-storage leaders like ExtraSpace and CubeSmart.

How to Earn Money On Neighbor

You make money by listing your space and making it appealing to tenants. Here are a couple of tips to help:

• Share the listing with friends, family, and social media contacts to boost the number of potential renters.
• Your description should be reliable, informative, and instructive.
• Use great quality photographs and try to show a clean and spacious interior and the accessibility of the space.
• You should be friendly and accessible and have a schedule that allows you to accommodate renters.
• Increase your ranking on the site by writing a well-thought-out personal biography that encourages people to trust you.

An appealing profile is vital to attracting renters, as is charging a reasonable price for the space.

How Much Can Hosts Earn on Neighbor.com?

Neighbor.com pays its hosts monthly for each month for storage units. Depending on the size of your space, your location, and other factors, hosts can earn between $50 and $600 a month. Neighbor sends the payment by direct deposit through a payment platform that complies with PCI standards.

Neighbor Host Fees

There is no upfront service charge for listing. However, there is a fee for processing the payment for each booking location. The service charge is 4.9% of the rental price plus $0.30 per month. This covers the cost of the payment process, using the website, direct deposits, and security.

Pros & Cons of Neighbor.com

Neighbor.com Alternatives

Here are some similar services:

• Stashbee – Stashbee provides short-term parking, which Neighbour does not. This product allows hosts to receive more reservations and profit more over time. Renters can find a parking spot for the time they need, from a few minutes to a year or more.
• Clutter – This storage company manages the pickup, storage, and removal of stored items. It stores the goods of customers in massive warehouses outside city centers. Clients can manage their storage remotely by visiting the digital catalog to review items and schedule deliveries. 
• Spaceways – For those of you in the UK, SpaceWays offers on-demand storage that does not require clients to transport items from one warehouse to another.

Customer Reviews

Neighbor.com is rated 3.13 out of 5 by reviewers on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) site. There are only 15 reviews, so you’ll have to be aware that the sample size is small.

There are also 24 complaints in the last three years. The Company has replied to all of them and most appear to have satisfactory resolutions.

Positive reviews say the system is simple and effective.

Complaints tend to focus on communication, payment, and refund issues.

Neighbor gets 3.3 of 5 stars from 330 reviews on Trustpilot. 52% of the reviews are 5-star, and 33% are 1-star, indicating fairly polarized experiences.

The main takeaway from the reviews is that when things work well – and they often do – the service is very satisfactory for all concerned. When things go wrong there may be issues that the Company sometimes has problems resolving.

Verdict

Neighbor.com provides a way to make money from space that you’re not using. It also provides access to storage space for less than you’d pay a storage company.

The main drawback, for both renters and tenants, is that you’re dealing with individuals, and they may not be as reliable as you’d like them to be.

If that risk is something you don’t want to take, Neighbor.com may not be something you want to pursue. If you’re willing to take the chance, you could find it a very attractive proposition.