Source property for wealthy investors

We all know how much money there is in property, but on the surface (with house prices as high as they are) you might be thinking this market is off-limits.

Truth is, lots of people make a great deal of cash simply sourcing suitable properties for wealthy investors who simply have no time.

The trick is to find properties below market value (BMV) by avoiding estate agents and instead flyering your area with your contact details offering to buy houses. Then approach investors with a no-brainer offer to pass on the details of cut-price property in exchange for a % of the sale value.

Most cities will have monthly networking events for landlords and property investors. Track these down, sign up, put on your best suit and go along with lots of business cards. Or you could start on LinkedIn or even Twitter to build some initial contacts.

As you might imagine, this isn’t necessarily a quick way to make money but once you’ve got a few investors in your phone book it can prove to be very lucrative in the long run. If you’re interested, I recommend readingthis book.

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Network marketing

Also known as Multi-Level Marketing (MLM), this is a business model that allows you to generate ongoing income in two ways: by making a commission selling products and by recruiting other members who go on to sell. The later allows you to make money from the sales made by those you have recruited.

Importantly, this is not a pyramid scheme (they are illegal) because there is an end goal which involves a customer buying a product or service of value.

It’s also not a ‘get rich quick’ scheme. You will have to work I’m afraid! However with the growth of social media, network marketing is becoming easier and lots of people are now making a decent living from it.

This is a serious way of making good money on your own terms and it’s well worth reading up on it. I recommend getting “The Business of the 21st Century” by Robert Kiyosaki.

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YouTube videos

According to recent stats we now watch more videos on YouTube than searches on Google. And with the recently introducedYouTube Partner Program you can now profit from making and uploading videos. You will receive a percentage of the advertising revenue collected per 1,000 views.

Depending on how successful you are (virality, subscriber base and topic) you can make a lot of money, and there are plenty of stories every week of more and more YouTubers making it their career.

For more tips read our guide to making money from YouTube.

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Sell your stories and videos

If you have an interesting story then you could try selling it to the papers. It could be anything from sleeping with a professional footballer to getting caught in a clothes horse!

One of the Save the Student team was unfortunate enough to have a pigeon fly through and smash their window at university and sold the story to The Sun for a tidy £50.

You could also film your mates at all times and send it into You’ve Been Framed to net yourself £250 and a few seconds of fame.

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Sell clothes on eBay

Everyone’s best friend when it comes to getting rid of junk is eBay. Online auctions are a sure-fire way to turn that sleeveless jacket (which came in and out of fashion in a week) into hard cash.

Some eBay sellers look at trends and try to predict what will be big ahead of the market. If you are good and don’t mind taking a risk then you can buy early in bulk and sell on when the craze hits.

For lots more tips on selling on eBay read this guide.

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Freelance work

Perhaps you enjoy writing, managing Facebook pages or doing a little bit of graphic design in your spare time. There are so many freelance jobs out there that require simple skills or just time that someone else might not have.

And the best things about freelancing is that you can work for clients in the UK and around the world with just an internet connection from home, to your own hours whilst developing valuable skills.

A great place to start is with the leading freelance site Elance.com. Or try using our student job search to find freelance jobs.

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Rent out your body

Ok, ok – this isn’t what you think. “Renting out your body” can go as far as you want it to go. For example we reported on a story a while back about students who are turning to lap dancingto make a quick buck.

If you are comfortable taking off your kit for a more acceptable cause then why not try life modelling. Sit there in the buff while budding artists capture your every curve (or pokey bits) in frightening detail! Try RAM, a website especially designed for these kind of jobs.

You could also get involved in clinical drug trials. If this scares you a little then you can find more information here about what’s involved.

Warning: Do not do anything you are not comfortable with, no matter how desperate you are for money! There has been an unhealthy rise in student prostitution in recent years – do not fall victim to it!

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Dog walking

Dog walking may sound trivial but it’s big business. Just think that as a student you’re likely to have free time during the day when others are out at work and worried about their pets at home.

You could make around £7 a dog for a 1 hour walk, and it’s also a great way to keep fit. Sign up to and try sites like Tailster that match you up with dog owners. Alternatively advertise your services locally with fliers or on classified websites such as Gumtree.

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Become a freelance interviewer

Do you have ambitions to take on a career in HR? Do you love asking questions? Believe it or not, there are companies that will ask you to carry out interviews for them and pay you for your time. It couldn’t be simpler.

You could make £185 a week plus have your travelling costs covered. The downside is that you will have to commit to at least 20 hours a week, so make sure that you have the time! Apply at NatCen.

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Babysitting

Advertise your services locally. It’s a classic money-maker, and for good reason. You get paid (well) to watch TV and not very much else!

Be warned that you will need a CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check to look after small children, even though some parents may not ask for one. If you are wondering what to charge, then look at local ads but you can expect to be paid over £6 hour even if you aren’t trained in child care. It really is easy money (unless you get stuck with the child from hell!).

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Work as a charity collector

Ok so this job takes a certain kind of person, as you’ll have to take a lot of rejection and be persistent.

But if you are bubbly, personable and reckon you could sell ice to an Eskimo then this could actually be a great student money making idea. You get paid commission on new sign ups (typically around £20).

Have a look at Wesser as well as charity websites like Oxfam.

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Rent out your car parking space

Some student accommodation comes with a drive or garage. If you aren’t using your parking space and you live in a busy area then you might be in luck. There are plenty of people that may work in the city centre and are fed up of paying through the roof for daily parking.

Advertise your space on Gumtree,Parklet or Just Park.

Or, check out our full guide to renting out your parking space.

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Sell on your education!

Become a tutor to local GCSE or A-level students (find out more about tutoring here). There are now a few online tutor sites too, so you can go also global without too much hassle.            

You may feel as if you aren’t qualified to be a tutor, but seeing as you are at university you will most likely have the qualifications to tutor for GCSE or even A-Level. Some parents may feel that their child will react better to a younger tutor, and it can be great experience, so why not give it a go?

You can advertise on SchoolsTrader or sign up with UK Tutors. You can expect to earn around £10 an hour. However, make sure you don’t have to do too much tutoring around your exams! 

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Sell all your old CDs, games and movies

If you are looking to make a very quick buck, then selling your old bits and bobs that are cluttering up your room is a good idea.

The best thing about it is that you can rip all the songs and films onto your laptop or external hard drive before selling them. This means that you are only really selling the plastic and artwork!

You can earn anything from 10p to £20 per item, and the earnings can really add up if you have a large collection. Whilst you’re at it, see if your parents have any ‘clutter’ they’d be happy to see the back of.

You can also sell almost anything for free on Amazon Trade-In orPreloved and sites like MusicMagpie will pay you instantly for sending in unwanted items.

For more tips and places to sell check out our guide on selling DVDs, CDs and games.

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Be an extra

Do you fancy yourself as a budding young actor or just that person that walks past in the background shot of an episode of Eastenders? It could be you if you apply to be an extra.

The pay isn’t bad either – £60-80 a day on average, and you hardly have to do anything!

You can apply at Be On Screen for a number of opportunities or 2020 casting is another agency (just know they take a cut from your earnings).

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Mystery shopping

Today becoming a mystery shopper is easier than you think and you can get rewarded handsomely.

We’ve recently come across a really fun smartphone app called Roamler that pays you in cash for completing various tasks in your local area. So definitely check that out first!

More traditionally, there are plenty of agencies that pay you to visit all sorts of shops to feedback on how they are performing. For more info on where to apply see our guide to becoming a mystery shopper.

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Buy and sell domain names

A domain name is just a website address (eg. ‘savethestudent.org’ or ‘mysite.co.uk’) and there are lots of extensions (.com, .net, .co.uk etc).

They cost as little as £1.99 to register with 123-reg.co.uk or GoDaddy.comyet premium domain names can fetch £1,000s if not millions when sold on. In 2007 VacationRentals.com went for a cool $35m!

Now you’re probably not going to come across anything like that, but you can still turn a quick profit with a bit of searching. The trick is to find available domain names which have some commercial value, snap them up and then list them for sale on a site like Sedo.com.

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Become an Amazon ‘Mechanical Turk’

Don’t ask us what this means, all we know is that it’s an easy way to make fast cash from your sofa. The concept is based on ‘internet crowd-sourcing’ where businesses advertise specific, scalable tasks they need completing quickly.

There are a variety of tasks (known as HITS), but most commonly they involve mindless data entry or form filling. You are rewarded in cash (though $USD) for the work you do, and you can choose for what and when you work. Give it a go [Update: Currently US signups only, tryClickWorker].

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Sell second-hand course books

One great way to make money is to buy other students’ text books at the end of the year, and then sell them just after freshers’ week – when the new intake of students know that they need them!

You can either advertise on campus or list them online very easily onAmazon.co.uk Books Trade-In (just bear in mind they take a commission on books sold).

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Review music for money

If you love music, make it your business by reviewing unsigned bands and artists online for cash with Slicethepie.

It can take a while to build up your reputation but some users of the site have said that they earn £40 a month. This may not sound like much, but if it’s something you enjoy then it shouldn’t be hard work and is another thing for your CV. Money you earn will be in $US but anyone can sign up and review.

To get started, head over to Slicethepie now or read our quick guide for more info.

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