I rent my house by the hour – and you may have seen it on TV

Jessica Herrera would never have rented her new construction home in Decatur, Georgia, by the hour if she had been able to get the permits in time.

A developer by trade, she built a four-bedroom, four-bathroom, 3,500-square-foot house and planned to sell it upon completion. But construction took much longer than expected.

“The construction was supposed to take six months, but because of the permits it took a year and a half,” she says.

She then had to install a new septic system, a problem that had not occurred when she originally purchased the land.

All told, the extra time and the new septic system caused construction costs to skyrocket. After investing $1.1 million, she decided to put the house on the market for $1,250,000. She was initially confident it would sell quickly.

And then it didn’t happen. Why?

“The house didn’t sell because of the school system,” Herrera said.

Families who buy at that price are looking for a school with a higher rating, she points out.

Another consideration for families: the home’s layout excluded multi-generational buyers. “It also has stairs, so it’s not for an older buyer,” she notes.

Herrera felt stuck with the property until a colleague mentioned Peerspace.

Going Hollywood

It was a name she had heard before when she lived in Houston. At the time, she was too busy with development to invest time in a rental company.

This time she needed options.

Peerspace rents houses and other spaces by the hour, catering to video production crews, content creators, and people looking to host an event, whether it’s a graduation party, engagement party, or just a brunch, somewhere other than their own home that might be too small or not private enough.

Herrera liked the idea, especially since it didn’t involve short-term guests.

“I really don’t like it when people stay over,” she admits. “This was a brand new property. Airbnb comes with wear and tear and you have to deal with guests all day long. I don’t have time for that.”

She also didn’t like that shifting management of an Airbnb to a third party meant losing 20% ​​of gross income.

With a $15,000 investment in luxury furnishings to give the space a luxurious look, she mentioned her home on Peerspace. That was in May 2025 and she has had good experiences since then.

“Peerspace tends to be a bit cleaner,” she says. “People come for a few hours and then they’re done; and 90% of the time they leave the house in the condition it was in before they arrived. The guests have been great.”

Earn money per hour

Her open floor plan home rents for $150 per hour, with a four-hour minimum. On average, she earns $10,000 per month, although some months earn less.

And what’s nice is that you’ve probably seen her at home before! She hosted production crews for the TV show “Dateline” and crews filming commercials for Coca-Cola and Boar’s Head.

Some brands enjoy the setup so much that they book again and again.

“Coca-Cola has talked to management about advertising in my home for the rest of the year,” she says.

So for now it works. For Herrera, it’s the perfect stopgap measure, covering her $10,073 per month mortgage until the market changes to support selling the house at her desired price.

Herrera recommends this to other developers or property owners interested in a buy-and-hold strategy.

“I would definitely do this through leasing,” she says.

She is still working on other development projects, but estimates that if she were to spend time marketing the house, it could bring in $20,000 to $30,000 a month. The kitchen is enormous: a dream for any dinner party. The backyard allows for outdoor events such as a yoga and brunch event, movie nights or live music events.

Her focus is still on new developments, but she is grateful to have found Peerspace.

“I don’t plan on having any other homes on Peerspace,” she says. “But for now we’ll just keep making lemonade from the lemons.”