The Owner

Paul, has a large shed in his yard that he barely uses.  He was told about SpaceOut by a friend and thought it could be a great opportunity to make some extra cash (and help pay off his mortgage) by renting it out.

The Seeker

Anthony, a self employed builder, (who happens to live in the very same street as Paul)  has a work truck that he had to park on the street outside his house. He was concerned about the security of his tools, so every day had to load and unload the truck to store his tools safely in his house.  Anthony  heard about  SpaceOut and was hoping to find a secure storage shed or garage within walking distance for his truck and tools.

The Match

Anthony spotted Paul’s listing and couldn’t believe his luck – finding a space so close by.  He got in touch; viewed the space; they struck a deal; and now both are much better off – thanks to SpaceOut.

But the story does not end there.  Although living so close – they had not actually met each other before SpaceOut.  As it happens, Paul was planning on doing some renovations to his house, was looking for a local builder, and realised  that Anthony might be the perfect man for the job.  So now they are discussing the possibility of a contra deal as part payment for the renovations.

Anthony gets somewhere to park his truck, as well as his next job lined up and Paul gets a bargain price for his renovation.  This is a win-win situation for both Paul (the Space Owner) and Anthony (the Space Seeker).

The Community Wins

This match shows the community working together and sharing resources in tough times…and that is what SpaceOut is all about.  Just imagine – in the future when SpaceOut is more widely known,  this scenario will happen all the time. Is there  someone in your street that you may be able to assist in some way ?

We love to hear stories of successful SpaceOut match ups – if you have a story to tell, please add a comment or let us know about your SpaceOut experience.

Traditionally farmers have always been pretty community oriented and often shared resources. However, in the past this type of collaboration depended largely on word of mouth and “knowing” someone (or knowing of someone) who had a resource that could be shared or swapped.  Now, with the services available through SpaceOut, this can be expanded so that whole communities can advertise and share their spare or unused resources.

We are VERY excited to announce that we have created three brand new Listing Types – specifically for Farmers and Rural Communities :

• Rural – Shed : this category is designed for sheds of all descriptions – Cow sheds, Stables, Shearing Sheds, Hay Sheds, Storage Sheds, Machinery Sheds – pretty much any building that stuff (or livestock) could be kept in.
• Rural – Paddock : this category is for open spaces that could be used for agistment, or storing vehicles or machinery, or even (I guess) growing crops
• Rural – Other : this category is for all the other farming / rural related stuff that we haven’t yet even thought of

To make use of these Listing Types, simply select form the drop-down list when creating your Space for Rent or Space Wanted Listing.

I’d like to put my hand up and admit that the SpaceOut founders are essentially “city boys” with relatively little exposure to farming life, so we are very open to (and in fact encourage) comments and feedback on these new categories.  We are quite willing (and able) to change or expand the rural listing types, so please feel free to add your comments to this post – or contact us directly with your feedback.

And if these categories happen to become as popular as we think that they might, we may even be able to create a whole new “Rural” section on SpaceOut – catering specifically to the needs of Australia’s Farming and Rural Communities.

On Saturday night I was at my Brother in law’s farm for his 30th, and he was telling all his farming mates about www.spaceout.com.au . I was not saying too much – just letting Rick tell his farming mates about us and to my surprise they loved the concept! Of course they share their neighbor’s space all the time for stock agistment (you pay to have stock on someone’s paddock), share cropping, machinery and produce storage. However, they rely very much on word of mouth and their own contacts.

My brother in law Rick said – “I could think of a heap of ways that SpaceOut could help me.
• I have storage for hay and grain on this place.
• At times I have a heap of feed for agistment.
• At certain times of the year I am looking for places to store my gear when I go around doing contract harvesting.
• If someone in town has a caravan or motorhome they need to park in a shed I have the space”.

As the conversation went on they all chimed in with ideas. Stables for horses…”I have a spare couple of stables said Peter from up the road”. I might find a close Shearing Shed when I need one. Someone from town could store there boat here and on they went.

www.SpaceOut.com.au is all about community pulling together to make and save money. Farmers are great community-minded people.
I reckon farmers could really get a lot out of this service. SpaceOut is still free, so now is the time to get on board.

Nathon Irvin

nathon@spaceout.com.au