Buying a home is expensive. Like hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of expensive. When most people think of buying a home, all they can think about is the costs associated with it: mortgage payments, repairs, home owner’s insurance.

But did you know that you can actually make money from your house? Here is how.

Flip it. Flipping a house has become trendy. The home design channel even has a whole show dedicated to it. Flipping a house it when you buy a cheap home, refurbish it and sell it for a profit.Flipping a house is for the ultimate do it yourselfer. The trickiest thing is to make sure you do not spend more money fixing up the home than you would make. Hiring contractors can rack up the cost more than you might want, so consider this before you invest in a fixer-upper.

Rent out the basement. One way to get your home to start paying for you is to rent out part of it. To make this work with out any awkwardness, you would need a separate entrance to the basement. To make it up to code, the basement would need its own bathroom and kitchen, however both units can share a laundry room. Make sure to check with your city to see if this type of living situation is allowed. Some cities will not allow homes to have accessory apartments unless you apply for it. Learn your city’s accessory apartment code and start earning some extra dough.

Turn your home into a vacation rental. If you live in a popular vacation destination, you can rent out your home or apartment to tourists. Many travelers prefer to rent an apartment or home because it tends to be much cheaper than staying in a hotel and it is more homey. It gives the traveler the illusion that they actually live in the locale they are visiting and it provides them with a touch of how the locals live. Capitalize on that desire and start earning yourself some cash. To market your home or apartment, list it on busy travel sites like Tripadvisor.com or other sites. Word of mouth is also a great way to get business to your place. But don’t get too excited if your home is in the middle of nowhere. You might not get a lot of interest.  If you plan to live in your home, you can rent it out when you are on vacation.

File your taxes. That sounds a little funny, but did you know that you can get a tax break when you are buying a home? The government wants to help encourage people to buy homes to stimulate the economy. So they offer tax breaks (meaning it lowers your overall tax payment) if you are buying a home.

So instead of buying a home and only pouring money into it, figure out ways that you can get your home to pay you.