I couldn’t sell my newly built house – so now I rent it to movie studios by the hour for $10K a month.

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

A developer by profession, he built a four-bedroom, four-bathroom, 3,500-square-foot home and planned to sell it when it was finished. But construction took longer than expected.

“This was supposed to take six months to build, but it took a year and a half because of permits,” he said.

After that, he had to install a new water heater—a problem that hadn’t existed when he first bought the property.

Overall, extra time and a new septic system sent construction costs soaring. After putting down $1.1 million, he decided to list the home for $1,250,000. At first he was sure it would sell quickly.

And then it didn’t happen. Why?

“The house was not sold because of the school schedule,” said Herrera.

Families buying at that price point want a high-quality school, he emphasizes.

Another consideration for families: The home’s layout rules out any multi-ethnic buyers. “It also has stairs, so it’s not for an older buyer,” he commented.

Herrera felt attached to this place – until a colleague mentioned Peerspace.

Go to Hollywood

It was a name he had heard before, when he lived in Houston. At the time, he was too busy with development to devote time to the rental business.

This time, he needed options.

Peerspace rents apartments and other spaces by the hour, catering to video production workers, content creators, and people who want to host an event, be it a graduation party, wedding party, or just brunch—somewhere outside of their home, which may be too small or not private enough.

Herrera liked the idea, especially since it didn’t involve transient, nocturnal visitors.

“I don’t really like people staying,” he admitted. “This was a brand new place. Airbnb comes with a lot of pain, and you’re dealing with guests all the time. I don’t have time for that.”

He also didn’t like that turning the management of Airbnb over to a third party meant losing 20% ​​of the total revenue.

Investing $15,000 in high-end furniture to give the space a luxurious feel, she listed her home on Peerspace. That was back in May 2025, and since then, it’s been great.

“Peerspace tends to be cleaner,” he says. “People come for a few hours, then they’re done; and 90% of the time, they leave the home in the condition it was in before they arrived.

Making money by the hour

His open-plan house rents for $150 an hour, for a minimum of four hours. On average, he makes $10,000 a month, although admittedly some months bring in less.

And the fun part is that you may have seen him at home before! He has managed the production teams from the TV show ‘Dateline’ and the filming teams for Coca-Cola and Boar’s Head commercials.

Some brands enjoy setting up so much, they book over and over again.

“Coca-Cola talked to the management to make advertisements for the remaining amount of the year in my house,” he said.

So, for now, it works. For Herrera, it’s the perfect stopgap measure, covering the $10,073 monthly loan until the market changes to support selling the home at the price she wants.

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

“I will definitely do this by renting,” he said.

He’s still busy with other development projects, but estimates that if he could put in the time to market the home, it could bring in $20,000 to $30,000 a month. The kitchen is huge – a dream for any dinner party. The backyard allows for outdoor events, such as yoga-and-brunch events, movie nights, or live music events.

His focus is still on innovation, but he’s grateful to have found Peerspace.

“I am not interested in having other homes in Peerspace,” he said. “But for now, we’ll continue to make lemons out of lemons.”