I bought a $1,200 shed on Craigslist and transformed it into a backyard cottage. My side hustle nets me about $600 extra a week.

• Daniel Salas paid $1,200 for a rundown shed on Craigslist and transformed it into a cute cottage.
• Salas spent around $45,000 making it an oasis in his San Antonio backyard to rent out to tourists.
• Now it earns the 45-year-old consultant about $75 a night, or $500 to $600 per week, in revenue.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with San Antonio, Texas resident Daniel Salas about his experience purchasing a shed from Craigslist. Salas, a 45-year-old consultant, moved the structure to his backyard and transformed it into a short-term-rental property that rents on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com for about $75 a night. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The first time I got the idea for the shed was when my wife and I stayed at tiny home Airbnb in Fredericksburg, Texas. During the pandemic, I decided to go for it. I saved about $25,000 to start the project.

In 2021, I ran across this Craigslist ad for a $2,500 shed. It was fairly new, maybe less than five years old. The owner told me there was one catch: "You can't take it apart, but you can have it today for half the price."

My wife didn't even know that I made the purchase. I started taking down my fence, and she said "Oh my god, what are you doing?"

I hired the contractor who had done a total renovation on my kitchen and dining room the year before. Together we did the blueprints and the planning.

I got several bids before I decided I wanted to use my contractor. He wasn't even the cheapest, but I got him because I knew his work.

All in all, I probably blew between $40,000 to $45,000. That's including everything, even putting the fence back up.

I wanted the house to be just a little bit bigger. So we had to blow out the back wall and add a bedroom. That took about an extra four to six weeks from the original timeline.

Building that tiny bedroom was just a lot more work. I had to hire an electrician to reroute the wires, adjust the pitch on the roof, and remove the gutters. It was a little painful, but it was the right thing to do.

I didn't expect the materials to be so expensive. The price of insulation has gone up two to three times since 2020 — same thing with lumber.

We completed the project in November 2022.

I've listed it through a management company, Evolve, which takes 10% of all bookings. Right now, the minimum that they have it listed for online is between $75 and $90 a night during the week. Weekends would be $90 to $130.

Source: Evolve

We welcomed our first guests on New Year's Eve. Right now, I'm averaging about $500 to $600 per week in booking revenue.

There's a little patio, a barbecue pit with an outdoor sink, a TV, and string lights. It's a great place for entertainment.

Our very first visitor was a couple from Houston. Now, I've had people from Los Angeles, Seattle, Florida, Rhode Island, and Canada.

My favorite part of the house is the restroom. We went all out! It's a little luxury spot. The vanity mirror is anti-fog and has LED lighting.

My advice to others is don't skimp on furniture. Get quality furniture, because people are going to be using it frequently.

The biggest surprise to me so far has been the amount of attention that we're getting — and people's reactions. They say, "Wow, it's a lot bigger than we thought."

We wanted to provide as much privacy as possible. So we added an extra entrance on the side of my house. There's a private gate and a path. Many times, I don't even interact with guests or see guests that are staying.

I love having the shed as a side hustle. We get to meet new people from all over. And the extra revenue has allowed me to pad my savings and take more vacations, like to New Orleans and around the Texas Hill Country.