TL;DR
A couple, Robert and Dareda Mueller, live in a $900,000 home in Tampa for $1,200 per month through a house management program with Showhomes Tampa. The program allows home managers to live in upscale homes at a fraction of the normal rent in exchange for staging the homes with their own furniture and taking care of maintenance.
Robert and Dareda Mueller live in a $900,000 home in Tampa for about $1,200 per month.
Rent in the neighborhood would normally run about $5,000.
The couple won’t stay in the home for long, because they are house managers. The couple lives in the home while it’s on the real estate market.
“We don't have to pay the real estate tax and I don't have the burden of the maintenance,” said Mueller.
The Muellers got involved with the program through “Showhomes Tampa.” The company stages homes with furniture and sometimes people to help the property sell faster.
“Buyers perceive a vacant home as a desperate seller, therefore it invites low ball offers. When you stage the house, it turns that upside down,” said owner Linda Saavedra.
Saavedra said about a dozen families in the Tampa Bay area are home managers. She said it’s a win-win for sellers and for the home managers.
“They get to live in an absolutely fabulous place, have a lifestyle for a fraction of what that home would normally rent them,” said Saavedra.
If you would like to participate in the program you must have your own furniture and be able to move without much notice
In this story
This story was originally published in 1851 Franchise on November 10, 2015. Burnaze summarizes and links to the original reporting.
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