Renting a quality home or apartment these days is not cheap, especially if you like to live near a city.
Rents went up sharply in the past two years in most areas. Now, one new model is giving people access to affordable living spaces — if you are willing to bounce from place to place.
It’s through a company called Landing. Remote workers and empty nesters, for example, can live in luxury apartments in nearly any city, without paying a fortune.
Katie Landmark is a marketing manager taking advantage of this new living option.
“I’ve lived in Chicago with Landing, in Fort Lauderdale, Miami and now St. Petersburg,” she said.
While the standard Landing membership lets you stay in one apartment for an agreed-upon time period, Landmark is part of a new membership they offer called Standby.
For $1,295 per month, a Standby membership gets you into a fully furnished living space within Landing’s network, with the exception of California or New York.
There’s one catch: Standby members are on standby, ready to move with a minimum of three days’ notice.
You do get to choose the city, and which of their apartments you want.
For Katie Landmark, who works fully remotely, that’s one of the perks.
“Experiencing new cities is what I wanted to do,” she said.
All she needs to bring is two or three suitcases of personal belongings.
Area general manager Jeremiah Montgomery showed us one of the apartments Landing offers, explaining that all of them are ready to live in.
“Not only do we provide furniture, but we provide cooking utensils as well,” he said.
Landing CEO and co-founder Bill Smith says inflation has customers seeking out the best deals possible.
“People are really paying attention to the costs of living right now,” he said, “and so for people who are working remotely or have flexibility, we wanted to create a product just for them.”
According to Realtor.com, the median monthly rent is more than $1,700 nationwide, about $400 more than a Landing Standby membership.
Plus, Smith says, you don’t have to pay for extras.
“That’s covering your rent, your utilities, your WiFi, you don’t have to pay for any of that stuff,” he told us.
The only catch: you have to accept the trade-off of having to shuffle off to a new place on short notice.
Katie Landmark said, “You know, I could be here another week. I could be here a month. It really depends.”
So if you’re interested in the Standby program, just be prepared to scroll through new places to live.
But it can be very exciting, and that way you don’t waste your money.
MORE: Does living in your apartment cost more than staying at an all-inclusive resort?
John's goal is to help as many TV viewers as possible save money, avoid bad deals, know a rip-off when one comes their way, and be educated consumers. His informative weekly consumer segment "Don't Waste Your Money" now airs on 45 TV stations from San Diego to Tampa to Houston and Cincinnati. More.
