Live in a Million-Dollar Home for Peanuts
By BOB HANSEN and ERIC PAGE
Updated 9:51 AM EDT, Wed, Jul 29, 2009
How would you like to live in a million-dollar home for a fraction of that price? Even if it wouldn't last for long?
One of the latest trends in real estate is having someone live in a house while the "for sale" sign is on the front lawn. Once it's sold… you're out with the old furniture.
Johnna Calvin is one of the people with an ocean view that she pays peanuts for. But she admits, it's not very everyone.
"You have to be very diligent and tidy, and accommodating and kind of easygoing," Calvin said.
Those are crucial qualities because Calvin is only in her Oceanside, Calif. home until it sells. Until then, she plays house, keeping the digs pretty and clean, since potential buyers can drop by at a moment's notice.
"They live here with the understanding that it's a temporary situation," said Mary Heineke with Quality First Home Marketing.
Heineke selects its "resident managers" to fill vacant homes.
"They're happy to do that, because they understand they have the opportunity to live in a nice big house, show off their furniture, and once they've done their job, they're off to the next big house," Heineke said.
Calvin pays $800 a month rent to live in the home, and she has to bring her own furniture and keep the house up. But when it's off the market, she moves to a new location.
"Moving does not scare me as is it does most people," Calvin said. "Most people get very overwhelmed and 'Oh, my gosh!' but I'm very organized, so it's really easy."
And the resident manager programs seems to work.
Since the home Calvin is living in became part of the resident manager program, the number of showings has doubled, and Heineke says sales across the board for managed homes are up 10 to 20 percent.
First Published: May 12, 2009 6:10 PM EDT on NBC San Diego
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