Yes, You Can Live Rent-Free

[badmomma]

Are housing costs busting your budget? We've got five ways you can find a free or discounted place to live -- and land a much nicer pad than you could traditionally afford. Really.

They live in one of the most expensive housing markets in the country, but Lisa and Taylor Halverson say they make ends meet by living in a spacious five-bedroom house with an ample backyard and stylish furnishings on a quiet tree-lined street. The kicker: They don't pay a dime in rent.

No, they aren't mooching off friends or relatives. The thirty-something Palo Alto, Cal., couple are house sitting for a Stanford University professor away on vacation. This is their sixth house-sitting gig since they moved to the area seven months ago from Bloomington, Ind., where they were paying $680 a month on a mortgage for a three-bedroom, 1,900 square-foot home. Rents for a modest two-bedroom apartment in Palo Alto, however, run about $1,500 to $2,000 a month. And to rent a comparable space as where the Halversons are currently house sitting would cost upwards of $3,500, says Taylor.

more here:http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate...Live-Rent-Free

[hometowngrl53]

The five areas that are listed in this link all sound good and might work if that is how you would like to live your life i however in my opinion could never do any one of these may i am just to darn independent to the house sitting would be all right but the feeling as i never would have my own things around and have to be looking after other people things would give me a sense of nothingness. the Room bartering would definitely be a thing that would not be or rather something i would not do because there are men out there that are looking for women to be their wife and not just a room mate
as for the house sharing that is not a option in my book two familys can not live in one house and two women can not run one home it will just not work i don't care who you are
the apartment manager might be something i think would work for free rent but to do that you have to have a knowledge of maintenance in order to be able to fix things
as for moving back with mom and dad is something as adults the rules never seem to change as when you were younger the parents always seem to be parents never changing with the times

[thohome]

I have heard of house sitters before. They are rare people I think because I would not feel comfortable in somone elses home for a long period of time. nothing in it is mine to me that is not living that is existing.. I couldn't do the house sharing either. somone is bound to step on somone elses toes there. I could do the management for free rent if all I had to do was rent out to people collect money and kick people out or redirect them to the maintance man..