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Oct 27, 2008 7:55 pm US/Central
North Texans Living In Mansions 'On The Cheap'
Seema Mathur
NORTH TEXAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
The people living in one North Texas $650,000 home are paying just $1350 a month in rent. The amount is about $5,000 less than what you'd expect and its all part of a business plan by a company called Mansion Minders.
Company owners say it's a way to help get houses off the market fast.
In what she called a 'kind of marathon move' Marilyn Andrews unpacked her so-called low priority items.
As part of the deal to move into a $649,000 house and pay under $1500 a month, Andrews had to move in and decorate in just seven days. "It's all about making the home look attractive," Andrews explained.
The house is a Godsend for Andrews and her husband who say they got caught up in the mortgage crunch and had to sell their home fast.
"We got a letter in the mail saying guess what; your mortgage payment is going to be a thousand dollars more than it has been," Andrews said.
The couple says after they couldn't find a house in their price range that they were comfortable in, they found the Mansion Minders program. "The trade off is that you do have to be ready to move," says Andrews.
While the Andrews could find themselves packing up and moving out in just 15-30 days, as a part of the agreement Mansion Minders says they would move them to another home. "I would rather not move next week or next month, but we're prepared for that," Andrews said. "And if that happens we've done a good job."
Currently Mansion Minders has 31 homes, ranging from $300,000 to more than a million dollars. The people living in them pay between $1,300 to a little more than $1,500 a month.
The price is a good deal for people like the Andrews and for the seller. "When a house is empty it has a desperate seller feel," explained Brenda Platt with Mansion Minders. "When they walk in and see a warm and cozy home then it helps them to want to live in that home."
Officials with Mansion Minders say they're selective about who's allowed to rent - having nice furniture and good credit are just a few of the criteria.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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