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'Standby' offers luxury apartments and cheap rent, with one catch

A new program from Landing lets you live in a luxury apartment in a city of your choice, at low rates. But you have to be willing to move often.
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Renting a quality home or apartment nowadays is not cheap, especially if you like living near a city.Rents are up sharply in the past two years in most areas.

But one new model gives people access to affordable living spaces if you are willing to bounce from place to place.

It's through a company called "Landing," and thousands of younger workers — and some older empty nesters — are signing up for it.

You can live in a luxury apartment in nearly any city you could dream of 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 Saint Petersburg," she said.

While the basic Landing membership lets you stay in one apartment for an agreed-on time, she is part of a new program they offer called "Standby."

Think of flying standby on an airline, where you are not exactly sure what flight you will get.

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 remote, that's one of the perks.

"Experiencing new cities is what I wanted to do," she said.

All she needs to bring with her are two or three suitcases of personal belongings.

Regional manager Jeremiah Montgomery showed us one of the thousands of 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.

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, it 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.

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