Everywhere you look, the housing crisis is causing homelessness and heartache as the American dream of owning a home goes down the drain. Sub-prime lenders were only a catalyst in what is going down in history as one of the worst housing crisis in history. Buying beyond what was affordable and soaring gas prices have caused casualties that seem to leave those left in the crunch without hope.

Nevertheless, there is hope and you can live without paying rent or owing a high mortgage payment every month. There are three different ways to help you live without paying rent or paying a monthly mortgage and still live in a beautiful home.

There are no Fairy Tales or hokum here, just plain old-fashioned common sense and filling a need where there is a void. However, all of these methods do require flexibility on your part, but in many cases, people have stayed in homes 8 to 10 years and sometimes forever. How? Here are three ways you can do the same.

• Because the foreclosure rate is so great, there are many houses that have been left unoccupied and without tenants. What happens to a home that is left without anyone living in it? It quickly deteriorates.

Realtors and banks cannot sell a dilapidated house very readily, especially when the lending criteria has become so strict that even people who might be able to afford a dilapidated house, do not qualify for a loan. 

In order to take advantage of a bad situation, start looking for homes that are in foreclosure and unoccupied and find out who owns them. Offer to live in the house and do the upkeep until it is sold in exchange for free rent and utilities.

To find out who has control of the property, if it’s not listed on a sign outside, check with your local county clerk to find out who handles the foreclosed properties in that area or check the tax collector for the county the house is in. They will be able to give you the tax information. They might even be the dead holders and you might be able to cut a deal with them.

• They say the rich get richer, and that does seem to be the case. With a reported 1% of the entire population holding most of the money in their coffers, the rich also hold numerous houses that lay empty.

They pay gatekeepers to live in their unoccupied houses in order to keep their property safe and make sure the full and part-time staff does their jobs correctly. Most often, you will be able to live in the smaller house that is on the property and is generally the size of a small mansion, in exchange for a monthly salary.

You will need to make sure the staff that comes in does what they are supposed to do and you will be responsible for reporting any problems. In exchange for those duties, you will not only receive a salary, but also all of your expenses will be paid for in most cases such as your rent, utilities, internet, phone, etc.

Additionally, sometimes a stipend for food is put in the as an added bonus, but not always. In addition, you will have full use of the grounds (not the main house) and in many cases, all of the people who come in to clean, etc., will also clean and work on your house as well.

To find this type of job, you will need to go to the expensive neighborhoods and post a signs that you are available to be a grounds keeper. Additionally, network at parties that have swanky clientele.

Ask friends who know the wealthy and post a query on craigslist. The best way to procure this type of job however is by word of mouth. I had a great job like this and I know many other people who have done this as well. You will need references and there will be an interview as with any job as well as a background check.

• Housesit. While housesitting is not as glamorous as being a property manager at a billionaire’s mansion, it’s still a great gig. My best friend and I did this for a few years and while we did have to move every nine months or so, it was free rent and utilities, plus a small paycheck at the end for nine months at a time.

You will find this type of job by word of mouth as well. You can also look at postings on bulletin boards at schools, churches and other such areas. Your job is to keep the house clean and lived in so the owners feel safe while they are on vacation. Sometimes you are also required to watch their pets. If that is the case, make sure you receive money for your time.

The long and the short of it is, if you are reliable and honest, you can live in a beautiful home free. With a little legwork, networking, posting your information and phone calls, you can live rent-free and mortgage free.

One person told me he has been doing this for the past 30 years. While that seems like a lifetime to most of us, that just a drop in the bucket for him and he is still going strong. That is a lot of money he has saved for other things in his life!

Sidebar: If you are homeless and are unable to do any of the above. Please seek out shelter through places like Mercy Housing, Street Shelters, Above the Line, United Way and other places in your county. They are there to help and can help you as well with transitional housing.