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Renting question...

H

hypn0tik

Diamond Member
My friends and I are planning on renting out a place for the school year. The landlord says 1800 for 3 rooms with an 8 month contract (only for the duration of the school year, which is fine since I live in a different city).

However, 600 a month is a bit much considering we found a place last year right around the corner for 500/month.

The landlord seems pretty firm on the price so what I'd like advice on is how to negotiate the price and have it reduced. 550/month is doable, but I feel 600 is a bit too much.

Any ideas from the more experienced negotiators out there?
 
here's how you do it...

"we'll give you 1650 a month"

If he says no, find another place to live.
 
well... that was the rent last year. this is the rent this year. things change, and most places raise the rent when there's demand. with students around, there's almost always demand.
 
Originally posted by: KLin
here's how you do it...

"we'll give you 1650 a month"

If he says no, find another place to live.
Click to expand...

exactly.

my b/f and my brother in law have an 'insult them' attitude whenever they want to buy something. they look at what the seller is asking, decide how much they want to pay, then offer a lot less than that, insultingly less. more times than not, the seller will come back with an offer that meets what they had in mind to pay anyway.

but they always have a back up plan, in case the seller walks away. since they always deal in dollar bills... they hardly ever care if they get turned down, cause the next guy will take the money.

🙂
 
We thought of pitting one landlord against the other, but it seems that both places have people interested (or that's what they tell us). Considering I'm not even in the city at the moment, it's impossible for me to know if they are lying or not.
 
Totally depends on the landlord, some do some don't. I always ask how much the rent is right away, and if its too high I always say immediately 'I was looking to spend no more than X'. That way they are pressured to boot me out the door/off the phone immediately, which they rarely do (particularly since most rental areas are soft.)

In this case I'd tell him that you were really looking to stay in the $1500 range and see how he replies. $300 off is a large amount, but it might lead to $1600 or $1650. Its a major plus if he likes you guys.

Also depends on what kind of credit ratings you all have. If you're all students then you may not have much leverage. If you all could give excellent references, including from where you lived last, that's a plus as well.

 
So, I called up another landlord (well, I have to deal with the property manager and not the landlord directly) today and he quoted me a price of 2000 for 4 rooms but he wanted us to sign a 12 month contract which neither of us needed. I said that we would deal immediately if he reduced the contract term to 8 months but he wouldn't.

Me: If you can't find anyone willing to sign a 12 month contract, then the landlords won't rent this place out at all?
Him: Well, I plan on doing renovations.
Me: What type of renovations?
Him: I don't know.
Me: That's fine. When you don't find anyone to sign a 12 month contract, give me a call and we'll talk.
Him: 'No, I'm not allowed to do an 8 month contract.
Me: Alright then. That's your loss. Bye.

Edit: I should mention I think this landlord is an idiot. The smart thing to do would be to get an 8 month contract signed and for the 4 summer months, do the renovations that he planned on doing. I really hope no one signs it for 12 months.
 
Negotiating the rent is possible. The best way to get a lower rent is to show yourself in the absolute best possible light. References, income statements, grades, pictures of how nice you kept the last place, whatever he needs to feel like you're a safe bet that won't cause him a headache.
 
Originally posted by: Amplifier
Negotiating the rent is possible. The best way to get a lower rent is to show yourself in the absolute best possible light. References, income statements, grades, pictures of how nice you kept the last place, whatever he needs to feel like you're a safe bet that won't cause him a headache.
Click to expand...

Stuff like that would be so much easier to do if I weren't 400kms away. One of the two other people I plan on living with is on the west coast and the other guy is in Hong Kong and won't be back till mid-August.

Edit:

Originally posted by: chuckywang
You ever watch Kingpin?
Click to expand...

No, I haven't. Why?
 
Good luck - if it's a nice property, the unit won't be vacant long - most decent apartment complexes, especially near college campuses, don't need to negotiate.

It can't hurt, but the guy might tell you to go fsck yourself too.
 
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