Bargaining/Negotiating RENT

[SweetNic_JA]

I found a new apt that I want to lease temporarily until I find my own place.
I really like the place and I really like the owner (he has a WEALTH of Real Estate knowledge). At the same time, I would like to bring the price down by $95 - $100. Is it adviseable to negotiate a rent price?

 

[Queenie]

It would depend on the difficulty finding good tenants in you area.

 

[beyondcute]

Since its temporary I dont think its wise. You have no loyalty to him and he would be losing money. Its more expensive to rent month to month here because they dont have you on contratc and its hard to place a new tenant when you dont know when the unit will be empty. If you still really want to give him a time limit. Say 3 months, that way he can atleast have some knowledge about when to look for another teneat or when he could start advertising the space again. That may entice him to give a little.

 

[Mizani_Mrs]

Well with my experience, owners usually up the price since they know that that a possible tenant will want to negotiate. Especially if the place has been vacant for a few months...they'd probably be willing to accept a very small profit from you..and just be happy that you are covering the mortgage bill. So just ask him how many months it's been vacant and you can work it from there. it'd be wise for u to look up the tax value of the place and then estimate the mortgage payment using current mort rates...just to get an idea of how much profit he's trying to make. U understand what i'm saying?

 

[BBabe]

ALWAYS attempt to negotiate on your rent. Might not always work but is worth a try. I'm a landlord and I usually expect ppl to want to negotiate, but I usually only discount approx $25, as my rents are at/below market. I will knock off more, but it depends on what the tenant is offering - Will they be making their own repairs and improvements? Are they handy? Are they staying for 2+ yrs? Will they shuffle the snow in the winter etc, etc?
I have certain units that I purposely inflate the price on, knowing that most tenants will want to negotiate...
Best thing to say is: " I really like the place and want to take it. I think the rent you're charging is definitely reasonable, but it is slightly higher than I was expecting to pay. I was hoping that maybe we could do a little bit better/lower on the rent. Is there any room for adjustment?"
One caution tho - If I have a unit at/below market rate and a tenant tries to negotiate "too large" of a break, it sends up red flags for me.
hth

 

[SweetNic_JA]

Thanks for the responses. My definition of short term is anywhere between 6-12 months. I need more time to build up some capital (absolutely considering a roomate to split the costs).

Right now he's asking more than what I'm paying for a bigger place in a nicer part of the state! Geesh, I just realized that! I will call him today and see what I can do. I will let him know that even though I like the place and there are probably other people interested in it, it costs more than what I am paying in a better town with better space, free utilities AND 24hr repair services.

Man, thanks. I really need to type this out to see what I'd be leaving behind