Almost everything in life is negotiable and that surely includes rent. It’s interesting to know that most people don’t know rent is negotiable.
The rent negotiations can be tricky sometimes and don’t usually make for the most comfortable situations. This happens especially when you don’t have ample experience in bargaining.
Negotiating rent does not matter if it’s your first apartment or the Third one. What matters are getting the best deal on rent.
Landlords usually differ in how receptive they are to negotiating rent, but most landlords are usually open to rent negotiations.
You must know that you are not trying to pay less than the property is worth or cheating the landlord out of his money.
During rent negotiations, you will need to be realistic with your expectations while having a convincing argument.
Are you interested in finding out how you can negotiate rent with your landlord? Then this article is a must-read for you? Here I will be giving you tips to pay lower rent.
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How To Negotiate Rent
The art of negotiations cannot be picked up after a good night’s sleep. But can be practiced and honed over time.
Now I will be giving you a step to step process of how to negotiate rent with your landlord. Using this it doesn’t matter if you are complete amateurs at negotiations you will just need to carefully follow the steps and I promise you successful negotiations for a lower rent price.
1. Ask The Landlord If The Rent Price Is Negotiable
Before any rent negotiations can take place you will need to politely ask the landlord if the rent price is negotiable and when a good time to talk will be.
The next step will depend on the feedback of the landlord. If he agrees to negotiations for the rent, you can now move on to the next step.
2. Research Your Local Property Area
This involves learning about the overall market demand, trying to find out what other landlords are charging for similar-sized rental properties in the same area.
The purpose of this is to find cheaper rental properties similar in the same area to use as leverage to the landlord.
If there are also rental properties up for grabs this indicates that demand is low and the landlord might have a difficult time finding a new tenant and this can be used as good bargaining chips.
3. Constantly Show You Are a Good Tenant
This usually works for people that are looking to negotiate a rental lease agreement with their current landlord.
If you have always paid your rent on time? taken good care of the property? Haven’t made holes in the walls? Ran errands for the landlord? In such cases most landlords won’t like to rent out the property to new unknown tenants, this, therefore, gives you more room for maneuver during the negotiations.
When Speaking, Be Kind and Confident
Confidence goes a long way in showing how determined you are in getting a thing done. You should however be very careful to make sure that you do not mistake confidence for being rude.
When negotiating rent, be kind and confident.
What is the Negotiation Process of Negotiating Rent like?
When you are done building up your case for the negotiations process then it’s action time. It’s much better to negotiate your rent with a face-to-face meeting rather than using lengthy emails or messages. You will need to be polite, confident, professional and present the facts you have compiled to the landlord.
In most cases, the landlord doesn’t usually agree on the spot so you can follow it up with email and messages. During the negotiations process, you must highlight your advantages as much as possible.
If the landlord consent to the rent reduction then it’s important you get it on paper, this prevents the landlords from reneging from the deals. You must have a backup plan in such cases that the landlord completely refuses the rent reduction.
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When is the Best Time to Negotiate your Rent?
When you are about negotiating your rent, you should know that it is all about timing. You must have to be patient enough to get the right timing you need.
Time can be applied to everything we do and this includes rent negotiations, for successful rent negotiations you will need to grasp accurate timing. These are some of the best times to negotiate the rent.
It is best to negotiate your rent in the winter: Winter is said to be the most difficult time for landlords to find tenants. During winter landlords are usually more accommodating making it easier to negotiate rent with them.
Another best time to negotiate your rent is a few months before your lease expires: This only applies if you are negotiating the rent on your current unit. Before your lease expires in a few months, you can ask the landlord if you can renew it for a lower price. There is a high chance that they’ll keep you for a lower price than find a new tenant.
At the end of the month when landlords are looking for new tenants: Then, they would be desperate. But do not overplay your hand. Your landlord might have another tenant waiting by the corner.
Why Should You Negotiate Rent?
A huge chunk of most of the U.S population’s paycheck every month goes to rent. If you are still wondering why you should negotiate rent, the answer cannot be more glaringly obvious. You can save a lot of money if you can negotiate your rent for lower prices.
Negotiating for rent also goes beyond the obvious monetary benefits and can even help you form a stronger relationship with your landlord. The different benefits you may get by negotiating your rent to a lower price are:
- You would have access to financial freedom: Reducing your rent price will give you more money to spend on other things. Even if you are saving as little as 50 dollars a month, that will total about 600 dollars after 12 months
- You can be sure to get the best value and not feel like you were cheated on: If you feel that you are not getting the best value for the amount you are paying, negotiating rent might be a great way to ease your mind and find out the options that are available for you.
- You can create a better relationship: Negotiating your rent is also a great way to form a great relationship with your landlord. This is especially the case when the negotiations are done respectfully. It usually facilitates a more open line of communication between you and the landlord.
What Can You Ask For When Negotiating Rent?
It’s important to know that negotiations for rent don’t only involve the lowering of the rent. You can also ask for other things such as better amenities, a free parking space, and new upgrades to your apartment, free additional storage this is usually easily applicable when you are negotiating with a large property.
It can also be applicable in situations where the landlord is determined not to reduce the rent price, you can follow up by requesting other non-monetary benefits.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Even after signing your lease, it’s still very possible to negotiate your rent for a lower price. But you must know that is better to negotiate your rent a few months before it expires. Negotiating the rent a few months before it expires gives you more leverage, therefore, increasing the probability of a lower rent price.
To reduce rent you will just need to outright ask the landlord or property manager to lower your rent. To start the negotiations process you won’t wait to get a confirmatory answer from them, if you feel that they are not really against the idea of reducing rent you can move on immediately to the negotiations process. The negotiations must be done physically, you come prepared, and know exactly what you are asking for.
Negotiating as either a new or existing tenant each has its pros and cons. When negotiating as an existing tenant it can be challenging because you already live there, why will the landlord consider lowering the rent for you now. While negotiating if you are new tenants can also be as challenging because of the lack of trust the landlord will have for you giving him no ample reasons to lower rent for you. How you frame your negotiations is the most important point that will determine if your rental price will be lowered or not.
Yes. Negotiation of rent doesn’t matter if it’s an apartment or a house. If you are renting then there is an opportunity for negotiations to reduce the rent price. Other non-monetary benefits can also be negotiated for, this is your right. It’s now up to the landlord to reject or accept your proposals.
For most tenants, it is rude behavior to ask their landlord if the rent is negotiable. I’m telling you now that it’s not, negotiations of rent are something you are free to ask for. The final decision still depends on the landlord, so it’s not rude behavior but a matter of choice for the tenants.
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Conclusion
Negotiations of rent is done by most tenants recently. This is mainly because of the huge chunk of money rent takes out of the people’s income. You need to keep notes while negotiating your rent to keep your humanity and consider the landlords also and be realistic with your expectations.
If you are successful in negotiating better terms with your landlords the extra money from the rent should be saved and could be used to build your emergency funds. You must treat your landlord with patience and respect during the negotiations process.
In the case of an argument coming up during the negotiations process such as a disagreement in views try to patiently listen to the landlord and try to understand his points of view, while making him/her also understand your points of view. The negotiations should be a peaceful process.
References
- blog.nationwide.com– how to negotaite rent
- zumper.com– why you should always negotaite rent and how to do it right
- trulia.com– how to negotiate rent
- rent.com– tips to negotiating lower rent
- chime.com– 5 ways to negotiate better deals on rent
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