We got quite a good deal on our new flat, for no particular reason other than we made a slightly lower offer on the price and it was accepted.
A lot of people forget that the price a rental property is listed for is really only an asking price – exactly like buying a home. You can always make a reasonable offer and negotiate when it comes to paying the price you actually think it’s worth. In my experience, landlords ask for a price above the market worth in the off-chance that they will find someone prepared to pay it.
If the market is tight and demand is outstripping supply, you’ll be less likely to be able to secure money off the rent, but there are still things you can do in order to get the price down, such as offering to sign a longer tenancy agreement. If you are signing for two years instead of one, the landlord will be more likely to take some money off the price because of the expense and hassle of finding new tenants every 12 months.
The best asset you have when it comes to presenting yourself as good tenants (and therefore more likely to be able to secure a discount) is good references from your past landlords. Everyone knows that landlords can be a royal pain in the ass (god knows I’ve had some shockers), but it’s worth your while to have a good relationship with them by doing simple things like keeping the property in good order, and always paying your rent on time.
It’s also very important, when you’re moving out, to be flexible with viewings taking place at your flat so they can find a new tenant easily, and do everything you can to make the moving-out process go smoothly, not just for the sake of getting your deposit back, but because if you leave on a pleasant note, the landlord will be happy to provide a good reference to your new prospective tenant.
However, be careful of making verbal unofficial agreements with your landlord when it comes to getting money off your rent. Make sure everything agreed is written into your tenancy contract before you sign, otherwise you won’t have a leg to stand on if things don’t turn out as planned.
I’m so psyched to move! Goodbye crappy neighbours!
Yeah, unfortunately I live in a city with ridiculous property market. One of the many reasons we left an old flat was the insane LL’s desire to increase the rent on an already overpriced, damp, falling apart house.
I live in a similar situation (crappy neighbors, overpriced rental market) but have gotten lower rents by using glowing recommendations from former landlords and offering to sign a multi-year lease. Where I am, most places require first month’s rent, last month’s rent, one month’s rent for a security deposit, and up to one month’s rent to the realtor as a fee. Which is crazy. The last few places I’ve lived I’ve been able to get the landlord to take last month’s rent as security (which means I don’t get any money back but I have a little extra to put toward a new apartment before the end of the current lease) and when I can’t avoid a fee many landlords will split it with the new tenant.
And definitely get it all in writing. Trusting my current landlord’s verbal promises because we knew him already has resulted in us having to leave after less than a year. Argh!
It’s so true! I didn’t realize you could get a bargan on rent, but you can! I told the leasing agent my price range, but didn’t like the one’s they had available. When she showed me one out of my price range, I liked it, and then talked her down. It helped that I’d already told her my maximum range. I’m saving about 15% of my rent each month, just because I asked!