Getting a potential Landlord to reduce rent

diddlybit

Hi all, just looking for some advice as I know that there's a lot of landlords here, so getting answers straight from the horses' mouths would probably be best.

Myself and my partner are moving and last week we found our perfect apartment, it ticked the location, facilities and the feeling that somewhere is ideal for you. It came down to ourselves and another couple, after meeting with the home-owner and they got it as they needed to move out urgently. The apartment was 900 euro a month.

I've been looking at the same complex and there is a second property to rent which is identical, more or less, to the first one, though it is on the market for 1000 euro a month. (In fact, the first one has just been redecorated and has two double bedrooms rather than a single and a double, so is actually a lot better value.) So a couple of questions...

• How would we go about negotiating the rent?
• Would a reduction of 100 euro be feasible? 900 is pretty much our budget limit.
• Would I mention it to him on the phone when arranging a viewing or wait until we had viewed the apartment? It's just that if the rent is non-negotiable, I would hate to waste his time.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

reverenddave

i'm house hunting too at the moment

and almost every single auctioneer i've spoken to said
in this economic climate there is always room for negotiation

you might even get away with €850 if the Landlord was desperate enough

but yeah anywhere up to 10% less then asking price is almost expected

weeeeeeeezy

If you don't ask you don't get. Also don't be concerned about wasting their time it's your money. I would suggest go view the apartment and offer 900 they may then be willing to negotiate might be no harm to mention there is other apartments in the block being let for 900. I'm not a landlord btw.

who_ru

if you don't ask, thou shalt not get it.

having said that the LL will almost certainly tell you that he has already got the asking price from another couple.

just explain to him that your wage has been cut through all the tax increases etc and you must live within your budget. give it a go. don't blink first as there are lots of apts out there and be prepared to walk away if necessary.

i did not so long ago. the apt was on for 850pm, i offered 800 to which i got the usual reply - 'oh the couple who viewed 10mins ago offered us the asking price'. the apt ticked all the boxes for me too, location was perfect, apt was clean & modern etc. i walked out as soon as i got that reply as i'm just not prepared to be played like that.

OS119

who_ru wrote: »

if you don't ask, thou shalt not get it.

having said that the LL will almost certainly tell you that he has already got the asking price from another couple.

just explain to him that your wage has been cut through all the tax increases etc and you must live within your budget. give it a go. don't blink first as there are lots of apts out there and be prepared to walk away if necessary.

i did not so long ago. the apt was on for 850pm, i offered 800 to which i got the usual reply - 'oh the couple who viewed 10mins ago offered us the asking price'. the apt ticked all the boxes for me too, location was perfect, apt was clean & modern etc. i walked out as soon as i got that reply as i'm just not prepared to be played like that.

^^^^this ^^^^ is what to do.

if it tick your boxes just ask for a lower rent - personally i'd suggest not allowing the words 'we can't afford it' to pass your lips as this will give a LL the jitters about you as a tenant - just say that its a higher rent than is otherwise available, say what rent you think is acceptable. if he says no just say 'thanks anyway' and walk away - you may find the LL chasing you in the car park or ringing you 2 days later when the utterly ficticious 'other couple' fall through.

don't ask, don't get.

Widget

As a landlord myself on a small scale I would prefer to have a good tenant at E850 or E900 per month than hold out for E1000 and have the place empty. It may be the thousand might be at the top end of the scale for that location. I have reduced the rent twice for my long term tenants in the last two years because I wanted to hold onto my tenants who were no hassle, looked after the place and always paid on time.

OS119

Widget wrote: »

As a landlord myself on a small scale I would prefer to have a good tenant at E850 or E900 per month than hold out for E1000 and have the place empty. It may be the thousand might be at the top end of the scale for that location. I have reduced the rent twice for my long term tenants in the last two years because I wanted to hold onto my tenants who were no hassle, looked after the place and always paid on time.

me too - getting £700 towards a £750 mortgage is a damn sight better than getting £0 towards a £750 mortgage.

my view is that while i'm the business to make a profit, that profit should be looked at as a long term thing. if getting, and keeping, the right tenant (who isn't going to cause me thousands of pounds in damage and even more thousands of pounds in fruitless legal fees) in means that i have to pay £50 a month towards a property that i'm going to own outright in 15 years then i'm happy to do so.

a tenant who has connections to the area, is looking for a long term place to live, has good tenancy and employment references, and looks to be a good financial bet, is always going to have a negotiation advantage over a 'random' would-be tenant who isn't in a stable job, and doesn't have connections in the area to tie them to the property - any LL with a brain is going to opt for tenant 1, but if tenant 1 doesn't exist the LL has to decide which is the lesser of two evils: running a risk with a tenant he isn't that sure about, or an empty property thats costing him the full whack every month until the perfect tenant comes calling...

RJC

Widget wrote: »

As a landlord myself on a small scale I would prefer to have a good tenant at E850 or E900 per month than hold out for E1000 and have the place empty. It may be the thousand might be at the top end of the scale for that location. I have reduced the rent twice for my long term tenants in the last two years because I wanted to hold onto my tenants who were no hassle, looked after the place and always paid on time.

This is the kernal of being a small scale landlord. If you can find this type of tennant you will both thrive and all problems will be met in a pragmatic and open way. The main problem small LLs with tennants is the 'I win or you win but we both can't win' approach to renting.