Are the rental prices the final figure?

Mink

This is probably a stupid question but are the advertised rental prices the final figure usually?

Maybe there are people on here who successfully negotiated a lower rent, landlords who accepted a lower rent than advertised or letting agents etc?

I ask as we are looking to move to a new house but the only houses that suit our requirements are about 100-150 over what we can afford. Am I totally wasting my time going to view them and then asking later if can have it for less than advertised?

Our main selling point is we are excellent tenants, we stay for a few years, never miss rent, have great references and maintain house and garden well, look after appliances etc. If you are a landlord, would this sort of thing sweeten the deal if a potential renter is looking for a small drop in the rent?

Rasmus

Mink wrote: »

This is probably a stupid question but are the advertised rental prices the final figure usually?

Maybe there are people on here who successfully negotiated a lower rent, landlords who accepted a lower rent than advertised or letting agents etc?

I ask as we are looking to move to a new house but the only houses that suit our requirements are about 100-150 over what we can afford. Am I totally wasting my time going to view them and then asking later if can have it for less than advertised?

Our main selling point is we are excellent tenants, we stay for a few years, never miss rent, have great references and maintain house and garden well, look after appliances etc. If you are a landlord, would this sort of thing sweeten the deal if a potential renter is looking for a small drop in the rent?

I have found that in Dublin, because of the high demand, LLs don't need to budge on the figure. Outside of Dublin and Wicklow, I have met LLs who were willing to negotiate.

djimi

My experience is that rent can usually be negotiated, however I think you might be expecting a lot to get 100-150 off the advertised price unless you are looking to rent in a remote area with little or no rental market and a house that has been empty for some time.

In Dublin, and high demand areas, you will most likely get nothing off the asking price.

If you intend on staying for a long period of time why not offer to sign a longer lease (say 2 years) in exchange for a reduction in the rent? Its not exactly ideal as it would mean tying yourself into a property, area and landlord that you are unfamiliar with for a long period of time (which will make it difficult to move if needs be), but if you really need to get the reduction then it might be an avenue to explore.

D3PO

id concur if in Dublin unlikely you will get rent down outside yes you will probably be able to negoitiate.

100 - 150 though doesnt sound realistic to get off the asking rent unless your looking at high end rents which I suspect isnt the case.

Manzoor14

Its worth asking anyway, I got €50 a month off my apartment in Rathfarnham by asking for €100 off. Was pretty cheeky and I was surprised to get it!

UDP

I got 50 off my apartment. The landlord tried to get it to 25 but eventually accepted 50 euro less.

OP, you don't know the demand on a place so best to pick out a few and make offers. You would be surprised that some places are a month without someone in them thus that costs the landlord more than 50 less a month for 12 months so some may budge for fear of a second month without tennants.

johnp001

Got 12% off a not overpriced rental in a West Leinster town last year. Was free as to when I could move in so left offer there for a month and then it was accepted.
Also had an offer of 10% off rent accepted but the landlord sat on his hands too long and I had had the other offer accepted in the meantime. It stayed empty for another 4 months after that.

petethebrick

From my experience it's less likely you'll get a reduction in Dublin compared to elsewhere. Saying that there are high and low demand areas in Dublin. So you'd be much more likely to get a reduction on a house in Lucan compared to an apartment in Ranelagh if you know what I mean.

It also depends on your price range.
For example there are lots of people looking for two bedroom apartments in Dublin with a budget of around €1000. So it's hard or impossible to get a reduction on any nice 2 bedroom apartment in Dublin advertised at €1000.
There are much less people looking for a two bedroom apartment with a budget of €2000. So you'd be more likely to get the rent reduced by 100 or 200 in this case.

Saying all that landlords do appreciate good tenants so go and view plenty of places, even those a little above your budget, and make the landlords/agents an offer. Try this for a while and if you don't get anywhere move your search a bit further out.

Mink

Thanks

Not a bad idea on offering to sign a 2yr lease. But would that mean the landlord is locked into us for 2yrs as well? That might not be appealing to them.

We're only looking in North Kildare but they are definitely commuter towns, on the rail line, near colleges etc so there is certainly demand for them it seems. We haven't even bothered looking in Dublin as can't afford anything in nice areas.

The rents are being advertised 900/950. I'd be looking to get them for 800 but if it was a good place I'd offer to sign 2yr lease and maybe some other things like we'd insulate the attic some more etc.

djimi

Would you consider looking at Naas? You would get a decent place for the budget that you are looking to spend, and there tends to be some flexibility in terms of the asking price.

In terms of commuting etc Naas is on a good bus route, a train service (from Sallins) and is an hours drive into town in the morning and less than 30 minutes at night.

hfallada

In Dublin not at all. Its seen as the two fingers to a lot of landlords and that the tenant may
cause issues in the future. If he has tons seeing it. He/she wont consider selecting you in my opinion

fasttalkerchat

Every house I call about I get 10% off. In a few cases after meeting with them they half the deposit and offer part of the first month rent free. The area I'm in has a high demand but most applicants have housing allowance, because its on the border (Newry) a fair few landlords are from the south so want someone in long term cash in hand. Because of this I can get a good discount.

It also depends on how much you are asking them to do eg. furniture.

RATM

Mink wrote: »

Thanks

Not a bad idea on offering to sign a 2yr lease. But would that mean the landlord is locked into us for 2yrs as well? That might not be appealing to them.

We're only looking in North Kildare but they are definitely commuter towns, on the rail line, near colleges etc so there is certainly demand for them it seems. We haven't even bothered looking in Dublin as can't afford anything in nice areas.

The rents are being advertised 900/950. I'd be looking to get them for 800 but if it was a good place I'd offer to sign 2yr lease and maybe some other things like we'd insulate the attic some more etc.

OP if living in North Kildare is not a 100% priority then do look at places on the north side Dublin. Naas is 38km from Dublin city centre which is a huge (and expensive) commute. And if you pay €900 a month you may not necessarily be saving over living in Dublin as your petrol/train costs could easily be €50 a week.

Here is a 2 bed house in Raheny, which is a good area, for €850pm, approx 5km from the city center
http://www.daft.ie/searchrental.daft?id=1320305

A bit further out in Naul, north country Dublin, 2 bed house with some land, €700pm, it is about 34km from the city so only a little less than Naas, but still €200 cheaper. You'd need a car out there though.
http://www.daft.ie/searchrental.daft?id=1317337

Or if you'd consider an apartment then there are lots in Swords near the airport, approx 14km from city, 2 bed apartment for €600 a month, better quality ones in closer to the bus stops are from €650/700 upwards
http://www.daft.ie/searchrental.daft?id=1320112

The above examples may not be suitable for you. But I am just making the point that you might find better value on the north side of Dublin rather than north Kildare. Your commute should be shorter and will therefore cost less and give you a better quality of living overall. Other areas you might consider are Skerries, Donabate and Lusk, all of which have train stations direct to the city center. There are occasionally bargains to be had in these areas for between €700-900pm

Best of luck whatever you decide to do

djimi

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

Every house I call about I get 10% off. In a few cases after meeting with them they half the deposit and offer part of the first month rent free. The area I'm in has a high demand but most applicants have housing allowance, because its on the border (Newry) a fair few landlords are from the south so want someone in long term cash in hand. Because of this I can get a good discount.

It also depends on how much you are asking them to do eg. furniture.

I think it would be extremely rare to get a reduction on the deposit and/or first months rent! Especially in a high demand area. Around Dublin at the moment it's case of pay the asking price or someone else certainly will.

strandroad

In our experience (Dublin last autumn) most landlords were willing to take €50 off but no more than that.

fasttalkerchat

djimi wrote: »

I think it would be extremely rare to get a reduction on the deposit and/or first months rent! Especially in a high demand area. Around Dublin at the moment it's case of pay the asking price or someone else certainly will.

3 places offered that already. I am looking for something for around 2 years and paying cash. A few LLs have said they have people lining up to pay a deposit but only DHSS (rent allowance) but they are holding out for cash.

In one particular place last week they said they could give me a key today to start moving in whenever I want and rent will be due from the start of next month. They were struggling to get people to come out and see the house because it was advertised as no housing benefit.
Part of the reason is that renting is slightly dearer than a mortgage at the minute so anyone in a job is buying.

space_man

i rent properties in dublin, and if a prospective tenant had the temerity to ask for a rent reduction in today's market, he/she would immediately be struck off my list.:D

djimi

space_man wrote: »

i rent properties in dublin, and if a prospective tenant had the temerity to ask for a rent reduction in today's market, he/she would immediately be struck off my list.:D

So you would be prepared to walk away from a potentially good tenant just because they did what every single tenant in the country would do and ask about getting a few quid off the asking price? Even if they know it's probably not going to happen there is no harm in them chancing their arm; it doesn't mean that they are up to anything funny.

Rasmus

space_man wrote: »

i rent properties in dublin, and if a prospective tenant had the temerity to ask for a rent reduction in today's market, he/she would immediately be struck off my list.:D

The temerity to ask for a rent reduction? Haha. You must be new at this landlord thing.

space_man

djimi wrote: »

So you would be prepared to walk away from a potentially good tenant just because they did what every single tenant in the country would do and ask about getting a few quid off the asking price? Even if they know it's probably not going to happen there is no harm in them chancing their arm; it doesn't mean that they are up to anything funny.

you got it in one.

beazee

5% down and a two weeks free to move our stuff in.
Although the contract is signed for 3 years which very much suits us.

gaius c

mhge wrote: »

In our experience (Dublin last autumn) most landlords were willing to take €50 off but no more than that.

I rent AND let and in the last 12 months demand is strong in urban areas. You'll be lucky to get anything off a reasonable asking price and in my experience, if the asking price isn't reasonable to start with, you'll be a long time negotiating.

fasttalkerchat

Just agreed a deal for an amazing 4bed that we saw yesterday. 20% reduction with added furniture and some work on the garden scheduled for the summer. I am delighted!
Will be signing a 2 year contract.

Torque.ie

As a letting agent - just like with car sales, most landlords & agents will inflate initial advertised monthly market rent in order to leave room for negotiation. Most landlords would rather let sooner at €100 less per month than risk waiting another month or two to find someone willing to pay the full price.

Vacant days cost money.

djimi

space_man wrote: »

you got it in one.

At least prosepective tenants can see you coming I suppose and know they dodged a bullet.

space_man

Torque.ie wrote: »

As a letting agent - just like with car sales, most landlords & agents will inflate initial advertised monthly market rent in order to leave room for negotiation. Most landlords would rather let sooner at €100 less per month than risk waiting another month or two to find someone willing to pay the full price.

Vacant days cost money.

As a LL (and a tenant) i have found letting agents to be as mch use as a chocolate teapot.:D

Torque.ie

space_man wrote: »

As a LL (and a tenant) i have found letting agents to be as mch use as a chocolate teapot.:D

As a letting agent (and a tenant) I have found that there are hundreds of Irish threads where Landlords don't know what to do when they stumble upon both tenant and property issues.

Why? Because they didn't use a letting or management agent (like myself). :pac:

djimi

Or because they couldnt be bothered to take the time to research the tenancy laws!

discodavie

Well in fairness with things so tight these days its partially down to cost too...

Most threads started by people before they make a mistake too has to count for something ,

Torque.ie

djimi wrote: »

Or because they couldnt be bothered to take the time to research the tenancy laws!

Yup.

highgiant1985

Torque.ie wrote: »

As a letting agent (and a tenant) I have found that there are hundreds of Irish threads where Landlords don't know what to do when they stumble upon both tenant and property issues.

Why? Because they didn't use a letting or management agent (like myself). :pac:

Lets just agree theres good and bad on both sides :P

fasttalkerchat

space_man wrote: »

i rent properties in dublin, and if a prospective tenant had the temerity to ask for a rent reduction in today's market, he/she would immediately be struck off my list.:D

Fair play to you if your prices are accurate but usually a house is advertised at 550 and you call up and they say its 525. Depending on demand after a viewing you can get 500. That's what I'm seeing. Having said that, when I lived in Dublin I paid the full asking price because I didn't want a fixed contract and needed to move in ASAP.

Agent Smith

got a 50 euro reduction when i Renewed the lease last year. Would be a bit cheeky if i asked for another one

Cathmandooo

Agent Smith wrote: »

got a 50 euro reduction when i Renewed the lease last year. Would be a bit cheeky if i asked for another one

Not cheeky at all, go for it! I was in a rental for 3 years, got a discount on renewal each year. When I left the new tenants signed up to pay my original rent before 2 years of discounts. I'd definitely push for the discount.

Agent Smith

Cathmandooo wrote: »

Not cheeky at all, go for it! I was in a rental for 3 years, got a discount on renewal each year. When I left the new tenants signed up to pay my original rent before 2 years of discounts. I'd definitely push for the discount.

Even with Property charges now?

space_man

Agent Smith wrote: »

Even with Property charges now?

my tenants will pay for them. they use the services, so they pay.:D

Cathmandooo

Agent Smith wrote: »

Even with Property charges now?

It's always worth a try, if you're a good tenant a landlord will want to hang on to you.

space_man

Cathmandooo wrote: »

It's always worth a try, if you're a good tenant a landlord will want to hang on to you.

tenants are and always have been 6 a penny.

murphaph

space_man wrote: »

tenants are and always have been 6 a penny.

Not good tenants.

nxbyveromdwjpg

murphaph wrote: »

Not good tenants.

For good properties there are plenty of good tenants.

Not a hope in hell of a reduction in rent asking price in Dublin from my experience late last year.

gaius c

Agent Smith wrote: »

Even with Property charges now?

Cat may be in a place where demand for rental is not so high so such a stance may be justified.

TheBandicoot

Agent Smith wrote: »

Even with Property charges now?

The property tax is deductible for the LL, so don't let anyone use that as an excuse for a rental increase.

murphaph

TheBandicoot wrote: »

The property tax is deductible for the LL, so don't let anyone use that as an excuse for a rental increase.

Did you read your linked blog post?

TheBandicoot

murphaph wrote: »

Did you read your linked blog post?

Yes. It says that LPT paid is deductible against rental income, meaning it's not a cost to the LL.

murphaph

TheBandicoot wrote: »

Yes. It says that LPT paid is deductible against rental income, meaning it's not a cost to the LL.

Eh, no it doesn't. It says it will be introduced on a phased basis, meaning it is not currently a deductible expense. It is not provided for in the existing legislation.

TheBandicoot

The landlord will never decrease the rent as the phases are implemented and his CODB goes down. So don't accept the increase in the first place.

murphaph

TheBandicoot wrote: »

The landlord will never decrease the rent as the phases are implemented and his CODB goes down. So don't accept the increase in the first place.

So you believe this promise from the minster of finance then?

RATM

nm wrote: »

For good properties there are plenty of good tenants.

Not a hope in hell of a reduction in rent asking price in Dublin from my experience late last year.

That all depends where in Dublin you are. Where I am in D11 there is a NAMA controlled apartment block with around 300 finished but empty units. NAMA is now funding the develpoers to finish it off (and build a 12 screen cinema to boot!) so in the last 6 months over 300 new units have hit the local market and they've depressed prices, no doubt about that, as I've been keeping my eye on Daft asking prices in the area for a while now.

As they are brand new units that have been released landlords of older units are finding it tougher to rent in the area; at a minimum it is taking them a month to do so and sometimes two months. So in those situations I'd hazard a guess that a smart landlord & clever businessman would far prefer getting it rented and offer €50/100 off asking than risk it being empty for one or two months.

Unless of course you're space man in which case you think all tenants are liars and think that good tenants are six a penny, sounds like a landlord you'd want to avoid at all costs for he sounds neither smart nor clever.

D3PO

RATM wrote: »

That all depends where in Dublin you are. Where I am in D11 there is a NAMA controlled apartment block with around 300 finished but empty units. NAMA is now funding the develpoers to finish it off (and build a 12 screen cinema to boot!) so in the last 6 months over 300 new units have hit the local market and they've depressed prices, no doubt about that, as I've been keeping my eye on Daft asking prices in the area for a while now.

As they are brand new units that have been released landlords of older units are finding it tougher to rent in the area; at a minimum it is taking them a month to do so and sometimes two months. So in those situations I'd hazard a guess that a smart landlord & clever businessman would far prefer getting it rented and offer €50/100 off asking than risk it being empty for one or two months.

Unless of course you're space man in which case you think all tenants are liars and think that good tenants are six a penny, sounds like a landlord you'd want to avoid at all costs for he sounds neither smart nor clever.

I bet you this block has had little or no impact on houses in the same area. A smart landlord wouldnt have looked to purchase an apartment for rental in D11 (No disrespect intended)

Mink

djimi wrote: »

Would you consider looking at Naas?

Have definitely considered it but we both work near city centre & have to go via Lucan to drop the wee man off at the mother in laws, hence wanting to stay along the M4.

RATM wrote: »

OP if living in North Kildare is not a 100% priority then do look at places on the north side Dublin.

Had considered it but as above.

Torque.ie wrote: »

As a letting agent - just like with car sales, most landlords & agents will inflate initial advertised monthly market rent in order to leave room for negotiation. Most landlords would rather let sooner at €100 less per month than risk waiting another month or two to find someone willing to pay the full price.

Vacant days cost money.

That's what I definitely would have thought.

We went to view a 3 bed in an old estate in Celbridge which was advertised at 950. It was absolutely dismal and not worth 950 at all. Even the estate agent admitted she wouldn't rent it for that much (that was after us saying it wasn't really our cup of tea).

She said there is a high demand for rentals in North Kildare and the modern ones are getting snapped up. But I really find it hard to believe that people are paying 900-1000 for some of the awful places we've seen.

Going to see a place in Johnstown Bridge tonight that is for same rent as where we are but bigger & more mod cons, will be an extra 10 mins on our journey.

Ah it's crap looking at rentals really isn't it!

Thanks for the advice.

space_man

D3PO wrote: »

I bet you this block has had little or no impact on houses in the same area. A smart landlord wouldnt have looked to purchase an apartment for rental in D11 (No disrespect intended)

agree 100%
anybody buying in d11 must be crazy.