Comments on: Poll: How much of a discount have you negotiated in your rent? http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2009/04/26/poll-how-much-of-a-discount-have-you-negotiated-in-your-rent/ News & discussion about real estate & the housing bubble in the Seattle area. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:02:55 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Rick Brewster http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2009/04/26/poll-how-much-of-a-discount-have-you-negotiated-in-your-rent/#comment-72726 Rick Brewster Wed, 13 May 2009 00:37:58 +0000 http://seattlebubble.com/blog/?p=5279#comment-72726 Before I signed the lease for my new place, I asked them to reduce the rent since it didn't have two features that a friend's unit had: a view, and rennovated interior. They said, "Oh I'll e-mail the boss lady, she's in meetings all day and I doubt it, but hey it's always worth a try!" ... within half an hour they called me back and dropped the rent by $100/month. So I went in and signed the application, "Great! We'll call and cancel the other appointments we had to show it today!" Ha! If they had people lining up to see it, they would not have reduced the price! :) It never hurts to ask, although they must believe you're willing to walk away from the deal. And the people showing you the apartment are trained to say those key things like, "We've got so many appointments today to show the apartment", etc. The worst that happens is they say "no", right?<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('72726','Rick Brewster',''); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('72726','Rick Brewster','Before I signed the lease for my new place, I asked them to reduce the rent since it didn\'t have two features that a friend\'s unit had: a view, and rennovated interior. They said, \"Oh I\'ll e-mail the boss lady, she\'s in meetings all day and I doubt it, but hey it\'s always worth a try!\" ... within half an hour they called me back and dropped the rent by $100\/month. So I went in and signed the application, \"Great! We\'ll call and cancel the other appointments we had to show it today!\" Ha! If they had people lining up to see it, they would not have reduced the price! :) It never hurts to ask, although they must believe you\'re willing to walk away from the deal. And the people showing you the apartment are trained to say those key things like, \"We\'ve got so many appointments today to show the apartment\", etc. The worst that happens is they say \"no\", right?',''); return false;">Quote</a></div> Before I signed the lease for my new place, I asked them to reduce the rent since it didn’t have two features that a friend’s unit had: a view, and rennovated interior. They said, “Oh I’ll e-mail the boss lady, she’s in meetings all day and I doubt it, but hey it’s always worth a try!” … within half an hour they called me back and dropped the rent by $100/month. So I went in and signed the application, “Great! We’ll call and cancel the other appointments we had to show it today!” Ha! If they had people lining up to see it, they would not have reduced the price! :) It never hurts to ask, although they must believe you’re willing to walk away from the deal. And the people showing you the apartment are trained to say those key things like, “We’ve got so many appointments today to show the apartment”, etc. The worst that happens is they say “no”, right?
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]]> By: renterDan http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2009/04/26/poll-how-much-of-a-discount-have-you-negotiated-in-your-rent/#comment-71415 renterDan Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:28:48 +0000 http://seattlebubble.com/blog/?p=5279#comment-71415 We negotiated a nice reduction for our apartment in south lake union. We moved from a 1bd,1ba to a 2bd,2ba (+~300sq ft) with a lower rent along with substantial concessions (financial and other) that they asked us nicely not to tell the other tenants about. The 2bd was rented the previous year for $500 above the 1bd. We moved this weekend, two months before our lease expired. Already, though, the market has picked up in the complex - a lot more tour traffic, and advertised rent prices have started to return to their previous levels. We hit a nice lull, where our new apartment sat vacant for 2-3 months along with others -- and the management team (but not company) had recently switched. The negotiation was not trivial. We were armed with quotes from nearby buildings for which the math almost worked (everything but FCF) to break our lease to move. And the confidence from this blog and thesouthlake.com that more likely than not, the available rental inventory of south lake union may soon increase dramatically when the condo projects finish and have to convert.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('71415','renterDan',''); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('71415','renterDan','We negotiated a nice reduction for our apartment in south lake union. We moved from a 1bd,1ba to a 2bd,2ba (+~300sq ft) with a lower rent along with substantial concessions (financial and other) that they asked us nicely not to tell the other tenants about. The 2bd was rented the previous year for $500 above the 1bd. We moved this weekend, two months before our lease expired. \r\n\r\nAlready, though, the market has picked up in the complex - a lot more tour traffic, and advertised rent prices have started to return to their previous levels. We hit a nice lull, where our new apartment sat vacant for 2-3 months along with others -- and the management team (but not company) had recently switched. \r\n\r\nThe negotiation was not trivial. We were armed with quotes from nearby buildings for which the math almost worked (everything but FCF) to break our lease to move. And the confidence from this blog and thesouthlake.com that more likely than not, the available rental inventory of south lake union may soon increase dramatically when the condo projects finish and have to convert.',''); return false;">Quote</a></div> We negotiated a nice reduction for our apartment in south lake union. We moved from a 1bd,1ba to a 2bd,2ba (+~300sq ft) with a lower rent along with substantial concessions (financial and other) that they asked us nicely not to tell the other tenants about. The 2bd was rented the previous year for $500 above the 1bd. We moved this weekend, two months before our lease expired.

Already, though, the market has picked up in the complex – a lot more tour traffic, and advertised rent prices have started to return to their previous levels. We hit a nice lull, where our new apartment sat vacant for 2-3 months along with others — and the management team (but not company) had recently switched.

The negotiation was not trivial. We were armed with quotes from nearby buildings for which the math almost worked (everything but FCF) to break our lease to move. And the confidence from this blog and thesouthlake.com that more likely than not, the available rental inventory of south lake union may soon increase dramatically when the condo projects finish and have to convert.

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]]> By: Angie http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2009/04/26/poll-how-much-of-a-discount-have-you-negotiated-in-your-rent/#comment-71334 Angie Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:31:46 +0000 http://seattlebubble.com/blog/?p=5279#comment-71334 seattlerenter, you can check rentometer.com for a broader view. Their data appears to be based on rental listings/offerings in the public domain, so it's more of a picture of what landlords are asking than what people are actually paying. Certainly there are lots of anecdotal stories of people renting for years at below-market prices because they've got a LL that's not out to totally gouge them, etc, etc. but I don't know where info about that is compiled. Maybe the census?<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('71334','Angie',''); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('71334','Angie','seattlerenter, you can check rentometer.com for a broader view. Their data appears to be based on rental listings\/offerings in the public domain, so it\'s more of a picture of what landlords are asking than what people are actually paying. Certainly there are lots of anecdotal stories of people renting for years at below-market prices because they\'ve got a LL that\'s not out to totally gouge them, etc, etc. but I don\'t know where info about that is compiled. Maybe the census?',''); return false;">Quote</a></div> seattlerenter, you can check rentometer.com for a broader view. Their data appears to be based on rental listings/offerings in the public domain, so it’s more of a picture of what landlords are asking than what people are actually paying. Certainly there are lots of anecdotal stories of people renting for years at below-market prices because they’ve got a LL that’s not out to totally gouge them, etc, etc. but I don’t know where info about that is compiled. Maybe the census?
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]]> By: raj http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2009/04/26/poll-how-much-of-a-discount-have-you-negotiated-in-your-rent/#comment-71330 raj Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:17:17 +0000 http://seattlebubble.com/blog/?p=5279#comment-71330 6 months back i moved to issaquah 2 bed 2 bath apartments for 1340. Last month they gave me the renewal for same rate. Now i moved to townhome with more space for 1275 within the same community<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('71330','raj',''); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('71330','raj','6 months back i moved to issaquah 2 bed 2 bath apartments for 1340. Last month they gave me the renewal for same rate. Now i moved to townhome with more space for 1275 within the same community',''); return false;">Quote</a></div> 6 months back i moved to issaquah 2 bed 2 bath apartments for 1340. Last month they gave me the renewal for same rate. Now i moved to townhome with more space for 1275 within the same community
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]]> By: AndySeattle http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2009/04/26/poll-how-much-of-a-discount-have-you-negotiated-in-your-rent/#comment-71326 AndySeattle Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:34:32 +0000 http://seattlebubble.com/blog/?p=5279#comment-71326 Lease is up in July... Not sure when I should start talking about a reduction. With all the expected summer volume of people moving around naturally, would it be better now, or hope that people move out of my building?<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('71326','AndySeattle',''); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('71326','AndySeattle','Lease is up in July... Not sure when I should start talking about a reduction. With all the expected summer volume of people moving around naturally, would it be better now, or hope that people move out of my building?',''); return false;">Quote</a></div> Lease is up in July… Not sure when I should start talking about a reduction. With all the expected summer volume of people moving around naturally, would it be better now, or hope that people move out of my building?
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]]> By: nika http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2009/04/26/poll-how-much-of-a-discount-have-you-negotiated-in-your-rent/#comment-71317 nika Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:16:50 +0000 http://seattlebubble.com/blog/?p=5279#comment-71317 My apartment was a pretty good deal. I did not negotiate on price, but I did negotiate down from a 1-year to a six month lease and two pets in a no pets apartment. I will stay as reasonable on a month-to-month basis after six months, then negotaiate new rent when it becomes overpriced. I have a great landlord and I appreciate him,<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('71317','nika',''); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('71317','nika','My apartment was a pretty good deal. I did not negotiate on price, but I did negotiate down from a 1-year to a six month lease and two pets in a no pets apartment. I will stay as reasonable on a month-to-month basis after six months, then negotaiate new rent when it becomes overpriced. I have a great landlord and I appreciate him,',''); return false;">Quote</a></div> My apartment was a pretty good deal. I did not negotiate on price, but I did negotiate down from a 1-year to a six month lease and two pets in a no pets apartment. I will stay as reasonable on a month-to-month basis after six months, then negotaiate new rent when it becomes overpriced. I have a great landlord and I appreciate him,
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]]> By: seattlerenter http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2009/04/26/poll-how-much-of-a-discount-have-you-negotiated-in-your-rent/#comment-71309 seattlerenter Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:07:01 +0000 http://seattlebubble.com/blog/?p=5279#comment-71309 Where do you guys look for comparables? I check Craigslist all the time but it always seem to be the same houses listed over and over and pretty overpriced. I am looking for SFH on the eastside is there a good rental site to check?<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('71309','seattlerenter',''); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('71309','seattlerenter','Where do you guys look for comparables? I check Craigslist all the time but it always seem to be the same houses listed over and over and pretty overpriced. I am looking for SFH on the eastside is there a good rental site to check?',''); return false;">Quote</a></div> Where do you guys look for comparables? I check Craigslist all the time but it always seem to be the same houses listed over and over and pretty overpriced. I am looking for SFH on the eastside is there a good rental site to check?
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]]> By: genob http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2009/04/26/poll-how-much-of-a-discount-have-you-negotiated-in-your-rent/#comment-71301 genob Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:14:58 +0000 http://seattlebubble.com/blog/?p=5279#comment-71301 Currently renting a downtown condo with a lease expiring in May. Rent is down by more than 25% from this time last year. And lots more inventory coming online in the next 6 months.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('71301','genob',''); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('71301','genob','Currently renting a downtown condo with a lease expiring in May. Rent is down by more than 25% from this time last year. And lots more inventory coming online in the next 6 months.',''); return false;">Quote</a></div> Currently renting a downtown condo with a lease expiring in May. Rent is down by more than 25% from this time last year. And lots more inventory coming online in the next 6 months.
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]]> By: geon http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2009/04/26/poll-how-much-of-a-discount-have-you-negotiated-in-your-rent/#comment-71260 geon Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:43:04 +0000 http://seattlebubble.com/blog/?p=5279#comment-71260 None. Landlord actually raised rent about six months ago. I feel our rent is at the top of the range in our area at the moment.. Talked to landlord (also developer who has ceased bldg. at the moment) awhile back and he said he is having a hard time trying to refinance a couple properties he has rented and for sale--Wells put the clamp on him. I don't think he's over extended though; he started scaling back a couple years ago. Meanwhile, I've seen some substantial price drops (300-400K) on some properties that we looked at a few years back. Some must be bank owned. :)<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('71260','geon',''); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('71260','geon','None. Landlord actually raised rent about six months ago. I feel our rent is at the top of the range in our area at the moment.. Talked to landlord (also developer who has ceased bldg. at the moment) awhile back and he said he is having a hard time trying to refinance a couple properties he has rented and for sale--Wells put the clamp on him. I don\'t think he\'s over extended though; he started scaling back a couple years ago.\n\nMeanwhile, I\'ve seen some substantial price drops (300-400K) on some properties that we looked at a few years back. Some must be bank owned. :)',''); return false;">Quote</a></div> None. Landlord actually raised rent about six months ago. I feel our rent is at the top of the range in our area at the moment.. Talked to landlord (also developer who has ceased bldg. at the moment) awhile back and he said he is having a hard time trying to refinance a couple properties he has rented and for sale–Wells put the clamp on him. I don’t think he’s over extended though; he started scaling back a couple years ago.

Meanwhile, I’ve seen some substantial price drops (300-400K) on some properties that we looked at a few years back. Some must be bank owned. :)

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]]> By: Lake Hills Renter http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2009/04/26/poll-how-much-of-a-discount-have-you-negotiated-in-your-rent/#comment-71257 Lake Hills Renter Sun, 26 Apr 2009 16:07:40 +0000 http://seattlebubble.com/blog/?p=5279#comment-71257 I've been renting this SFH for 5+ years now. The landlord gave me a really good deal because he knew me (I'm a friend of another tenant) and knew I'd take care of the place. My rent has only gone up once since, and it's still a very good deal, even in these times of falling rents. My lease ran out a couple years ago and I stayed month-to-month because I wanted the flexibility so I could buy a house on my own schedule without fees for breaking my lease. Never bought because the market sucked. I've saved a large downpaymet because of the good rent for all these years, though.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('71257','Lake Hills Renter',''); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('71257','Lake Hills Renter','I\'ve been renting this SFH for 5+ years now. The landlord gave me a really good deal because he knew me (I\'m a friend of another tenant) and knew I\'d take care of the place. My rent has only gone up once since, and it\'s still a very good deal, even in these times of falling rents. My lease ran out a couple years ago and I stayed month-to-month because I wanted the flexibility so I could buy a house on my own schedule without fees for breaking my lease. Never bought because the market sucked. I\'ve saved a large downpaymet because of the good rent for all these years, though.',''); return false;">Quote</a></div> I’ve been renting this SFH for 5+ years now. The landlord gave me a really good deal because he knew me (I’m a friend of another tenant) and knew I’d take care of the place. My rent has only gone up once since, and it’s still a very good deal, even in these times of falling rents. My lease ran out a couple years ago and I stayed month-to-month because I wanted the flexibility so I could buy a house on my own schedule without fees for breaking my lease. Never bought because the market sucked. I’ve saved a large downpaymet because of the good rent for all these years, though.
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]]> By: tforcram http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2009/04/26/poll-how-much-of-a-discount-have-you-negotiated-in-your-rent/#comment-71256 tforcram Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:59:15 +0000 http://seattlebubble.com/blog/?p=5279#comment-71256 I didn't negotiate for a lower rent, but my landlord voluntarily offered to not raise my rent. We had previously agreed that it would go up 3% with the next renewal, so it was like 3% off, kind of.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('71256','tforcram',''); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('71256','tforcram','I didn\'t negotiate for a lower rent, but my landlord voluntarily offered to not raise my rent. We had previously agreed that it would go up 3% with the next renewal, so it was like 3% off, kind of.',''); return false;">Quote</a></div> I didn’t negotiate for a lower rent, but my landlord voluntarily offered to not raise my rent. We had previously agreed that it would go up 3% with the next renewal, so it was like 3% off, kind of.
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]]> By: Sniglet http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2009/04/26/poll-how-much-of-a-discount-have-you-negotiated-in-your-rent/#comment-71255 Sniglet Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:55:50 +0000 http://seattlebubble.com/blog/?p=5279#comment-71255 My lease on a Bellevue SFH just came up for renewal and I told the landlord we were unwilling to sign another lease due to economic uncertainty. He immediately agreed to move to month by month payments. I didn't argue about the price, but I figure that now that we are on a month-by-monthy basis I can now negotiate, or move to a better (and cheaper) place at any time.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('71255','Sniglet',''); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('71255','Sniglet','My lease on a Bellevue SFH just came up for renewal and I told the landlord we were unwilling to sign another lease due to economic uncertainty. He immediately agreed to move to month by month payments.\r\n\r\nI didn\'t argue about the price, but I figure that now that we are on a month-by-monthy basis I can now negotiate, or move to a better (and cheaper) place at any time.',''); return false;">Quote</a></div> My lease on a Bellevue SFH just came up for renewal and I told the landlord we were unwilling to sign another lease due to economic uncertainty. He immediately agreed to move to month by month payments.

I didn’t argue about the price, but I figure that now that we are on a month-by-monthy basis I can now negotiate, or move to a better (and cheaper) place at any time.

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