Rental concessions while living in a place that for sale?
The owner of the condo unit I'm renting has decided to sell.
I know...renting is horrible! This is why people should buy! Blah blah blah
I found another place yesterday that I wouldn't mind moving to and is actually a better deal than what I have now...but...the owner is selling out of hardship and will still want some type of income while the place is listed as well as keep some furniture in it. The unit is in the Alexandria building and will have to compete with (currently) 6 others for sale in the building and the leftover inventory from Trio AND the new building being put up across the street that will totally block the view for both the Alexandria and Trio...in other words...it could sit on the market for a while.
Am I dreaming in thinking I could swing half price rent? Does anyone have any experience with anything like this?
Oh...and I nearly broke my phone after dropping it while laughing when they offered me first crack at buying the place I'm renting right now. Double my monthly outlay to live in the same place? Right.
I know...renting is horrible! This is why people should buy! Blah blah blah
I found another place yesterday that I wouldn't mind moving to and is actually a better deal than what I have now...but...the owner is selling out of hardship and will still want some type of income while the place is listed as well as keep some furniture in it. The unit is in the Alexandria building and will have to compete with (currently) 6 others for sale in the building and the leftover inventory from Trio AND the new building being put up across the street that will totally block the view for both the Alexandria and Trio...in other words...it could sit on the market for a while.
Am I dreaming in thinking I could swing half price rent? Does anyone have any experience with anything like this?
Oh...and I nearly broke my phone after dropping it while laughing when they offered me first crack at buying the place I'm renting right now. Double my monthly outlay to live in the same place? Right.
Comments
I'd move to the other place - given the owner's circumstances and the number of other units for sale, it sounds as if the unit will go into foreclosure fairly soon - I'm not sure if you want to be living in the unit when that happens. Besides, do you really want RE agents being able to crawl through your personal space with no notice while the condo is on the market?
You could offer half rent, but if the owner is delusional enough to think he can get a price resulting in a mortage double current rent, I don't think he'll listen to you. Besides, he NEEDS the rent money - all of it. I'm sure he thinks that his needs are what should determine business transactions.
A better move is to take the listing for the other place to him. Show him that it's X dollars less than your current place and just as nice (is it?). Explain that you dislike having an imminent move hanging over your head, and let him know that you intend to move to that other unit unless he can beat the price by some reasonable amount. Say $75 a month.
At least, that's more what I would do.
I'm currently month to month (so I've got until the 9th to say I'm out).
The other place I found is just as nice (and a bit larger) place and about $50 a month cheaper. I'm not sure if $150 a month is enough for me to have to deal with the constant threat that I could get a call saying "we need you to not be around for an hour tonight." And that's assuming they don't ask me to consider moving my furniture around a bit (I find gas fireplaces tacky and have my tv blocking it).
Exactly. It really comes down to deciding a number in your head. At price $X, it's worth staying and at price $(X + 1) it's not. Let him know about what X is, and if he won't match or beat it you leave. Remind him how much $$$ he'll lose in the meantime if you do leave, because that's where your bargaining power is.
I called the property manager and said I found a place and would be making a decision to move by tomorrow afternoon. The realtor is still trying to connect with the owner to finalize their "offer" to me, but at least now they know they are close to getting nothing.
I'm not too keen on living somewhere for sale...but for half price rent...I would consider it.
Scenario #1: The unit closes April 25th and you have to be out by May 9th. You have 2 weeks to find a new condo. You may or may not find something comparable, at a better price, like you have now. I realize that it's unlikely the unit will sell, but time critical moveouts are the worst situation for a renter.
Scenario #2: Owner goes into foreclosure and bank shows up and tells you to be out in 48 hours.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... NUOE27.DTL
You want Big rent concessions to be potentially exposed to that situation.
I decided my odds were pretty low of getting a significant enough rental discount to have to put up with requests to remove posters from the walls, keep the place spotless, and be told with little notice "hey, we'd like to show the place...can you get lost for an hour?". I might have considered it for half off rent since with how long the place could be on the market I could have netted a decent stack of cash. Instead...I'm just getting out of what could be an annoying situation.
If they had sold the place...I believe I would have been given 90 days to move out, and if there would have been requirements to move out quicker then there would have been cash payments. At least that's how it was hinted at when I spoke with the realtor over the phone.
Can they actually make you keep the place clean, remove posters, and leave for showings? Because I'd just say no. It'll be as clean as it is, the posters would remain on the wall, and I wouldn't leave to let someone I don't know have free reign with my stuff. If you've ever been to a showing with a realtor, more often than not, they simply let you roam around unattended while they make phone calls.
I would think someone renting a place that's for sale would have quite a bit of leverage on getting concessions. I think it would be pretty easy to sabotage a sale, or at least make it a hell of lot less likely, if one felt like it.
I'm pretty sure there is a law about landlords entering the property without notice unless there is an emergency. I think with notice, they have to give at least 2 days notice, but even if they don't hear back from you, once that 2 days is up they can come in.
My husband and I turned our two-family house (duplex in PNW-speak) into condos (a VERY common practice in the Boston area). We had renters in the lower unit, and had a provision in our lease for showing the place to prospective occupants. We gave the tenants a 12% rent reduction ($150/mo) for staying while we sold the place. They ended up moving the next month anyways (they were month-to-month at that point), so maybe 12% wasn't enough of a concession.
As for your landlord being in a "hardship" situation, that is like trying to squeeze blood from a stone be reducing your rent, although it is logical that you should have a rent reduction of some sort.
Personally, I would run, not walk, to a new apartment since you may not know when the place is being foreclosed until they post it on your residence.
Also, is there anyway in Washington/Seattle for you to find out when your prospective new landlord purchased the property and what the mortgage(s) amount is? That may give you some info that will help you avoid your current situation with the owner being foreclosed, or almost foreclosed.
Good luck!
I was out of town on work travel last week and returned to find a notice of default tacked to the door. Turns out the unit owner hadn't been paying her mortgage since JULY! No wonder she decided to sell 6 weeks ago.
Thankfully I'll be moving out about 10ish days or so before the 30 days will have passed since the NOD was dated.
As long as the property manager held onto the deposit and it didn't go to the owner...getting it back should be fairly easy.
If it went to the owner...things might be a bit more difficult since she can't even pay her mortgage with my rent check coming in.
Either way...I'm suddenly less enthusiastic about making sure the place is spotless before I move out.