Reduce Your Rent
Are you about to re-sign a lease or look for a new apartment? If so, you might want to dust off your negotiating skills and ask for a reduction in the rent you’re currently paying.
Reuters reports that apartment vacancy has reached a 23-year high, and it’s expected to get worse through the second quarter of 2010. Average rents have fallen each quarter this year, which is bad news for landlords and good news for you. Check out the following table for a summary of average rent payments in several major markets. These rental statistics from RentBits.com are average rental rates calculated from thousands of one, two, and three bedroom apartment listings:
|
City |
Jan 2009 |
Aug 2009 |
% Change |
|
Boston, MA |
$2,465 |
$2,520 |
+2% |
|
Chicago, IL |
$1,698 |
$1,326 |
-22% |
|
Dallas, TX |
$1,432 |
$1,161 |
-19% |
|
Las Vegas, NV |
$932 |
$917 |
-2% |
|
Los Angeles, CA |
$2,131 |
$2,001 |
-6% |
|
New York, NY |
$3,976 |
$3,586 |
-10% |
|
Orlando, FL |
$1,023 |
$968 |
-5% |
|
Phoenix, AZ |
$836 |
$787 |
-6% |
|
Seattle, WA |
$1,348 |
$1,270 |
-6% |
|
Washington, DC |
$2,376 |
$2,183 |
-8% |
Sure, some of the decline in rent prices is caused by tenants moving out of higher-end apartments. However, there are definitely deals out there, and landlords are offering perks to guarantee rental income for a number of months. Here are some points you could negotiate:
- Offer to sign an extended lease (e.g., two years) if the landlord will reduce your monthly rent by 5 or 10%
- Request reduced rent in exchange for your services (examples include mowing the yard, shoveling snow in the winter, sweeping the hallways, or washing common windows)
- Ask your landlord for a free month of rent if you re-sign a lease
Several empty units in your building are a sign that you may have some serious bargaining power with your landlord. If this is the case, you should write your landlord a letter to request a rent reduction. As always, remember that all new terms should be written into your lease.
Have you successfully negotiated lower rent recently? Do you have any other negotiating tips?
By: Gale Bowman
10-13-2009
After graduating from Notre Dame, Gale realized that young professionals need a source of reliable information as they face “real world” challenges. Gale manages WhatCollegeForgot.com and is pursuing an MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
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