apts/housing for rent price negotiable?

[ImportPsycho]

has anyone negotiated the rent price on CL?
I thought prices were non negotiable but some friends say nobody pays listed price....

[$_$]

prices are always negotiable.

[Gridlock]

Yes, sometimes for me.

If you look like someone I really want in the building, then yeah, I'll drop the price to sway your mind.

If I think the rent is already a good value, then no.

I also refuse if someone is just looking for a cheaper rent for the sake of a cheaper rent, as in, I ask anywhere just because I ask EVERYwhere.

Usually we try to keep prices at a good value anyway, and then make it up on the full rent increases once your shit is already nicely unpacked after a year.

There is a building next door where the reno'd apts look fairly similar to ours, I think they replace the kitchen cabinets, where I paint our existing kitchen out, but they ask $50 more for a 1 bedroom, and have a rule that you need to earn 3x rent in your job.

Subsequently, their building has not been fully occupied in at least the last 6 months. I'd rather take a $25 hit on an apartment monthly, then leave it empty for a month at a $850 one time charge.

For me, and I can only say for me...the way you'd get me to say yes is instead of just saying, "so uh, can we do anything on the price" I would say, "I really like the place. I'd really not like to look at others. I'm comparing it to a place we looked at yesterday that was bigger, but wasn't finished as nicely and it was $1000 compared to your $1050. Can we do anything to bring the two closer inline on rent to help my decision"

You can't say no to that.

[optiblue]

In theory yes and you can try. Reality is that there is a huge demand right now and my friend interviewed and got to pick and choose who he wanted there. Price was firm to say the least.

[Gridlock]

Originally Posted by optiblue

In theory yes and you can try. Reality is that there is a huge demand right now and my friend interviewed and got to pick and choose who he wanted there. Price was firm to say the least.

Which area? We've been finding a lot of no-shows for appts, which usually means to me that there is a lot of selection.

[optiblue]

Originally Posted by Gridlock

Which area? We've been finding a lot of no-shows for appts, which usually means to me that there is a lot of selection.

Metrotown above best buy

[drunkrussian]

^agreed - i think its about demand. when i found my reasonably priced 1br in central richmond i was sure thered be tons of competition but there were a lotta no shows and only few interest. with two bedrooms there seem to be TONS of them out there and not enough renters. so in that case id say u may as well try to negotiate
Posted via RS Mobile

[Gridlock]

Originally Posted by drunkrussian

^agreed - i think its about demand. when i found my reasonably priced 1br in central richmond i was sure thered be tons of competition but there were a lotta no shows and only few interest. with two bedrooms there seem to be TONS of them out there and not enough renters. so in that case id say u may as well try to negotiate
Posted via RS Mobile

And in New West, its the complete opposite. Two bedrooms are going fast and for great money.

[taylor192]

Originally Posted by Gridlock

Which area? We've been finding a lot of no-shows for appts, which usually means to me that there is a lot of selection.

Originally Posted by drunkrussian

with two bedrooms there seem to be TONS of them out there and not enough renters.

I've been looking for a reasonable priced 1 bdrm and finding most don't stay on the market more than a week... while my friends were recently looking for a 2bdrm and were able to view 20+ places and negotiate the rent down > $100 just by stating what Gridlock said: "I've looked at X units, and your price is not competitive with similar units in the area". I had a similar experience 2 years ago when looking for a 2bdrm, a couple landlords called us back with price decreases.

The vacancy rate is at or above 3% now (2.9% last report I read) so rents should become more negotiable if this trend continues... and I don't see why it wouldn't. We keep building more units, yet people are now leaving BC, so there's going to be more and more supply with less demand.

[dinosaur]

Asking for a decrease to the asking price also depends on the time of month you are looking....

Towards the end of the month (the last week, or specifically the last weekend of the month) would be the best time to negotiate. The manager would like to or needs to have it rented to prevent and empty apt for a month.

Usually with our buildings, for a 1 bed I have a $25 grey area....for a 2 bedroom, its $50. I had one advertised last month for $835. Had a great person come and look at it....I told her I would take $10 off....she took it. Less work for me and $10 is really nothing.

In regards to no-shows and demand right now....it fluctuates depending on the time of the month.

End of previous month/Beginning of the month: People to tend to be more cautious in life. They do not want to give notice at the current place without having somewhere to go. They make quick decisions but tend to look for places that are renovated/updated and care about the neighbours and building. These people confirm their appointments, show up early, and if they can't make it or find another place before they look at yours, they call and cancel politely.

Mid-month: Have given notice to their current place and are looking a apartments causally. They want to see EVERYTHING that is available and they are looking EVERYWHERE....Richmond, Van, New West, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Surrey, etc...They do not make quick decisions as the do not want to make a bad one. They take applications with them instead of filling them out at the building and always say "we will get back to you". These lookers also tend to pull A LOT of no-shows. They are in no rush and have looked at dozens of place, so if they are tired after work, "fuck it, lets just sit and watch tv". These people are super annoying to deal with and always waste my time. These are the people that get back to you 10 days later and are annoyed when it is no long available.

End of Month: The desperatos!! These people will take ANYTHING! They walk in the door, stand, look, and ask for an application. They offer cash to hold it until the application is approved. They don't care about the layout, renos, neighbours, building, etc....they just want it....they NEED it! They will do ANYTHING to get it!! These people usually have shitty credit, little to no income, and have already been rejected from a lot of places. This lot also includes people going through break-ups, divorces, fights with room-mates, and people getting kicked out of their current places. The odd time you find a diamond in the rough....usually these ones are left overs from the mid-monthers who have waited to long to make a decision about the dozens of place they have already seen and now have realized, they are fucked and need a place ASAP. These people rarely pull a "no-show" and when they phone, they want to see it NOW!

There are obviously outliers for every group, but for the most part this is pretty damn accurate...at least with my experience.

[dinosaur]

Originally Posted by taylor192

I've been looking for a reasonable priced 1 bdrm and finding most don't stay on the market more than a week... while my friends were recently looking for a 2bdrm and were able to view 20+ places and negotiate the rent down > $100 just by stating what Gridlock said: "I've looked at X units, and your price is not competitive with similar units in the area". I had a similar experience 2 years ago when looking for a 2bdrm, a couple landlords called us back with price decreases.

The vacancy rate is at or above 3% now (2.9% last report I read) so rents should become more negotiable if this trend continues... and I don't see why it wouldn't. We keep building more units, yet people are now leaving BC, so there's going to be more and more supply with less demand.

Grid and I got 5 letter between 3 buildings at the end of Oct....so yes, there are a lot of people that seem to be moving. On the other hand, it is only Nov 6th, and all 5 are rented already for Dec. 1.

This has never happened before! Usually we will show throughout the month, but my phone rang, easily, 40 times a day for the units. It was insane! People have started to ask me about being put on a wait-list for some of our buildings....I don't know if our places are SO amazing, or if there are A LOT of shitty places out there??

[lowside67]

Lots of good advice in this thread. The simple answer is it just comes down to how desirable the unit you are looking to rent is... if it's an oddball then there is probably some wiggle room, if it is a nice sought after unit, you are probably going to pay market, and if it's something really special, you probably will have to fight to get the unit.

I live in a 1BR in Brentwood Gate in North Burnaby... when I moved here the building was new and there were tons of units for rent - all priced very similarly. However, I had some specific criteria - I had to have a north facing unit on a reasonably high floor and it had to have hardwood, which excluded 95% of the units. I found the unit that I wanted and there was definitely some competition, a few other people who realized that for the same price as a 6th floor south facing (skytrain side), it's better value.

However, after my lease was up in a year, I phoned my landlords and explained that I liked living here and had been an absolutely top notch tenant, but that the rental market had slowed down significantly and I could rent the same place for a bit less money. I asked them if they would be interested in reducing the rent in exchange for keeping me as a tenant... they thought about it for a few days and came back with a $100/month reduction which was exactly what I had wanted, and I have now been here for almost 3 years total.

Since all apartments are not created equal, better to find one you really like and pay $50 or $100/month more than the "cheapest" one, down the road once you're here you might be able to get a reduction if you are a perfect tenant.

Mark

[hk20000]

One thing revscene teaches you about life is that anything can be lowballed. Even if you buy a house you can lowball like tens of thousands of dollars. Sometimes over a hundred K. Same thing goes for rentals. 10-15% less than asking is not unheard of. Sure, some places have firm prices but my property manager likes to come back and get me to rent my apartment out to someone I have never even spoken to for quite the bargain. I tell him to eff off. But it's normal practice and it might just work in some occasions. Remember by leaving an apartment empty for another month instead of taking a discount, that's that month's rent out of the person's cash flow.

If the seller/landlord is desperate enough, it'll become yours.

[4444]

of course they're negotiable, i offered $150 less than asking on my place and got it - owners who have owned a rental unit for a long time appreciate the value in a good tenant, so if you can quickly & easily show you are said good prospective tenant you can easily get 10+% off - but only if what you're offering is fair - sometimes ppl actually post up reasonable rates (not often)

[MindBomber]

Originally Posted by dinosaur

End of previous month/Beginning of the month: People to tend to be more cautious in life. They do not want to give notice at the current place without having somewhere to go. They make quick decisions but tend to look for places that are renovated/updated and care about the neighbours and building. These people confirm their appointments, show up early, and if they can't make it or find another place before they look at yours, they call and cancel politely.

That's who I am, unfortunately, most building managers I've encountered don't seem to find my wanting to secure an apartment before giving notice at my current place a desirable trait. I've viewed a number of apartments during the last week of a month looking to sign a lease with a move in date just over 4 weeks away, most aren't willing to agree to a move in date any later than the 15th, only two weeks away.

On the subject of negotiating, I always offer to sign a lease up to two years in exchange for a decrease in rent. Most landlords seem fairly agreeable with that arrangement, since I'm essentially guaranteeing they won't have a vacancy and lose an entire months rent. It works for me because I don't move often, only once every two-three years.

[Nlkko]

If it's a place in hot areas like DT or Kits, don't even bother. People are even willing to offer slightly higher price to secure a desirable suite in a desirable location.

It really depends on the landlord. Some don't really want to show many people and would just work out a deal for you if they like you.

[taylor192]

Originally Posted by Nlkko

If it's a place in hot areas like DT or Kits, don't even bother. People are even willing to offer slightly higher price to secure a desirable suite in a desirable location.

Its funny you say that, cause there's lots of 2bdrm inventory both DT and in Kits. We had our pick of places 2 years ago, and my friend had even more selection 6 months ago.

We're also getting into the best time of year to negotiate rent. Not many units come available, yet at the same time even fewer people are looking.

Also, if you're looking to negotiate, pick on obvious amateur landlords. professional landlords can afford to have their unit sit empty for a month or 2 cause they've budgeted for vacancy rates. Amateur landlords usually haven't budgeted for this, so an empty month will hurt them.

[Mr.HappySilp]

you can try but just remember if the place you are vewing is nice and decent price most likely there are people who are willing to rent at the orginal price.

I remember 2 years ago we rented out our basement and in a day there are like 20ppl viewing and some already came with depoist. One guy wanted a lower price lol, and yea.... he didn't get a chance.

[taylor192]

Originally Posted by Mr.HappySilp

you can try but just remember if the place you are vewing is nice and decent price most likely there are people who are willing to rent at the orginal price.

I remember 2 years ago we rented out our basement and in a day there are like 20ppl viewing and some already came with depoist. One guy wanted a lower price lol, and yea.... he didn't get a chance.

The vacancy rate was much lower 2 years ago. When I got here 3 years ago if you didn't get to a place the day it went on the market, you didn't get it. The vacancy rate was almost 0%. That's certainly not the experience anymore as the vacancy rate is 3%.

[k3mps]

Ill just leave an example here.
My family is currently renting out again
Rent is 800 for around 1000sq.ft 2 bed,1bath. in a GREAT neighborhood
If 2 people were to rent together, the price would stand since it's a great deal imo.
However if 1 person were to rent, we would probably lower it to 750
If a family of 3 were to rent it, we would probably ask for 850

Depends on how many people want to rent, area, how desperate owners are, etc

[Nightwalker]

Everything is negotiable.