First visit to Colorado Springs, a smashing success (Denver, Fort Collins: neighborhoods, taxes)
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For what it is worth, I've seen some of those rental shows on HGTV and they always negotiate the rent - apparently it is a pretty standard practice to do so, especially if you're renting from a private landlord as opposed to some organization/entity - but even then, they negotiated.
The market rate for a basic small 1 bedroom went from $565 to $515 just recently and a number of places reduced their prices. My SIL is a lease manager for a group of apartments in town and this is what she said today. They don't negotiate and laughed.
They most certainly can be negotiated. We were looking at apartments in the 700-1100 range. If you are coming in as a potential tenant when they have more than one unit vacant you have a real opportunity to press for good pricing. You just have to be willing to walk away, and make sure they understand that you are open to other options. If you don't believe me, go visit an apartment on a saturday, and have a friend go on sunday. Tell them your budget is 1000 per month, and have your friend say his or her max is 925. Watch how the rents line up with your budget.
For what it is worth, I've seen some of those rental shows on HGTV and they always negotiate the rent - apparently it is a pretty standard practice to do so, especially if you're renting from a private landlord as opposed to some organization/entity - but even then, they negotiated.
Around here (Austin) the occupancy rate has been high for years and the won't budge and then stick it to you on renewals.
Yes, private landlords and corporations are different. Plus you never know the real story behind those tv shows. I sure wouldn't base my expectations on those shows.
I've rented from both private owners and management companies. There is a vast difference and I have a huge preference for owners. It's obviously one of those "your mileage may vary" kinds of things, I've heard of owners who were perpetually disturbing tenants and being nit-picky about every little thing, to the point of hostility...and other issues... But my experience has been that they care more about the property and have kept it in better shape than a mgt. company will, and if you're a great tenant, they are genuinely grateful for that. In this circumstance, they aren't going to raise your rent because they want you to stay. At least the owners we've rented from never raised our rent. With management companies, forget it. If you renew, you must expect to pay more, even if you're the perfect occupant. I'm guessing this is because when they raise rent, their cut gets bigger...but most of the rent still goes to the owner, so the owner loses more than the mgt company when the house is vacant? I don't know. It doesn't make a lot of sense to force out good tenants and have a house be vacant for a few months before new ones are found....and then roll the dice on how the new family will treat the house.
Sonic, you are correct that the management company suffers less than the owner when it is vacant. The incentive leads to the wrong decisions.
Yes, negotiating is possible. It is rarely possible on a renewal, but when you are hunting for apartments it is possible. If the manager refuses to budge, walk out. If they only have 1 place open and know they can usually fill it within a few days, that is a reasonable stance for them to take. If they have an average fill time of 3 to 4 weeks and more than 3 open units, they are making a poor decision by demanding a higher rent if they understand that the tenant will say "no thank you". If they don't recognize that, then they need more experience on the job. I've found people who are new to the industry are the strictest in demanding higher rates, and I've never rented from them.
They probably plan to jack our rent up dramatically on renewal, but the money has already been saved.
You mentioned in a much earlier post that you would post the apartments and it's pertinent info of places you did and didn't like after moveing out there, if I recall correctly.
My wife and I moved out here 3 weeks ago. We love the city, though I've been so busy I'm hardly on the forums. In our opinion the best value apartments in our range (looking for a 2 bed 2 bath with an average rent in 700-1000) were camelback pointe, the vine yards, and the village (at woodmen?). There are two apartment complexes using the term "village". One is much nicer than the other in our opinion. These properties are also towards the top of the price range. We couldn't find anything we liked under 800. Several places were downright awful, and the awful ones were usually only fifty to a hundred less per month. I'm all for saving money, but if I spend it repairing my truck after it gets damaged in the parking lot....
Camelback has the best trees and mountain views. Vineyards has the best positioning for access to things we wanted in the city. Village has the best gym. We ended up placing village at number 3 because after driving around properties at various times we found there were far more people sitting on the non-private porches smoking. We are non-smokers, and we want to be able to open our window and use our balcony. If you don't mind everyone looking onto your balcony or smoke blowing in your windows, this is an excellent option.
The vineyard's only downside (in our opinion) is that it was more of a college feel. Several people around our age (20s) and it seemed like they might have some loud parties. Still, the monthly rent was a good value--or so we thought. When we called a few weeks before the move we were quoted much higher prices (around 150 to 200 a month) and I was shocked. The person we had spoken to before no longer worked there -- the staff turns over very quickly -- and the new person was completely clueless about how to do her job. We had them as number 1 for being cheaper than camelback. I called camelback and started talking to them about specials and they easily won the competition. Not only were they the nicest place over all, they were willing to give us the specials that we were looking for. Since we will be buying a house within the next year, we are very attracted to move in specials. They have quite a few openings here now, and I would recommend it to anyone. The apartments are soundproofed. The wind can howl a bit here, but we do not hear other neighbors unless we open the windows. The views are excellent. The weight room is adequate. The pool is nice. The staff is friendly. If anyone wants to move out here, talk to me and I can help you get a better deal.
I can't say which apartments we looked at that were total dumps due to libel laws. So I'll just say these three were dramatically nicer than the other things we saw, and that in the 600 to 750 range for a 2bed/2bath we saw several places that were awful. We walked out on a few.
Edit to add: The village had smokers on the porch, the vineyard had a bit of a college feel and clueless employees. Village employees were significantly above average in their knowledge of the property.
Last edited by Mike from back east; 09-26-2012 at 11:14 AM..
Reason: Correction as per OP
Hey guys, I might possibly be moving to Colorado Springs next month, I have been doing a LOT of reading, and have even visited the area, maybe I am a commitment-phobe... I cannot get a feeling I am making a mistake moving here compared to other places. (Newly grad, I love to, mountain bike, and snowboard.. (and I like to snowboard a LOT, i'm talking 60 days/short season in the east coast)). I was never into the "party" scene, i went clubbing a whole... one time in my life, I eat out occasionally, or more recently, often... I just have some doubts and maybe the forum can help alleviate these issues.
Also, I toured the area for 3 days, but didn't really get a chance to see how "living" there is compared to being a tourist, how are the movie theatres? do things stay open late? does the town close early? I stayed in the north side near the i-25 for my stay.... at some proximity to the academy. I noticed the area there was very nice, and green. but things deteriorated as you went downtown. The downtown reminds me of a slightly more crowded/slightly run down of some suburbs I've lived at. (Not that it matters to me, or maybe it does? first time moving to a place where I know no one, afraid of a mistake after committing).
The times to get to the slopes (Mainly loveland ski area), it seems to be about the same from most locations in Denver in comparison with the springs, is this true? (almost same as in ~30 min difference).
Edit: Excuse any run on sentences or grammatical errors! super tired
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