Negotiating a Short Term Rental (6M) in the Mount Laurel Area (Summit: sales, apartment complex)

[xmonger]

Hello everyone,

My daughter landed a College Co-op/Internship with an employer in the Mt. Laurel Area. It would last for approximately 6 months and we are looking at housing options with her (as both our home and her university dorm is too far to commute from.)

We are looking in the Mt. Laurel / Delran area for apartments that offer 6 month leases. On our list are:

Mt Laurel Crossing
Summit
Stirling Court
Tenby Chase


I'd like some input as to whether these type of apartment complexes are negotiable on the monthly rents? They all seem to add a surcharge for a short term lease. Ideally I'd like to remove that surcharge as we would be renting in the winter (Jan) and they would be getting back the apt in the summer (July) when there are more people moving/tenants available. It would seem that a short term lease starting in Jan is a benefit to them.

Has anyone had success negotiating the rate down/removing surcharges, and/or what were some of the tactics employed?

Thanks in advance.

[Kthnry]

All you can do is call and ask. I'm a small-scale landlord and I charge more for short-term leases because my expenses are higher and the risk of an unfilled vacancy is higher. There's a lot of demand for short-term leases, which is another reason they cost more. But if you hit me at a slow time, I might make a concession.

Also, most people don't necessarily move in the summer. It's true for families who want to get their kids settled before school starts, but otherwise people move at all different times of the year. They wouldn't be asking higher rents if they weren't pretty confident they could get them

[Gerania]

I've never known an apartment complex to bend the rules or make any exceptions, but you may as well ask.

[ocnjgirl]

Originally Posted by xmonger

Hello everyone,

My daughter landed a College Co-op/Internship with an employer in the Mt. Laurel Area. It would last for approximately 6 months and we are looking at housing options with her (as both our home and her university dorm is too far to commute from.)

We are looking in the Mt. Laurel / Delran area for apartments that offer 6 month leases. On our list are:

Mt Laurel Crossing
Summit
Stirling Court
Tenby Chase


I'd like some input as to whether these type of apartment complexes are negotiable on the monthly rents? They all seem to add a surcharge for a short term lease. Ideally I'd like to remove that surcharge as we would be renting in the winter (Jan) and they would be getting back the apt in the summer (July) when there are more people moving/tenants available. It would seem that a short term lease starting in Jan is a benefit to them.

Has anyone had success negotiating the rate down/removing surcharges, and/or what were some of the tactics employed?

Thanks in advance.

I don’t have experience in NJ but I had to pay the surcharge when I rented for 6 months in Houston. This was a corporate complex, they didn’t give the sales people much leeway, the rent costs based on term of rental were documented and fixed.

[xmonger]

Thanks for the responses everyone. My experience shows it's a mixed bag. A few places refused to budge on the surcharge, one was glad to remove them.

[Gerania]

Thanks for getting back. It really is a mixed bag.