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I've never done anything but negotiate and never paid the price listed.
Your leverage is a little pre-negotiation intel.
First, drive by the place at different hours of the day and night, and yes that means getting off of your ass at 1 AM or 2 AM on both a week-night and weekend night to have a look/see.
I drove by at 2 AM on a school night one time and saw a bunch of low-life scum hanging around and small children running about. Not a place you want to live.
Next, talk to the neighbors and ask how long a unit or units have been vacant. The longer they have been vacant, the greater your negotiating leverage.
Some markets have high vacancy rates and you can take advantage of that. Landlords only make money if people are paying rent, and if units are vacant then no one is paying rent.
As a landlord, it comes down to this: you ain't making money, and you can drop the rent to $400 or $375 per month from $450 and have something, or continue to collect absolutely nothing very slowly.
See? It ain't rocket science.
Another thing that works for hard sells is cash up front.
Now, I'm not your typical American that would rather die instead of throwing away every penny they make plus burn up all of their credit to buy useless nonsense to satisfy infantile urges to live The Extravagant American Life-Style™, so I always have lots of cash on hand.
6 months rent up front, in cash, yeah, baby.
Rent is $500, I'll give you $2,400 up front, 6 months rent at $400, take it or leave it.
That works and 12 months cash up front works even better.
I'll also say that if you do stuff like that, then you need to keep your festering gob shut.
Rubbing it into the faces of other tenants that you pay less is not good business for you.
Invariably, someone will feel that they've been discriminated against because they aren't sure what gender they are or something like that and file a Fair Housing Act complaint and then the landlord and everyone, including you ends up getting the short end of the stick, because you pay less that the other tenants "and that is not fair."
So, keep your business to yourself and enjoy your savings.
From his mouth to your ears...
I can say this with some authority...
The only thing I'll add is some, not most by any means, have the thought process of not allowing squalor to enter into their communities in a feeble attempt to stop criminals and other not accepted prospects into the community.
As a landlord, it comes down to this: you ain't making money, and you can drop the rent to $400 or $375 per month from $450 and have something, or continue to collect absolutely nothing very slowly.
See? It ain't rocket science.
Another thing that works for hard sells is cash up front.
Now, I'm not your typical American that would rather die instead of throwing away every penny they make plus burn up all of their credit to buy useless nonsense to satisfy infantile urges to live The Extravagant American Life-Style™, so I always have lots of cash on hand.
6 months rent up front, in cash, yeah, baby.
Rent is $500, I'll give you $2,400 up front, 6 months rent at $400, take it or leave it.
That works and 12 months cash up front works even better.
You have got to be kidding me.
You don't want it at the advertised price? Get out of the way to make room for the next applicants in line who will take it in a heartbeat.
I don't negotiate with potential tenants. If you can't afford it, go find a slum to live in.
Anyone who wants to pay cash up front for several months in advance is likely to be a crook. And I'd rather leave the place empty then get a low life, it's a LOT less expensive. That isn't rocket science.
Anyone who wants to pay cash up front for several months in advance is likely to be a crook. And I'd rather leave the place empty then get a low life, it's a LOT less expensive. That isn't rocket science.
You put things in a very harsh way, but thats not to say that you make some excellent points.
Also, I would never take rent in advance. Its makes things horribly complicated if you have to evict during the time that the pre-payments apply towards.
As a landlord, I don't negotiate with prospective tenants. You can look great on paper and end up a horrible tenant. I set a reasonable price based on comps in the area. I keep my properties clean and kept up during tenancy. If you can not afford my set rent, then you best move on. I did not invest my hard earned money in properties only to subsidize tenants. I have bills to pay too in regards to these properties. And I certainly would not be swayed by someone offering up cash advance rent payments, something I would never accept.
I have tenants who have been with me for 10 years. They stay because I am fair and do not gouge them. I keep in mind how long they have been tenants and how they keep up the property, when and if I decide to increase rent. If a situation occurred with a good long-term tenant, I might work with them. But for a new tenant coming in, nope.
Had to come post. ACTUAL phone call I just got, from the For Rent sign in front of the house. PT is potential tenant.
Me: Hello?
PT: I'm calling about the house you have for rent?
Me: Yes?
PT: Will you take less then $850?
Me: No.
PT: No?
Me: No. Why would I do that?
PT: Ummm ok, bye.
Had to come post. ACTUAL phone call I just got, from the For Rent sign in front of the house. PT is potential tenant.
Me: Hello?
PT: I'm calling about the house you have for rent?
Me: Yes?
PT: Will you take less then $850?
Me: No.
PT: No?
Me: No. Why would I do that?
PT: Ummm ok, bye.
What's wrong with that phone call. Right to the point! Nothing comes of wasting each others time.
What's wrong with that phone call. Right to the point! Nothing comes of wasting each others time.
I suppose if you want to look at it that way. If it were me and I couldn't afford that I wouldn't call. If it were someone with stellar credit and history who was negotiating lower rent, I would hope the question would come after having proved that. I might look at the request more favorably with a good chance I'd get a good tenant.
I still don't know why ANY landlord would say yes right off an initial phone call. I think its silly for a tenant to ask like that. They don't even know the extent of the upgrades, the amenities or anything about the house, its simply to expensive for them. Again, if it were me, I wouldn't ask.
Prepaid rent to us is nothing because under our state law, a tenant can ask for a refund of any unused prepaid rent at anytime. legally we can collect the first months and last month (but last mionth isi just that the last month rent on the current lease) so anything paid above the amount due is refundable at the tenant's descretion. I bet many LL who take prepaid rent really have no idea what their state law says about it.
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