how negotiable is rent from a private landlord?

[meg-momto2]

we're currently house hunting for a new rental house.  there's a house that has everything we would want right next door to a close friend.  it's been vacant since July.  this friend loves the neighborhood and it has quite a few amenities that would be perfect.  shops, parks, schools and public transit all withing walking distance.  our friend said that it was originally listed at $1500 a month but i just found it on craigslist for $1275.  ideally our rent wouldn't be over $1100 for the absolute perfect place, which this house could very well be.  what are the chances we could get the rent lowered?  should we mention that we would be long term renters?  any tips on dealing with this situation?  

[Maluhia]

I would write a polite letter offering 1100 and talking about your being long-term renters who take care of the property.  I would NOT tell them why you love the neighborhood; have friends next door, etc.  It would give THEM leverage to maintain the higher price.  I also think if they began at $1500 it would be quite impressive to get a landlord to come down to $1100, but it does not hurt you to try!

[ollyoxenfree]

We negotiate, whether we are renting or buying. If it's a tight rental market, it doesn't work and we have to pay the asking price, but at least we tried. Sometimes we negotiate other services, eg. lawn care, instead. 

If the house has been empty for months, then the owners may be open to a lower rent. You may also want to consider offering something in return, eg. some regular property maintenance or work on a bigger project (fencing? overhauling the garage? window dressings?) that you know you can manage with some effort but little expense.

Good luck.  

[love4bob]

 

Ya, I would offer, but not expect it. Also, offer to do things like maintenance or cover small repairs. Our rental house that we own, the renters negotiated to a lower price. We couldn't go too low though or it wouldn't cover our mortgage payment, so you have to keep that in mind too. They have to keep the price a certain amount to not go in the hole too much every month with their mortgage. Our renters are paying 800, and our mortgage is 805, so it's not a big deal. They also said that they are contractors, so they can do most of the repairs needed on the house.

[mnnice]

I think the letter idea is good.  Additionally, I would offer a very large security deposit (unless local law limited how big a security deposite can be).

I also think that market rate rent and the owner's expenses are not always closely related.  Not all rental properties have mortgages on them and some have huge very upside down mortgages on them.

[Denvergirlie]

I would be honest and write them a letter.

tell them why you are interested in the house, the nieghborhood, friends, etc. But also tell them the max you can pay is "x", and would they be open to a long term rental with people who are really looking forward to being a part of the nieghbordhood.

Sometimes lower monthly rental rate, can mean that the tenants stay for years, thus less turn over for landlord and a tenant that will really care for the property.

However, don't be upset if they can't go that low, you might be able to work something out midpoint, but it never hurts to ask.

We just moved out of a rental that I lived in for 9 years...rent was dirt cheap, which is way I stayed, but new tenants are now paying almost double what we did. However, current landlord inherited the property in the middle of our residence. New landlord is only interested in how much money they can make from the property, and have little to no care that since the new tenants moved in the landscaping we did has all died and the property looks shabby.

Some landlord will only care about the monthly check, others will be interested in getting a long term tenant that will take pride in the house and it's upkeep. You won't know which kind of landlord this property owner is until you at least ask.

[crazyms]

It never hurts to try. The landlord probably has a set amount that they want/need to get from renting the property (to cover their expenses, pay a mortgage, or whatever) but that could very likely be lower than what they are asking. They also may be willing to lower the rent in exchange for other services like the lawn or maintenance. It's worth a shot especially if it's been vacant for a while. You can always try.

[BetsyS]

I agree that it doesn't hurt to try.  I stalked my current neighborhood for about 4 months before we moved in (we were looking for a rental).  When my current house came on the market, he put one feeler ad up on craigslist, I was the only one to go see the house, I knew the location was perfect (next door to a park), the price was fair, and I jumped on it.  Our landlord was crazy lucky to find me.   

Some of the other places in the neighborhood have sat empty for a good bit longer.  In that case, I think that the landlords would probably be open to negotiation on the price, you know?  One house has been empty since August.  They had renters in there for about 2 months, but there was a big drug bust/every nosy neighbor had to figure out the deal sort of excitement, and those tenants didn't last long.  So, who knows if they even paid more than the first month's rent.  If I was that landlord, I'd be sort of desperate by now and willing to deal. 

Definitely worth a letter.

[Lakeeffectsnow]

Try a letter, it can't hurt.  

[heatherdeg]

Originally Posted by Maluhia 

I would write a polite letter offering 1100 and talking about your being long-term renters who take care of the property.  I would NOT tell them why you love the neighborhood; have friends next door, etc.  It would give THEM leverage to maintain the higher price.  I also think if they began at $1500 it would be quite impressive to get a landlord to come down to $1100, but it does not hurt you to try!

This.  As a landlord (former and current) I would say that once they know you WANT to be there, there's really no negotiating.  But I disagree with the possibility that you will get them down to $1,100.  The reality is that they have a choice: get a renter for less than their desired price or have it continue to be vacant.  If they were able to come down to $1275 from $1500, it's entirely possible that they can cover the costs at $1100/month--or be desperate enough to reduce their loss on the place each month to take your $1100/mo anyway.

Absolutely do not tell them why you want to be there.  DO tell them that you intend to be long-term renters who know how to maintain the house.  They might build "small repairs" into the lease, but I wouldn't open that floodgate.  It could leave you on the hook for repairs that YOU don't consider small.  But you could offer up to cover any repair that costs less than $50 to repair and that 1) is not a completely uncommon lease term in some areas; and 2) makes you more attractive.

I also wouldn't BANK on it, but absolutely try.  You have no idea what their financial situation is.

[meg-momto2]

thank you so much for all the advice.  i don't know for sure that the original rent was $1500.  that's what we heard word of mouth from the friends who lived next door.  for all i know that was just what the previous tenant was paying and not what they were asking once it was up for rent.  i only found the listing this week stating the $1275.  

while the rent they're asking would be doable it would really stretch us thin.  my DH gets a lot of freelance work but the pay from it would be sporadic and not something we could count on.  i also have a babysitting job i may lose if we move to this house because it is to far out of the way of the moms route to work.  i do like the ideas of offering a cap on what we'll contribute for repairs, offering a larger deposit and emphasizing living there long term.  we would definitely be there for at least 3 years if not quite a bit longer.  i will not mention that our friends live close by.  that's not something we want to advertise while negotiating. 

i'd love to hear any more advice to experiences with this and i'll try to update if anything happens on our end.  

[meg-momto2]

Originally Posted by heatherdeg 

I also wouldn't BANK on it, but absolutely try.  You have no idea what their financial situation is.

that's funny you mentioned this.  i searched for the landlord online and he says he's the vice president of a major bank here in town according to his facebook page.  he may have more room to negotiate then we think. 

[heatherdeg]

Originally Posted by meg-momto2 

Originally Posted by heatherdeg 

I also wouldn't BANK on it, but absolutely try.  You have no idea what their financial situation is.

that's funny you mentioned this.  i searched for the landlord online and he says he's the vice president of a major bank here in town according to his facebook page.  he may have more room to negotiate then we think. 

Well, the banks in general are not doing well.  And VPs in a bank are literally a dime a dozen.  I was an Assistant VP at the age of 27... with no degree.  

[JudiAU]

You can try and I don't think there is harm in that. What do local renting laws allow? If you have strict rental control or similar then the landlord is going to be less flexible about the "starting" price.