Getting the Best Deal When You’re a Tenant
Renting an apartment or house usually doesn’t seem like a situation where you can do a whole lot of negotiating, but if you do your research you might be surprised by how many ways you can get a better deal as a tenant.
Doing your research well and planning ahead are two important factors in making sure you get a good deal on your rent - if you have to take something urgently or at the last minute then you’re much more likely to end up having more rent to pay, just because you can’t afford to be choosy. Know how much is a fair rent in the area you want to live in and give yourself plenty of time to find the right place at the right price.
It’s also important to consider the marketing side of being a tenant. That means that you have to promote yourself to potential landlords as a good tenant, as well as trying to negotiate the best deal by pointing out advantages for the landlord of what you propose. For example, if you want to sign a longer rental contract, try and persuade them that if you have a two-year contract at a slightly lower rent they’ll still end up on top compared to changing tenants after a year.
One last tip is to see if you can do some work in exchange for part of the rent. For example, offer to do some maintenance or minor home renovation works in exchange for a discount in rent and you might be surprised at how many landlords will take you up on the offer.
This entry was posted on Sunday, November 9th, 2008 at 11:22 am and is filed under Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
