What Now?
You’ve scoured the city for the perfect apartment, and now you’ve found that gem. Now what? Is the listing price the last word?
We wrote a short piece last April (How to Negotiate a Lower Apartment Rent) about rent negotiations. In general, haggling down the listing price will depend on the landlord or leasing officer. Provided that you are a qualified tenant (40x rent, good credit score, and no history of delinquencies), you usually have some amount of flexibility in negotiations. But how much can you go?
We’ve found that landlords have about a month of flexibility (they’re willing to give up to one month additional free off the rent – though you might not get anything). Of course, this depends a lot on the landlord. Smaller landlords are generally more flexible than large corporations or luxury high-rises. A building’s vacancy rate and the apartment’s time-on-market is also important. The management office is much more likely to negotiate on an apartment that’s been sitting on the market for a few weeks than one that just hit the market. Finally, if the price of the apartment just dropped, there might be less flexibility in getting a lower price. RentHop tracks the price changes and posting date for apartments, so use that as a guide.
Seasonality and timing is also important in getting a lower price. We’ve talked about off-peak apartment hunting a few months back. In general, managers are more flexible during winter time than during the peak summer months. Some of that flexibility is already reflected in “deals” being offered during off-peak times. However, if you’re willing to move in sooner, you definitely have some leeway.
At the end of the day, while getting the perfect price is important, we wouldn’t get stuck on that. If the unit was simply a great bargain, you’re probably not the only one who is interested. Even now, quality rentals move fast (2-3 weeks), so depending on when you see it, it might not be around for too long. As a rule of thumb, ask for $100 off or an additional month free and see how far you get.
