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With the current economic conditions, many people are experiencing difficulty in meeting their monthly expenses. Renters who were subject to pay cuts or have their businesses earning less than usual often look into their rent and see if they can negotiate for a rent decrease.
When deciding to negotiate your rent, you need to assess what is happening in the local housing market. Usually, you will need to consider the size of the building you are in as well. Most of the time, the less apartments managed by the same person or company, the more amenable to negotiation they are, and vice versa.
Therefore, to begin with, before you start negotiating you need to find out who you should talk to, and be positive that the person you do talk to has the power to actually drop your rent.
Once you have figured out how has the power to make or break a deal, you need to complete some research. Figure out what the current rent rates are and compare the apartments around yours to others nearby.
You may find that rents in the area have dropped recently, so that during negotiations, you could tell your landlord that you could easily find a cheaper place now. Though this may be time consuming, having some figures to tell the landlord will give you the upper hand in the negotiating process.
During negotiations, mention that your current economic status is the main reason why you are asking for a rent decrease. Highlight how you have been a good tenant who has always paid rent on time and kept the apartment in good condition.
This simple story will show the landlord that you are a responsible tenant and that lowering your rent is their wisest option. If he or she does not, they will need to spend a significant amount of money and valuable time trying to find a new tenant – something that no landlord likes doing during a recession.
Lowering the rent for a good tenant is usually a preferable option to having a vacant apartment. In the end, it is better for both parties.
This author has been publishing commentary with respect to rental apartments for the previous five years. In addition, this individual is fond of providing knowledge on New York City real estate, such as Battery Park City real estate in addition to Murray Hill condos.