Are you looking to rent an apartment, a studio or a house and want to get a monthly rent as small as possible? Then the tips below will definitely help you when you negotiate with the owner of that building.
1. Do the research. Study the market.
You need to know at what prices are rented other similar buildings in the area.
And when I say: to know at what prices are rented, I do not refer to the price displayed on real estate sites, but the actual amount the tenant pays after negotiating with the landlord.
This will take you some time. I know that. However, in order to be able to negotiate effectively, you need to have enough valid arguments at hand in negotiating with the owner. Of the two of you, the one who comes up with the strongest arguments will win.
If you do not like it or do not have the time to sit and study the market, you can call a real estate agency in the area, to come a real estate agent with you, inspect the apartment you want and help you in the negotiation process.
An experienced real estate agent has much more knowledge than you could get from watching a few housing deals. However, consider that, in this case, you will also have to pay a commission to the real estate agency. But do not worry about it. Think of it this way: if eventually all the parties involved win, that’s all that matters.
2. Count on honesty
Mutual trust is an important factor in the long run if you reach an agreement with the owner and sign the rental agreement.
That’s why, when the negotiation process takes place, do not fall in the temptation to use false informations, in order to make the owner take decisions that favors you. If he feels like you are trying to force his hand, he will withdraw from the bargain and look for another client, and you will have nothing to gain from the whole process.
The reverse is also valid. If in the bargaining process you feel the owner is trying to bloom things so they seem much better than they are in reality, it’s time for you not to get tired anymore. Signing a contract with a liar owner will only bring long-term additional headaches and is not worth it.
3. Treat the man in front of you with respect
Try to keep a constant attitude throughout the negotiation process. If you annoy or offend the owner, or do cynical affirmations, you will not look smarter and will not be able to turn back the situation in your favor.
Look at the situation also from the owner’s point of view. Respect his opinion, because you want, in turn, for him to respect your point of view.
4. Go on the win-win idea
Think that if you come to an agreement in the long run, both you and the owner will win: you will pay a lower rent and he will not have to lose time constantly running after new tenants .
So when negotiating, do not try to win all your battles. If the owner gives up something, when you talk about a particular aspect, give up on yourself when you negotiate another aspect of renting the building.
If you can give more rents as an advance from the beginning, it can be a great asset for you. So, in the eyes of the owner, you are perceived as a trustworthy tenant, without any financial problems, which will not make for him every month’s trouble when it comes to paying rent.
At the same time, the bigger amount you give him from the very beginning can make him look so much to be willing to offer you a lower rent than he would have initially wanted at the beginning of the negotiation.
You can also, in return for a smaller rent, to renovate his apartment or fix some of the faulty things in the apartment.
Also, if you are good at something and the owner needs that service, you can try a bargain: for the amount that reduces the monthly rent, you will provide services periodically, in the field you are skilled in.
5. Whatever happens, stay calm
When emotions are involved, and each one holds at their point of view and are not willing to change it, then negotiation becomes almost impossible, and a conflict is reached rather than an amiable understanding.
The higher the tension between the two parties, the more likely the two parties to sign a lease contract decreases. That’s why, although I know it’s hard, in a bargain you have to look at everything “at cold”.
Detach yourself from emotions and try to look at the whole situation from the outside, from both angles – the owner and the tenant.
This will give you a clearer perspective on the whole process, and at the same time it will be easier for you to keep calm, compared to the situation where you see this whole transaction as a matter of life and death.
Also, even if you are desperate to rent that home, do not show you’re desperate desire even if:
– You know that tomorrow you do not have where to stay and you will sleep under the free sky or
– You think you cant’t find a home like this anymore even in your most beautiful dreams.
The more you are desperate to become a tenant in that building, the more the owner will “smell” you more easily and will get harder in the negotiation process.
As I said earlier … leave your feelings home.
6. Do not let yourself intimidated
Do not rush to make the decision to rent the house at the price proposed by the owner, depending on events such as:
– as you visit the apartment, there are other potential customers who have also found themselves to watch it at the same time as you. Most likely, it’s a “production”, meant for you to rush to make a decision.
– while the landlord shows you the home, his phone rings and the alleged clients at the other end of the wire makes him to come back to you and say, “So what is it … you’ll take the apartment or I will talk to the customer on the phone to come and see it?”
In conclusion: when you start the negotiation process for the monthly rent in that building, remember the advices above and you will be much more satisfied with the outcome of the negotiation.
