Knocking down advertised rent

Chris2685

I am looking at the possibilities of renting, and have read high and low on this forum and tried Googling for it... But is it usual practice to put a lower offer in on a rental price?
So if a property is up for £795 pm, would it be usual to just take that, or is there a bartering ground?

I have never rented privately before, so have no idea what the usual procedure is for securing a tenancy.

Sorry if this is a dumb question!

movilogo

All properties I rented, I always managed to knock few quids off the advertised price. It always pays to haggle.

Premier_2

Everything is negotiable, but rents are usually marketed at a very competitive rate.

If, after you have compared the market, you think a rental value is a little high, you can always propose a lower price, but generally most LLs/LAs know the market very well and will be certain of achieving the rent requested.

It depends on the local market and the demand - around here demand for rental property is currently very high what with exhorbitant house prices (even after the recent falls) and the inability of many to buy anyway because of the credit crunch.

Chris2685

OK thanks. So it is possible, but not usual then?

tbs624

*Some* LLs/LAs deliberately offer a property at a slightly higher rent to allow for negotiation: a tenant who thinks he bargained a reduction is a happy tenant

*Some* LLs/LAs won't shift from the advertised rent because they prefer everything to be upfront and they know there's demand at that rent level.

So ask..........:D

stevetodd

Chris2685 wrote: »

I am looking at the possibilities of renting, and have read high and low on this forum and tried Googling for it... But is it usual practice to put a lower offer in on a rental price?
So if a property is up for £795 pm, would it be usual to just take that, or is there a bartering ground?

I have never rented privately before, so have no idea what the usual procedure is for securing a tenancy.

Sorry if this is a dumb question!

Hi, I'm a landlord, no it's not a dumb question. I have been asked to cut the rent sometimes before and sometimes I have agreed to it and other times I have not. I agreed to it back in about 2005 when the rental market was a bit poor.

For me it depends on 2 things, the state of the market and who the tenant is. There is a 3rd but it doesn't apply to me and that is, are they seeking the very top rent for the property (I tend to go in at slightly below market value in order to have a good choice of tenant).

Markets tend to be localised so I can't really comment on that. But if you feel you are being asked to pay 'top whack', you think you present yourself as a very good and 'safe bet' tenant to the landlord and/or the rental market isn't that strong where you are, then you may well get a reduction. I am never offended and will give an honest answer, something like:

Sorry but I have had quite a bit of interest and am quite confident of renting the property

OR

Yes ok, I think the flat is worth what I am asking but you seem to be a very good prospective tenant.

There is no harm in asking as long as it is done tactfully

Chris2685

Thanks for your professional input Steve.
Is it common for people to ask for things to be included in the price (rather than knocking it down completely), such as some of the bills, or the water rates, or council tax or anything like that?

Here are some examples of the places we are considering:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-23093351.rsp?pa_n=9&tr_t=rent
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-22814423.rsp?pa_n=9&tr_t=rent
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-22752251.rsp?pa_n=9&tr_t=rent (longer commute, but cheaper rent!)

stevetodd

Chris2685 wrote: »

Thanks for your professional input Steve.
Is it common for people to ask for things to be included in the price (rather than knocking it down completely), such as some of the bills, or the water rates, or council tax or anything like that?

Here are some examples of the places we are considering:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-23093351.rsp?pa_n=9&tr_t=rent
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-22814423.rsp?pa_n=9&tr_t=rent
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-22752251.rsp?pa_n=9&tr_t=rent (longer commute, but cheaper rent!)

I have never been asked that before, if you do something like that ensure that you do not remain legally responsible for those bills if he defaults. I think most landlords are ok but there are some rogues about, or perhaps honest people that do dishonest things when they get into financial trouble. For that reason I would tend to just ask for a discounted rent.

Chris2685

OK, makes sense. Especially where council tax is involved I think. I have seen some houses up for let which say 'bills included' though, so some people must pay the gas/electricity bills for their tenants I think.
I do think it would be best to pay less rent and cover my own bills though to be honest, because no doubt the 'paid bills' would be taken into account as part of the rental cost anyway if it is advertised as 'bills paid'.

I'm slowly getting my head around this renting thing, it's not as bad as I first thought it might be...

The thought of spending nearly 20k for 2 years rent sends shivers down my spine though!

Chris2685

Well just had a let agreed for a property. Pretty nice ground floor 2 bed apartment. It's costing slightly more than I really wanted to spend, but all the places we looked at below my original budget were crap. Some smelt of dogs, some had mould all over the bathroom walls. There was one really nice one that was well below my budget but it was up a steep hill and 3 flights of stairs, so not much use with a baby!

The place we went for has a communal swimming pool and gym, both of which look immaculate, as do the communal gardens.

Crazy thing is, the letters have (had) the place up for sale for £225k! Crazy price for a 2 bed apartment if you ask me! Although I checked on the land registry thingy and they bought it for 195k in 2004, so I can see why they don't want to pull down the price and are letting it out instead! By my estimates though, the rent we pay won't even cover their mortgage assuming they had to borrow something like 180k.

Thanks for all advice given in these topics over the past few months

SouthCoast

Good Luck.

This one has a swimming pool. Available for rent at £1,225 p.m. or you can buy for £415k!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-18877031.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=rent&mam_disp=true