Landlord Haggling.

badger._2

It may be foolish of me to guess, but i reckon there's a lot of degree holding moneysavers here. Here's my situation.

OK, i'm due to move into (brand new) private rented accomondation as of June, after formerly residing in Halls. For those of you who practiced moneysaving at University, anyone got any history of haggling landlords?

Furthermore, what are student landlords like for flexibility? I know they'll all differ, but anyone with an experience is someone i'd like to hear from.

Basically, i'm looking to extract what I can from these greedy folks.

silvercar

Its a case of supply and demand. If there are more students than accomodation you won't be able to haggle much, especially of it is a decent property in a decent location.

Generally student landlords know their market well and will know the exact price they can get for their property; I would imagine the potential to haggle is limited. If its a property a bit away from the general student population there may be more room for negotiation.
No harm in asking. Emphasise that you like the property and are prepared to make a commitment now in order to secure the property.

BobProperty

badger. wrote:

....Basically, i'm looking to extract what I can from these greedy folks.

Oi! It's a business, you'd want to make a profit from it or you wouldn't bother.
Anyway, silvercar is spot on. If the property is in the middle of StudentLand the landlord isn't likely to negotiate. If it's in a less popular area, you may be able to negotiate a bit. If you want to tell us, which town/city is it?

xxmybutxx

The landlord isn't greedy - you are, for wanting to save money and have more beer tokens

badger._2

I know it's a business. Wm Morrison is a business too, but people will still beg me to accept their Tesco vouchers.

Ooh, bitterness.

Anyway. It's the essence that counts. I'm simply a student trying to make the most of my money. Plenty of people here will have valuable experience with landlords to share, that's all i'm asking.

Kruger

Dont expect anything too much from a student landlord, although you'll probably be alright, they would have had their fare share of nightmare tenants so will stereotype until they know and see how you treat the place, potentially expect to lose some of your deposit when you leave, then another £20 admin charge from the letting agent.

Remember they generally have the upper hand as they've got your deposit, and over the course of the year things do get damaged, as its usually cheap landlord furniture.
Best tips for hagling is to wait till June to sort a place out, as they'll be desperate to get rid by then, dont believe the hype that all the decent places go early, where I live is tidy and and we got £7.50 a week off the rent as we signed up late and they were desperate, hope that helps,

I'm looking forward to moving out of my 6 bed shared house in June, 4 years is long enough living with others and their bad habits!

impy78

We got charged more as students in our house than the people next door, as the landlord had a bad experience.

It was still cheap though - £30 a week each.

Which town is it in????