How to negotiate rent down ?

sky_rat

I am desperate to get a property and I am currently living in B&Bs since starting a new job until I can find one.

I viewed a house last week which was ideal, apart from it was out of my price range.

Its priced at £745pcm and I made an offer of £695pcm, a reduction of 6.5%.

My offer was rejected and a counter offer of £735pcm was made, a reduction of 1.3%. The letting agent said they "may" be able to get this down to £725 with further negotiating but from the sounds of it they would not go lower than this.

I am useless at haggling and wondered if there was any chance or way of getting it down to £695.

I do not really want to enter into a longer contract than 6 months, other wise I would suggest this.

The property is a 3 bed house which is also up for sale. The house will either be rented or sold, depending on which comes first.

Can I get it down to £695 and if so how ?

I am under pressure to get something sorted and dont have much time to view houses now I am in full time employment and work 45min away from the location I will be relocating to.

The housing market is dire, there is very little out there.

tbs624

They've come down from their original rent fig - you now need to come up a bit from yours. You could aim for, say, £715.

Do bear in mind that if this property is also up for sale then the LA will be wanting to have potential buyers viewing which many Ts would view as intrusive

Have a look here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1444483

Gorgeous_George

You can tell them that your offer is on the table and will remain there until you find another property (with another agent). Stick to your guns and you'll see how flexible they can be.

A month unlet loses them £695. It'll take well over a year to recover from the one month void. If they fail to find someone within a month, the void will probably become two months (due to the close proximity of Christmas) and will take three years to recover (if they get the £735).

Learn to play poker. There will be other houses. The agent is not your friend - he is acting for the landlord - or, more likely, for himself. The larger the rent, the higher the LA fees.

Stick it out - unless you really want this house. There will be others.

GG

PasturesNew

Cheapest way I can see to get the rent down is ..... to rent somewhere smaller. You say "I.... I.... I" then go and say you're getting a 3 bed place.

Gorgeous_George

PasturesNew wrote: »

Cheapest way I can see to get the rent down is ..... to rent somewhere smaller. You say "I.... I.... I" then go and say you're getting a 3 bed place.

That's only one bedroom for each 'I'.

GG

sky_rat

PasturesNew wrote: »

Cheapest way I can see to get the rent down is ..... to rent somewhere smaller. You say "I.... I.... I" then go and say you're getting a 3 bed place.

You do have a point to some degree, the house is for myself but I do need a second room for when my young daughter stays with me. So I need a 2 bed and this is the minimum I have been looking for. And if this house was a 2 bed I would still be interested. When I've searched for a minimum of 2 bed houses most of them have come up as 3 beds.

I haven't seen any nice property other than this 3 bed, not because of the fact it has 3 beds but because of location and interior of the house.

A 3rd bedroom would be useful for people stopping over such as family and friends.

So, there is logic behind it!

The other problem is that there is not much on the market, everyone is renting and prices are high.

And I have to take my daughter to my parents house when I have her which is 100 miles away. This has been going on for a year and is getting q bit much now. Also it's costing a fortune to stay in grotty b&bs whilst I'm at work.

moromir

sky_rat wrote: »

I haven't seen any nice property other than this 3 bed, ......
The other problem is that there is not much on the market, everyone is renting and prices are high.

And thats why the Landlords arn't haggling on the rent much, they know what their property is worth to the market.

Are you willing to consider less convenient properties in less desireable areas which are actually within your budget?

ceridwen

PasturesNew wrote: »

Cheapest way I can see to get the rent down is ..... to rent somewhere smaller. You say "I.... I.... I" then go and say you're getting a 3 bed place.

Very true.

I must say that if I were a BTL landlady (which I'm not.....) - then the second you tried to "negotiate a lower rent" I would have decided not to take you on as a tenant (even at the stated rent).

Reason = I would be anticipating a tenant who wanted everything all their own way and think it would highly likely lead to trouble with the tenant at some point.

As the house is for sale anyway - then chances are that they arent that desperate for a tenant anyway - ie another reason why they are likely to think "Its the rent I stated - or I'll forget about the whole idea of renting it out".

ceridwen

sky_rat wrote: »

I am desperate to get a property and I am currently living in B&Bs since starting a new job until I can find one.

I viewed a house last week which was ideal, apart from it was out of my price range.

Its priced at £745pcm and I made an offer of £695pcm, a reduction of 6.5%.

My offer was rejected and a counter offer of £735pcm was made, a reduction of 1.3%. The letting agent said they "may" be able to get this down to £725 with further negotiating but from the sounds of it they would not go lower than this.

I am useless at haggling and wondered if there was any chance or way of getting it down to £695.

I do not really want to enter into a longer contract than 6 months, other wise I would suggest this.

The property is a 3 bed house which is also up for sale. The house will either be rented or sold, depending on which comes first.

Can I get it down to £695 and if so how ?

I am under pressure to get something sorted and dont have much time to view houses now I am in full time employment and work 45min away from the location I will be relocating to.

The housing market is dire, there is very little out there.

As you say the housing market is dire - then it looks like you dont have much option but to pay the stated rent.

sky_rat

ceridwen wrote: »

Very true.

I must say that if I were a BTL landlady (which I'm not.....) - then the second you tried to "negotiate a lower rent" I would have decided not to take you on as a tenant (even at the stated rent).

Reason = I would be anticipating a tenant who wanted everything all their own way and think it would highly likely lead to trouble with the tenant at some point.

As the house is for sale anyway - then chances are that they arent that desperate for a tenant anyway - ie another reason why they are likely to think "Its the rent I stated - or I'll forget about the whole idea of renting it out".

I think that is utter rubbish. Ive rented property in the past and have always been an excellent tenant. I have never had any problems and have always left the property cleaner than when I arrived, so got my deposit back everytime. They say in the UK we do not haggle enough and get ripped off. Everyone is out to rip each other off in this country. And houses are not worth the value they go for, they are extremely overpriced for what they are.

I have a degree, have always worked in a professional job and in my mid thirties, yet I still could never afford to buy so I am forced to rent. And then there is no way I could save for the huge deposits they require now.

The house is probably up for rent because they cannot sell it. The housing market is in a mess and people cannot get mortgages. I have seen lots of properties like this since Ive started searching, properties that were for sale but are now for rent.

I like the point Gorgeous George makes, surely this means something...

Gorgeous_George wrote: »

A month unlet loses them £695. It'll take well over a year to recover from the one month void. If they fail to find someone within a month, the void will probably become two months (due to the close proximity of Christmas) and will take three years to recover (if they get the £735).
GG

moromir wrote: »

Are you willing to consider less convenient properties in less desireable areas which are actually within your budget?

My problem is that my job is an hour away from where my daughter lives, so I am looking for a location that is about half way between work and my daughter, yet is close enough to the motorway so I can get to work within 40 min and can get to my daughter within 20 min. So yes, my area is limited unfortunately.

real1314

sky_rat wrote: »

I think that is utter rubbish. Ive rented property in the past and have always been an excellent tenant. I have never had any problems and have always left the property cleaner than when I arrived, so got my deposit back everytime. They say in the UK we do not haggle enough and get ripped off. Everyone is out to rip each other off in this country. And houses are not worth the value they go for, they are extremely overpriced for what they are.

It might well be rubbish when applied to YOU, but the LL doesn't know YOU, all they know is someone who hasn't yet rented their property wants a reduction in the rent. Alarm bells probably ring. You also say you don't want to commit beyond 6 months, but a longer term let is the best way to get a reduction in the rent, especially if you will let the LL take the more generous side of the terms in a quid-pro-quo style - e.g 5% off the rent for a 12 month commitment but LL can terminate at 6 months.

I have a degree, have always worked in a professional job and in my mid thirties, yet I still could never afford to buy so I am forced to rent. And then there is no way I could save for the huge deposits they require now.

The house is probably up for rent because they cannot sell it. The housing market is in a mess and people cannot get mortgages. I have seen lots of properties like this since Ive started searching, properties that were for sale but are now for rent.

I like the point Gorgeous George makes, surely this means something...

My problem is that my job is an hour away from where my daughter lives, so I am looking for a location that is about half way between work and my daughter, yet is close enough to the motorway so I can get to work within 40 min and can get to my daughter within 20 min. So yes, my area is limited unfortunately.

How often do you see your daughter? You work 5 days a week, so that's 40min x 2 x 5 days = 6hrs 40 mins a week. Assuming you see your Dtr 3 times a week you'd be spending 2 hrs a week driving to her.
Moving nearer work woulld give you more time, if that can be turned to your advantage (early finish the days you go to see her?)
Cutting work journeys to 20 mins and Dtr visits to 40 mins would see you in work 20 mins earlier 5 mornings, banking 1 hr 40 mins, then 2 days you stay 20 mins later and bank 40 more mins = 2 hrs 20 min banked.

You finish 50 mins earlier than currently to go see Dtr 3 days a week, and as the journey is now 20 mins longer, you get there 30 mins earlier. You leave her 20 mins earlier to go "home" and get back at the same time. You end up with 30 extra mins a week with her but the same amount of travel time overall.