is it possible to haggle rent with an estate agent?

quintwins

all our other houses we've managed to get in touch with the landlord ourselves and haggle them down by paying direct, but were now interested in a house that we have no way of finding out who owns it, so i was wondering wat the chances of getting some knocked off was and if anyone has any tips on how to do it? as it's easy to get them down if they aren't paying an agent there cut

thanks in advance for any help

Greatgimp

I got a £1050 down to £925. It depends how much you need the house.

Catatonia

I got £750 down to £725 with an agent. Not amazing, but better than nothing!

quintwins

so shud we just offer lower and wait for them to get back to us? all other times we've been standing there with the landlord with the promise of cash that day we find that always works people love to see wads of money (me included )

paul1964_2

We offered 6 months rent up front and got a £100 pcm reduction.

robcauson

Ultimately it's the landlord's call, so if you can convince the agent that they should approach the landlord to offer a lower rental amount, then it's down to how well they put that idea to the landlord. The agent takes a cut (usually around 10-15%) so the net difference to them each month is minimal, and if letting a month earlier on £100 less means the landlord doesn't miss a thousand pounds in rent (for example), then it takes them 11 months to actually suffer any real loss. The tenancy agreement will allow for a reasonable rise in rent (if agreed by you) after the initial term anyway so it's often worth doing. If they're getting a lot of interest in a property then the chances are low, but it's worth a shot.

raddyantic

quintwins wrote: »

so shud we just offer lower and wait for them to get back to us? all other times we've been standing there with the landlord with the promise of cash that day we find that always works people love to see wads of money (me included )

Yep as a landlord I can say that tactic definitley works - and as a prospective tenant in the past have used the same tactic and worked

dawyldthing

it will most likely work if its been empty for a while as they will be wanting to let it asap. I would try, its always worth a try!

G_M

Your only problem is the agent has less incentive than the LL to get the place rented out fast. Agent gets a 'finders fee' whenever it's rented: today, next week, next month, but LL meanwhile is losing rent each week that it's empty.

The aget may say they're going to ask the LL, but if you read this forum you'll come across plenty of examples of agents who simply don't tell the LLs what is going on.

Same thing happens when the initial 6 month fixed term is up. Agent asks tenant for £x00 for a new contract. Tenant says "Ask LL if I can move to a periodic tenancy". Agent comes back: "LL says no". Actually LL has never been asked because agent doesn't want to lose the renewal fee.

Check the Land Registry site to find the owner's name/address for £4

Geenie

As a LL I would say research your local market and what the going rate is. If there are properties of an equal standard going for less and not in demand then you would be daft not to try a reduction. Also if your LL realises you are a good tenant and doesn't want to have the place empty for a few months, then accepting a lower rate might still be the same over a years rent.


If none of the above apply, then I would tread carefully. I have never reduced rent from what originally stated. Firstly because I set it at a reasonable rate, and also because I let properties that are in demand. Not only for their rent, but for my reputation as a LL. Weigh all of these factors up before deciding OP. Good luck.

tbs624

If you don't ask you don't get. Worth remembering that *some* LAs/LLs deliberately advertise their properties at a higher figure than they would truthfully settle for, purely to allow for a bit of the old haggling. We all like to think we've "done a deal" (edit:and) got something for less than the original figure...