With a lease that expires on May 31, and no real need to be back here until the end of August, I spoke to my property manager last week about the prospect of brokering some kind of deal on rent over the summer. There is, of course, a cost to having a tenant leave - the unit generally sits vacant for a period of time, cleaners have to come in and get things ready for the next tenant, the property manager has to schedule showings. I figured maybe they'd come down a little in exchange for keeping me around.
I was careful not to float a number - usually the person who talks first in that arena loses. I just asked if the owners might be willing to consider coming down a little.
So I ran into my property manager today in the lobby. She said she spoke to the owners and wanted to know if I had a number in mind. I again played dumb, and she responded almost immediately by talking about all the above costs, and said the owners wanted to know if I'd consider paying half over the summer in exchange for renewing the lease.
Um, would I consider? I was hoping to get $800 out of the deal. So I got $800 just for being willing to ask, and I got an extra $400 just for keeping my mouth shut about what I thought would be fair. The lesson here is that you should never be afraid to negotiate, even if you think your chances of winning are low.
Needless to say, I'll be staying put, which is exciting on two fronts. First, I love my apartment (I'd love it more if it had hardwood floors, but we can't have everything we want). Second, it means I don't have to move my stuff.
Now I just have to figure out what to do with my summer. That should be sorted out by the end of the week, hopefully. More on that later.
I was careful not to float a number - usually the person who talks first in that arena loses. I just asked if the owners might be willing to consider coming down a little.
So I ran into my property manager today in the lobby. She said she spoke to the owners and wanted to know if I had a number in mind. I again played dumb, and she responded almost immediately by talking about all the above costs, and said the owners wanted to know if I'd consider paying half over the summer in exchange for renewing the lease.
Um, would I consider? I was hoping to get $800 out of the deal. So I got $800 just for being willing to ask, and I got an extra $400 just for keeping my mouth shut about what I thought would be fair. The lesson here is that you should never be afraid to negotiate, even if you think your chances of winning are low.
Needless to say, I'll be staying put, which is exciting on two fronts. First, I love my apartment (I'd love it more if it had hardwood floors, but we can't have everything we want). Second, it means I don't have to move my stuff.
Now I just have to figure out what to do with my summer. That should be sorted out by the end of the week, hopefully. More on that later.
1 Comment:
Let me know if you're ever going to be in the neighborhood:
There Will Be Rock Band...and Smash Brothers.
(...or whatever game I happen to be playing at the time.)
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