How to Negotiate Lower Rents on Your Apartment in 5 tips

According to Reis, Inc., a New York real estate research firm, apartment vacancies reached a 23-year high during the recession. Now is a better time than ever to talk to your landlord about lowering your rent when your lease comes up for renewal, or when moving to a new apartment, whether as a lasting place or temporary housing. Here are a few pieces of advice on negotiating with your landlord:

1. Pay for six months to one year up front. Many landlords find this lump sum to constitute a invaluable sort of peace of mind, and will lower your rent in order to get it.
2. Offer an exchange of goods or services . This can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. If you’re renting the upper flat of a house, for example, you could offer to assist in snow removal or lawn care . If the kitchen or bathroom needs updating, you could suggest that you personally make it over. Even suggesting that you clean up and paint from a prior untidy   Tenant could go a long way in reducing or eliminating things like administrative fees and security deposits.
3. Promise to stay a little longer. Life is unpredictable and in the end, who doesn’t prefer a month-to-month lease?   However if you are willing to sign for a longer lease term, you have more room to negotiate off your monthly rent, or at least control it for that period.
4. Come prepared with a portfolio. The New York Times, in the article “For Rent: Want to Pay Less? Dare to Negotiate” recommends developing a rental portfolio that you can hand to a landlord when you view an apartment. A good rental portfolio will have in it a credit history, letters of reference, and proof of earnings.
5. Develop a reputation for being a good tenant. Do more than just pay your rent on time: be friendly with your neighbords, pick up after your dog, keep a clean apartment and perform your own small repairs when something breaks.

When vacating an apartment, make sure you take out the trash, vacuum, patch and paint. Little niceties can go a long way in earning good references for your next apartment. Always be fearless when negotiating a lease. Because the market is glutted with first-class properties right now, you really have nothing to lose.