Are apartment rentals negotiable?

Submitted by alidte t3_zbyfhj in StamfordCT

My company relocated me to our US office. I am currently looking for permanent housing. From where I am from, rental rates are negotiable whether you are leasing from an established company or an individual.

I have viewed a few apartments - Infinity, Postmark, Vela on the Park, 66 Summer St, and will be viewing more.

I asked the leasing agents if rates are negotiable. I was told they are not. The rates they are quoting me are fixed. Is this the experience of everyone for apartments that are managed by leasing companies? (Of course if an apartment is owned by an individual, then i guess it is ok to negotiate)

Has anyone negotiated the rates offered by leasing companies? (I am NOT talking about the usual marketing promos/monthly concessions like free 1month or free 3months of parking. What I am referring to is successfully negotiating to lower the quoted monthly base rent.) Or the quoted rates are really fixed as these are set by the head office?

(Just to add - my relocation agent told me the rates are fixed and not negotiable. Is this true? In my head, everything and anything is negotiable. Or maybe that is just me.)

Thanks a lot in advance for your insights. Really appreciate it.

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Dot8911 t1_iyu52gz wrote

We are at Postmark, but I'm guessing your experience will be similar at most of the big buildings. They have a website where you can go select the apartment you want and the term you want and it calculates out the rates. The rates changed frequently, at least weekly, but not for every apartment. We knew what apartment we wanted, so we waited until the slow season and watched for the price to drop. This took some patience. Once it did, we pulled the trigger via the website.

Rates definitely do move up and down. But they are not 'negotiable' in the traditional way of the leasing agent tells you X, you counter offer Y, and so on. The leasing agent won't have the ability to make concessions because the price is controlled by the technology.

Instead, I'd suggest saying something like "we really like the apartment, but our budget is Y, we would sign if we can get that, but we're going to keep looking." And then you leave. You look at the other buildings. And you watch the website and wait. Hopefully the leasing agent will circle back with management and get them to drop the price for you.

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alidte OP t1_iyw6nda wrote

Thanks a lot for taking the time to share this info. Makes a lot of sense, how best for me to approach this situation. Really appreciate your insights.

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Wizard1269 t1_iytwyy4 wrote

Yes. My wife and I did....and do every time our lease is up.

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Mixie_33 t1_iyv977r wrote

They are definitely negotiable (maybe get 1 free month or something). Anytime you ask if they are negotiable of course they are going to say no.

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CatsNSquirrels t1_iyvy7f8 wrote

In my experience, rents are not negotiable when you are initially leasing. Sometimes you can get a perk or a free month based on current specials, but generally the rate is the rate. When you renew, sometimes you can negotiate on a proposed increase.

The reason for this is partly due to fair housing laws. Offering different rents to different people, who are looking at the exact same time and at the exact same units, can open the landlord/company up to discrimination lawsuits. People go undercover and check for this behavior all the time at apartments. (Source: I worked in fair housing for a brief period of time).

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alidte OP t1_iyw6tpr wrote

Thanks a lot for the info. Fair housing laws make sense why prices should be fixed.

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antiqueboi t1_izt22p1 wrote

dont ask them to lower the rates, ask them to give concessions such as several months free, free parking..ect

The apartment owner needs to report the gross rent to their investors, for their loans..ect but they can use concessions to lower the effective rent

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