Negotiating rent
 

Hello,
Is it common in Canada (Vancouver) to negotiate the advertised rent or do landlords expect you to just pay the asking price? What if the place is rented through an agency? Thank you.

Re: Negotiating rent
 

From what people on here have said, there is no harm in trying to negotiate down, but, much like over here - it might not get you anywhere. Its worth taking note of any negative points to try and put forward a case for a lower rent

Re: Negotiating rent
 

In my experience it's not common; however:

IF the apartment has been sitting for a while unrented you might have a chance.

If lots of other people are interested though - forget it. When we rented our place there's no way I would have taken less rent. Pesky prospective tenants asking for lower rent would have been an instant no and move onto the next one.

Re: Negotiating rent
 

Renting from a private individual yes you might be able to negotiate.
Negotiating with a rental property agency not as much though they do offer incentives. In areas with low vacancy rates forget it.
BTW when you go into your local Tesco do you negotiate on the price of a loaf of bread or pint of milk or other items priced on the shelves?

Re: Negotiating rent
 

If its not exactly what I wanted then hell yeah! ;)

Re: Negotiating rent
 

So long as you don't mind taking something nobody else wants the landlord may consider it. When we rented out some property, we advertised the rent, renters paid it. If they wanted a lower priced unit, I suggested they look somewhere else. Good units are easy to rent and to get the price.

Saying that, when I was up north (rentals are as scarce as knats teeth), I had a figure in mind and told the landlord this was my budget. I was prepared to look elsewhere, he had a problem with previous renters and I guess he thought I was better bet and took what I offered.

You never know, just be prepared to lose it if they don't like what you offer.

Re: Negotiating rent
 

+1

Re: Negotiating rent
 

In fact the law does allow such a thing as long as the Tesco would give its employee the power to negotiate/accept counter offers from potential customers.

Re: Negotiating rent
 

Ignore people advising not to negotiate.
It's certainly worth asking- what do you have to lose? They might say no, but if you dont ask, you dont get.

Re: Negotiating rent
 

We negotiated a $50 reduction in the advertised price for the first year, as long as we signed for two years.

Re: Negotiating rent
 

The success of negotiating rent is totally dependent on the market conditions where you are renting. If there are a lot of available properties then your chances are good, if, however there a few properties and a lot of prospective tenants then you may find yourself having to pay more than the advertised rate just to secure a place.

Re: Negotiating rent
 

Um, she was asking about Vancouver though. And in Van, in sought-after areas, there is a lot of demand and asking for a rent reduction won't help her case. A good friend recently rented a place on the west side and started waiting to see it 2 hours before the time. He had with him a cashier's cheque for the deposit and six month's rent, along with references etc.

By the time the landlord opened the apartment to see it there was a line of people down the block.

My friend got it because he had the cashier's cheque (he was the only one) and good income.

When we rented our place, we got emails from people saying they'd been looking for 6 months for a decent place in the right area at a reasonable rent. One of them was living in a hotel. I just don't think you understand how competitive it can be here. We had our pick of excellent tenants.

Another friend rented a place in North Van. There was a bidding war over the rent with people offering over the advertised price to get it.

Having said that, if it's a place that's been sitting because the rent is too high, that's a different story.

Re: Negotiating rent
 

this approach will severely limit your choices and often to the less desirable properties. most ads, don't say negotiable or non negotiable. Cannot say that every occurred to me to say that. As far as we were concerned what we asked is what we wanted. Had I been willing to negotiate, I would have asked a higher rent in the first place.

Re: Negotiating rent
 

I don't understand why people are saying that if she asks for discount and is denied it somehow rules her out of ever renting that place - can't landlords just say "no, that is the price"?

Anyway, OP is looking to go into a managed rental in coal harbour. It's unlikely that trying to negotiate the rent will work there (turnover is high and voids are low in such places). But, she might as well ask. The worst that will happen is that they will say no or, if she can't afford the posted rent, have to find somewhere else.

Re: Negotiating rent
 

They dont really haggle here. Saying that we got 50 a month off our rent. When buying stuff off craigslist and you'd go to see it, I would always offer them a price. Usually they would look at you like you had two heads but generally agree to it. One bloke wanted 200 bucks for a lovely table and chairs. I said, i'll give you 125, expecting to be a final figure of 150 odd. He looked at me, in a weird way and said, err ok then. I was thinking, should of said 100. Mind you, i got him to deliver it as well :)

Like any negotiation... be prepared to walk away.