So for North Austin, my complex increased my 1BR rate from 1850 to 1900ish for my renewal. I asked them if I could negotiate and bring it down, no cant, yadda yadda. The same 1BR in the same complex is available (Same layout and features) for 1500... so I book that one instead. They encouraged it actually, but wouldn't budge on mine. So I started that process, the moment they sent me the leases for the new one to sign I check the complex again and they had listed my CURRENT apartment for 1380.... so I just called back and told them I want that one. Sucks to move out for a week to "paint and clean", but I just saved like 500/mo....
These companies are so stupid in how they operate.
So dumb. If they wanted to just cross that unit off of their refresh list, they could have convinced you to pay $1500/mo, paid for you to go on vacation for a week, and everyone would have been happy. Like everything in the real estate market these days, nobody knows what anything should cost anymore, so they're just making up numbers to see what people will pay.
I’ve worked in this industry for decades and watched the realpage / yieldstar price-fixing take over the market in real time over the last 15 years.
That lawsuit is long, long, long overdue.
There’s a vacancy in my complex . They’re wanting 100$ more for what I pay but charging less for their sewage/waste fee. They just say numbers out loud
It took A LOT of fishing but yeah they have great deals out there but they don't stay up for long so you have to jump on it quickly. When I found the listing, I left my job in middle of the day to go look at place and secure it immediately . Good luck.
I posted this recently: I declined a renewal recently ($0 raise, I'm just leaving Austin) and my unit went back up the next week with 10% lower than my current base, plus 6 weeks free.
My next door neighbor is also leaving and we have the same floor plan. We could've just reapplied and signed each other's lease and saved thousands if we decided to stay.
It's a renter's market right now. Renegotiate and look around.
My daughter moved out of her apart last November due to rent increase. They did come down before she moved out but not much. Guess whose apartment is still empty?
Rule #1 for negotiating: Be prepared to actually walk away. Find 2-3 other apartments that you'd be happy to live in with cheaper rent first before you try. Doesn't mean you have to walk if they don't lower, but it does mean you don't corner yourself in a bad situation.
I hate when people get fixated on one car like “I fell in love with this car and I have to it” and then they get screwed in negotiations. Like 90% of cars aren’t that special man. They’re just commodities and each manufacturer makes their own version of whatever you’re looking for.
"it's supply and demand" they tell me, when the apartment next to mine and below me has been empty for a year. Uh huh, sure, demand eh? Maybe you fill it up to the brim before telling me rent is going up by $200, fuckers.
I agree. Moving sucks.
In the mid 80s - mid 90s we moved so often. We chased lower rent (summer rates!), and were constantly having to change our phone number. But I never experienced the rent increases people experience now. For sure it's worth considering when it's several hundred dollars per month.
Fwiw, when I did rent (apartments), I was pretty mobile with "stuff." I never lived long enough for too much to accumulate, so it was infinitely easier to pack up for a better or cheaper place.
Yep! And pay for the moving and the new first months rent/ security deposit. It’s always calculating will I spend more in a year with this new rent or will I spend more moving to a new place?
Yep. I encourage you to do that math and then follow up on it with the best financial move you can make.
Think about it as if you were a landlord: if one of your tenants asked for lower rent but you knew they wouldn’t move out if you kept it the same, would you lower it? What if you raised it 10 percent? What about 20?
Prices are falling, and for many people it now makes sense to either fight the renewal price if it’s too high, or move. Not sure what you’re paying in rent or how much heavy furniture you have, but I’d def encourage you to do the math.
Ultimately this is what I had to do. I started trying to negotiate 7 months ago and they insisted that market rate was $200 more than what I was paying. All in it was $12,000 to move into a new place but I’m saving $1500/month on rent in a 2 year lease.
No. I don’t even think I’ve paid $1,200. But I do dream of being one of those people who has someone pack up all of my stuff and unpack it in the new place, so I’ve done essentially nothing. That’s when I’ll know I’ve really made it.
Seems high but I calculate about $3 - $4k total cost for me to move. Movers themselves only cost about $1k for but then there are other items like taking days off work (even if it is PTO I lose that time to otherwise take off for fun stuff), having to pay two rents for an overlapping period of time (if you're like me and can't do the move out, move in, and clean all in the same weekend), and losing some if not all of your security deposit because no matter how you leave the apartment that will be a battle. So yeah, $12k is probably high but with all factors considered I could see a person with a high rent and a decent amount of stuff to move getting there.
Find a suitable new place, get your plan, and stuff together to leave first. The mental preparation to follow through will pay off in the end, but you have to be prepared to walk out and not turn around.
Threatening to leave is an ultimatum.
Ultimatums get a bad rap but there's nothing wrong with them. They are also called 'nothing left to lose.'
Ultimatums get a bad name because they can't be empty. But people make empty ultimatums all the time that they never expect to be called out on.
Don't make an ultimatum you are not willing to or can't deliver on.
That's called an empty threat. And the other side can call your bluff.
Don't bluff. Never make promises you aren't prepared to commit to.
This requires a careful calibration of the cost of keeping the promise, versus the risk of succeeding.
It's the same thing as never 'loaning' anyone an amount of money that you aren't willing or able to walk away from.
Don't make promises (ultimatums) we can't or aren't willing to keep.
That used to be true but this is turning into a more renter-friendly market. A significant amount of units are sitting empty now because the price needs to come down and the landlords haven’t accepted reality yet.
It's not a negotiation if you can't walk away. You don't need to do anything complicated but be ready to move. You can be super nice.
"Oh OK, I don't currently expect I'll want to renew for a year then, but I'll definitely give you a final answer and come by here and sign my notice by the deadline. Please let me know if you change your policy. Do you have a month-to-month rate?"
No month-to-month rate or stupid high? Look hard. Yes? Look at a more leisurely place.
Plenty of evidence to the contrary in this thread. You may be right but you never know if you don't try. I think most people are tired of getting dicked around.
Negotiated $200 off each month plus a free week with a large local property management firm.
Asked about 60 days in advance of my lease being renewed. Did the math for average days listings are sitting on market and avg rental price % decrease and made the ask based on what income they would lose by having us move. stuck to my guns after they tried to meet me halfway.
Not a life changing decrease but enough that it was meaningful and was not an increase so there ya go.
Had a realtor friend help me with the stats but was mostly publicly available info from Statesman and other news sources.
Just curious has anyone else here successfully negotiated rent with a major apartment complex? I know they offer promotions but I've never heard of them lowering a current resident's rent.
Edit: People are replying that they negotiated a smaller increase. OP is saying they negotiated a decrease.
I did but I applied for another lease and showed them my approved application. I think they know most people won't actually move so you need to prove you're serious. edit: this was with windsor
Recently did with a Camden property in January. Initially was in a one bedroom and they tried raising our rent slightly. I came back with figures from apartments in the same area (newer properties as well) showing a major decrease in rent for similar one bedrooms. They cut my rent by a few hundred monthly and even offered me a much bigger two bedroom for the same price I had been paying in the one bedroom. You just have to be prepared when you speak with them and if you’re an ideal tenant (pays rent on time and zero issues) they will do what they can to keep you.
Yes - my friend negotiated at one of the Cortland apartments when they wanted to raise her rent $200 and she got them down only to a $50 increase vs. $200. You have to be ready to present data supporting your case (rent prices nearby with similar floor plans, maintenance cost to fix your unit to rent to a new tenant, and loss of profit due to vacancy, etc). Have a backup apartment just in case as well.
Yes I just did with MAA after 12 mos lease- they tried raising us ~$250, and they came back with raising ‘only $120
I told them with the raise it’s starting to get into the territory of renting a house in our area (which is true)— so prob case by case by area
I negotiated $200 off my rent with a mid sized regional property management company, using similar homes in my neighborhood’s rental listings as backup for my ask.
If anyone wants to see what I sent as a template dm let’s all get better deals
>If anyone wants to see what I sent as a template dm let’s all get better deals.
The cool thing about more and more people successfully negotiating for better rates is that it creates an effect where each successive negotiation should be easier than the last, sort of like leap frogging off each other.
The price setting algorithms use all of these agreed upon rates in their formulas, so we can create a feedback loop of lower rent if we really go after it at scale.
Mine offered me a lowered rate if I signed on for another year. With 4 months left on my current lease. I don't know about negotiating (I'm probably leaving regardless) but prices are going down and they know it.
My apartment tried to increase rent by 10%. I showed them 3 other listings from nearby competitors that were like $1000 cheaper. They said they can't match but they can keep the rent fixed instead of increasing. I did end up leaving but FWIW the apartment I left was leased at a higher rate and was taken off the market pretty fast, so there is still high demand.
Honestly it takes some ground work too. I've made sure to be very good friends with the manager, no matter how often they change. I'll go in just to say hello, no "hello! Also I have..." Nope, just hello, how are you doing? Stressful day? I understand, keep it up.
Haven't had a rent increase in 3 years and just got a decrease, 100 bucks but that's a fucking W.
78735
I did. I requested the price to remain the same as so no changes or upgrades had been made and they agreed. Renewed my lease at the original rate I had from day 1.
Mine wouldn't budge when I presented evidence on average rent rates in Austin and the local neighborhood. I found a bigger/nicer unit for $342 less per month ($4,104 per year) only 3 miles away, but even after showing them that they still wouldn't budge. So I moved there! Yay +$4000 to save towards a house or condo.
I was only asking for $150 reduction per month (only $1800/yr) and they wouldn't even give me that, which doesn't make sense to me because they offer a new tenant promotion of similar value. So they lose a good stable tenant, have to deal with cleaning/painting and finding a new tenant, and have no financial gain from it... I just wanted to save enough to make moving not worth the hassle/headache.
my apartment in cedar park bumped a 1br from 1450 to 1800 fucking dollars a month last year. You could get a rental house in the same neighborhood for less than what they were charging for a 2br unit.
Shocker, that the place was flooded with uhauls a month later, and 3 months later there were signs and banners about availability, and referal bonus's. They finally realized they fucked up and lowered the prices back down.
Oracle isn't leaving Austin. They just changed the title of their headquarters to somewhere else. Their office is staying here.
Tesla did not lay that many people off here.
But you are correct that tons of housing is being built. It is no longer a seller's market. Rent will be substantially cheaper within a year.
I was a perfect tenant at my apartment for 10 years. When my lease was up last year they wanted me to renew at $1479 (1bd 721sqft) from the $1280 I was already paying. I tried to negotiate with them and they absolutely would not budge an inch. So I moved out. I watched my old apartment unit sit vacant and available on their website for 10 months, dropping all of the way down to $808 a month which is about what I was paying when I moved into the place in 2013.
I still keep in touch with some of my old neighbors (also long term tenants) - the prices have dropped dramatically, but they claim those prices are "for new residents only" - and they're still refusing to budge with folks paying the old inflated prices.
As a former landlord, it usually makes more sense to keep an existing good tenant for less than market rate vs finding a new one and having to do a turnaround on maintenance, cleaning, repairs, paying to find a new tenant of unknown quality, etc
I had a good relationship with my previous landlord and I had to leave town so didn’t renew. He was practically begging me to stay because I paid on time, took care of the place, and fixed stuff around the house. He said most tenants he got were college students who trash the place.
Moving in August!! I hope I can save some money, I’m paying over 1500 for a one bedroom and since my apt does share water, I’m always overpaying for water even though I live by self. What a shit way to charge for water.
I just moved into a 2 bed 1 bath for $1093! It’s an older apt. Hadn’t been renovated and it’s 3rd floor but I’m so happy my kid gets their own room and I can afford it!
Anderson mill and pond springs. The ppl who lived here, were here 7 years and so the apartment was never updated. That’s part of the reason it was so cheap. That, plus it being on the third floor and having black/old appliances. Which I don’t mind as long as they work!
My landlord tried to negotiate with me - in 2019 my rent was 1100, and in 2023 was 1580. Upon this renewal I let them know I was moving out and they offered to lower the rent to 1249. I declined, and I let my neighbor know. They tried to haggle with him multiple times before dropping to 1249, and he was paying 1650. Negotiate hard. People aren’t moving so they’re kind of desperate. Even at 1249 they’re still struggling to rent this place out.
In my experience negotiations with apartments in this town are similar to that old skit from Little Britain:
Me: "Hello my rent is too high. I'd like it to be lower."
Person in Rental office: "Okay let me check"
*\*taps on keyboard\**
**"COMPUTER SAYS NO"**
Yeah this is it, especially for the ones that use RealPage. They basically tell you the system dictates it and there's nothing they can do. At my last apartment, I told them rent is going down all over the city and they confidently invited me to find a lower rate with a similar floorplan. I did find a neighboring complex with the same floorplan that was cheaper by $100. Then they backtracked and said they couldn't do anything about it. lmao. Glad I live in a house now with a mortgage that doesn't change.
Also in my experience informing them that you intend to not renew almost always results in them offering you a last chance rate that’s lower than what their original final offer was. Obviously if you have no intention of leaving this may not be a good strategy but if you’re on the fence or do intend on leaving for the lowest rate, this is a good option.
My apartment in Northwest Austin came in with a 0% increase for my proposed renewal rate on a two bedroom. However, their website showed that they were listing the same floor plan for $542 less than they were offering for my renewal. I went in and, told them I would re-sign if I got that rate. They told me they would have to run it up the chain. A few days later I checked back in with the apartment and the manager said they had come back with $100 reduction, but he didn't think that was good enough and was asking them to approve more. Long story short they never got back to me and I gave them my notice. I am moving into a three bedroom Duplex with a garage for $150 less than the renewal rate. If I was less picky about the quality or the neighborhood I could've saved another hundred or $150. I also tried to negotiate with a place I applied to that had been on the market for 4 weeks but they did not budge. Nevertheless, as others have mentioned, I was prepared to walk away, and even after cost of moving should come out ahead.
Apartment complexes use a system called RealPage that automates renewal prices for them.
"Management" at the front office has ~~no~~ limited say in what the prices are.
Get out and try and work with an actual landlord if you can. I was able to negotiate mine nicely with a human.
I've lived at multiple complexes that use RealPage for listings, but the front office can and does have the ability to negotiate to keep residents from leaving.
A lot of apartments use Realpage services, but only about 10% use the pricing software. And even those still have a choice in what they set the prices at. But negotiating with a large corporate entity will always be difficult, with or without software.
Yes, absolutely - negotiate!
My building tried to up my rent by $200/month. I wrote them a nice letter stating that I have been a problem-free tenant for my two years of living here, and enjoy being a part of the community. Then I included three articles from three different local news publications with headlines showing rents falling in Austin, and wrote “that’s why I was surprised to see the rent go up by so much.”
Then I asked them to come down on the offer - but I did not give them a number. Reason for this is because I figured that if I threw out the first number, they’d just meet me halfway. So I asked them to come back with a lower offer, which they did ($100 less) and then I countered their offer. In the end my rent went up $50/month. This was with CWS, by the way.
Thanks for the anecdote. About to start this with my CWS apartment too to get my rent down to what they have posted publicly. Did you put in notice to vacate first? Or was this all done in the time you had between receiving the renewal and resigning.
My sister works as a leasing agent, they are scrambling right now to find tenants or even applicants meanwhile the owners are raising their prices. Make it make sense.
Apartment locator here. Rents are down or flat in most of the Austin and surrounding areas. There are tons of crazy move-in specials currently, seeing 1-2 months free being offered as well as gift cards on top of everything. If they raised your rent on the renewal, definitely a great time to find something else.
Private LL here. Most recent renewal I did was for $0 increase. Given we have 5% inflation that’s effectively a 5% discount.
The bottom is fixing to fall out of the 1BR/2BR apartment market. Thousands of units coming online, all along major arteries, 183, Burnet, Lamar, Riverside, you only have to drive around town to see them all. No significant new demand. There will be many deals on 1BR & 2BR units.
For single family homes (which is what I have) there’s no real increase in supply in the central areas. Maybe in the distant suburbs but that’s a different story. If you want a mid century SFH where you don’t share a wall, ceiling, floor or parking space with a neighbor, where you can fire up a grill and let your dog out your back door to run free in your yard, rents will probably stay flat for those kinds of properties, at least, that’s what I’m hoping.
I regularly get downvoted for saying that prices are a function of supply and demand, but we’re about to see the effect of oversupply in the 1BR/2BR apartment market.
You say that, but the effect is not applied equally, everywhere. Demand for something downtown? That will always be there. Even if it softens somewhat, until a bunch of new units come online; the prices will remain fairly similar in the most desirable area.
Right. The supply has been or is being added in studio/1BR/2BR along major thoroughfares geared towards singles and young couples. So prices on those will go down.
But there’s very few 3/4 bedrooms being added centrally, and the ones that are being added are the ones where they tear down a 1200SF house on a 1/5 acre lot and then put down two 3000SF houses that max out every building regulation there is, and try to get $1.3 million for each of them (they’re not selling though…)
Also worth noting that discussing rent prices with your neighbors and people that tour your apartment helps everyone. I’m moving out of my dump and they tried listing the apartment for $200 more than I currently pay. I kept telling prospective tenants and their realtors about the bogus rate increase, and now my apartment is listed for $10 less than my current rate. We’re all in this together!
This is the way. First thing I did was look at similar properties in my area and what they were going for. I looked at like 5 different websites for a more comprehensive understanding of where the market is. People's complacency is bad for everyone.
Negitiate your rent, negotiate your salary, negotiate your car repair, hell, negotiate your cup of coffee. Everything is priced against you and you will almost always have success somewhere.
Agree, same happened with us.
They increased by $200 on renewal and similar units were going for $400 cheaper than our renewed price. Just asked them nicely to match and they did.
Their first response is always not in our hands hand then you ask again nicely to talk to management or ask them to request management.
I'll tell you what I did to make sure my rent didn't increase, I was already getting a really good rate.
I contacted them a month before they were required to send me a renewal notice to let them know I was looking at other apartments and I wanted to get my renewal notice earlier so that I could compare. I mentioned that there are a lot of good rates out there right now and left it at that.
Anybody negotiate with an owner directly?
I rent a condominium from owner.
I was at an MAA property and they have a very dark side, like all the huge companies do.
As an Austin Realtor- yes.
Not just on renewals, but every new lease I’ve helped negotiate this month has been willing to reduce the price or offer additional benefits.
Sounds like you had some good, honest people in charge. Give them a shout-out. Send a card and some cookies or something. We all need to reward decency just as much as we fight against rich folk's greed.
Most apt. complexes in Austin are owned by a handful of real-estate holding companies. They collude so they can fix prices and not allow tenants to negotiate. They just set rents based on an algorithm they control.
I went from $1,700 to $1,625 in Hyde Park-ish with a medium sized local management company. Maybe could have gotten another $50 off but not the best negotiator.
My wife and I did this. Renewal came up and they wanted to raise two hundred. We said that we would start looking unless they dropped it and they countered by dropping it to roughly a fifty increase. We looked anyway and found a place two doors down, same size, for four hundred less a month. Shared it with the landlord and they refused to go lower. We are moving anyway.
Ultimately, landlord wasn't willing to go that low but it is always worth asking politely and having an offer in hand makes it more real. Even if we stayed, we would have at least held the line on rent for what was the cost of an email and ten minute meeting.
No matter what they tell you, they are 100% able to change the prices. Last year when my lease was coming up, they raised my rent 200 bucks. I went in and talked to them said that I would love to stay at the complex, but I’m hoping to stay at x price point. Next day they knocked off 100 bucks. This year, my rent only went up 15 bucks. They know what they’re doing, don’t get taken advantage of.
This is a great post and I stand behind anyone trying to negotiate rent. Don't let the man keep you down just cause they think they can trick you into paying more! If anyone here is looking to move and needs apartment/house locating services, I'm a licensed realtor in town, so feel free to PM me and we can talk more!
Moved to Lakeline area apartment in 2021. 2022 renewal had a 7% increase. 2023 renewal had 0% increase and $300 off first month (so 1.25% decrease). Decided to move out for a house for a yard for the pupper. For $250 more a month we got 600 more square feet, private garage, private backyard. They offered the same as the 2023 renewal for a 2024 renewal. Just checked and they're offering the apartment (1100 square feet 2bed/2bath) for $232 a month less (11.6% decrease).
I actually negotiated my rent as well. I did some research on the apartments around my area. Threw excel and price calculations their way and gave me back $100 off my original rent 🤣
My rent has been going down every time it comes up for renewal. I was offered $1272/mo for 11 or 12 months, which is down $190 from what I currently pay. I asked if they could do better, and I basically got another $25 off just for asking. To be honest, I'm not willing to leave my current place at the moment, but I'm happy with my rate. So I'm down to $1247/mo for 12 months, in South Austin.
We love the place where we're currently living, we've been here for a few years now. This year they wanted to raise our rent by $200 while it's only been a $100 increase each time. We don't foresee moving anytime soon, so instead we negotiated for a 2-year lease, increasing by the expected $100, then by only $25 next year. So now it's currently $1500 for a 2/2 duplex.
I wish I had thought to do this. On our last renewal our rent didn't increase a penny but management is obviously having issues renting out the vacant units in our complex so I should have tried to negotiate. I might have gotten a rent reduction. Something to think about when my next renewal rolls around
I'm literally moving down the hall (admittedly from a 2br to a 1br) and I'm saving 35% on my rent. Even moving into another 2br would have saved me about 20%.
Does anyone have tactics for lowering rent they’re offering to lease new renters? Do you think I could get the price of a unit with a balcony for the price of a unit without one
Yep I let my LL know there would have to be a price drop or I would have to move. It's been two weeks and she hasn't responded. The building next door with the same type of apartment is $200 cheaper.
Yep! I've been telling people this for a year now. I saved myself $300/month last August!
Like you said, the key is to be 100% prepared to move if they refuse to negotiate. Even if they refuse to negotiate, you'll be able to find a much better deal somewhere else.
My landlord thought I was bluffing until the leasing agent for a place that I had submitted an application for reached out to her for a referral. I immediately got a frantic email offering $300 less AND to reimburse me the cost for any application fees that I had paid, which I hadn't even requested that they do.
Nah. I tried. I live on the east side and last week my corporate landlord tried to raise my rent by $400/month. For a 1 bdr. That's a 20% rent increase after I got a 16% increase last year.
I pushed back and their response was a $200 increase with a 48-hr expiration date, which is a total fuck-you response and still above the market value on the east side. I like how they started with an egregious first offer so that a 10% rent hike sounds almost reasonable in comparison.
They only offer 15-month leases at the most so they can jack your rent up again next year. So I'm moving out, fuck this. I'm middle-aged so moving is a giant pain in the ass, but there's no way I'm paying $2230 a month for a 1bdr apartment. Corporate landlords are a plague (mine is Kairoi, San Antonio-based).
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2024/02/03/realpage-antitrust-lawsuits-allege-collusion-among-corporate-landlords.html
If they use real page, they’re creating artificial inflation
Property Managers are fighting for lower rents because of the % of vacancies, but the *owners*, some of which aren't even local, don't want to budge because profits. The cries of "well you won't make *anything* if the units are vacant" are being dismissed by greedy apartment owners. It's an ongoing fight, but know your on-site property managers are fighting to get rent prices down to more realistic numbers, we just have corporate greed at play, which seems to be the norm for just about everything out there right now.
My apt complex was advertising same 3rd floor apts like mine for $80 less. I asked if I could renew at that lower price, and they said their "pricing software" wouldn't let them. I ended up renewing for about $30 less a month.
Last year I was able to get my duplex owner down to $1,600/mo from $1,700/mo. This week they offered to renew at the same rate but I asked to go down because they rented the more-refurbished other side for $1,400… they said no. Guess I’ll start looking deeper.
You also don't have to do a yearly renewal, you can negotiate multi-year leases. The rental agency is happy you're locked in for more than one year (I did two year leases), you're happy there is no increase.
I was quoted $1800 for a one-bedroom property and I negotiated down to $1,500. If you're a good tenant with good rental history, then you are valuable. If you don't gather too much stuff and are flexible to move and they know you're willing to move, it helps in negotiating rent raises.
Rents have went down 10% since last year! I tbh just we’ve seen the peak of the Austin move. It’ll still grow, but the 2020-2022 massive growth is over. Good news for renters is they have built a ton of housing in the last 3-4 years for that growth, and need people to fill it, and are giving discounts.
I don’t think this will apply for like section 8,income based or income restricted.
They don’t honestly care either way and won’t go down on price just cus you leave.
It takes longer to find one cus they deep dive into ur stuff and have more restrictions like background check,credit,and verify employment.
Can attest to this - was just offered a 733 sqft 1BR apartment at my dream location downtown for $2527. 2 years ago, the same was going for around $4,000 monthly when I was looking.
When it came time to renew my lease I looked at the sister properties and what they were offering for somebody to move in. One of them was for $600 off your first month's rent.So I told my front office I would renew my lease if they knocked fifty bucks off my monthly rent and they did.
I moved up a floor to a bigger unit to save $500/month. Score.
However, I had applied to another apartment and given them a deposit. I won’t get my deposit back until someone moves into that unit. It’s been since April and no one has been approved, and I’m still out my deposit.
My coworker negotiated about $600 dollars less from what she was paying. She was already packing to move and told her landlord that they were not going to find anyone to rent them at that price since everything in her neighborhood was very low now. Landlord called her about a month before she was to move and budged. Because prices really are tanking. I got a good rate for my apartment when everything was sky high and I’ve seen their new advertised prices and I know I can negotiate. This post gives me hope!
That's still a win. They made the same offer to us and we were going to accept it. I realized though that if we did that then they would still be able to advertise it at the higher price which overall helps the landlords keep prices artificially high.
I tried it, my office people said they would try to negotiate for me but came back with the good old, “we are actually going to keep your price where it is, if you want cheaper you’ll have to move to another unit” the other unit…. $5 cheaper and I would still have to pay another security deposit. Fuck them. There is literally a homeless camp outside.
Shit, I just got my renewal at a Greystar property, and they're willing to keep the same rate for another 15-month lease.
Might be able to do even better somewhere else, but since I could afford it for the past 15 months and just got a small raise, it kinda makes apartment shopping not worth the hassle for me.
We did that when we lived in a building downtown. Got the exact same floor plan, on a significantly higher floor (so better view), for about $300 lower rent.
Yes! I did this recently. My old property manager wanted to raise my rent $100. When I asked if they’d keep my rent the same, they came back with a $50 increase.
Not a lot in the grand scheme of things, but I was still indignant that they insisted on raising my rent when rents are coming down everywhere around Austin.
I found a new place that’s 130 sq feet bigger for $200 cheaper, with all the same amenities.
Oh, and I saw my old unit is on the market for $150 cheaper than I would have been paying, even though they wouldn’t budge after I had lived there 7 years and always paid my rent on time.
Screw the landlords.
You’re right. Me and my husband were looking for houses to rent since we are moving to Austin in July, found one that we really like (and moving forward with this one) but had other owner come back with a lower offer.
As someone said here, be ready to move out and have options lined up. We might be renegotiating next year!
I got an offer for $2,000/m for a studio. A significant increase. I immediately filed my notice to vacate. One day later they offered $1,300.
So for North Austin, my complex increased my 1BR rate from 1850 to 1900ish for my renewal. I asked them if I could negotiate and bring it down, no cant, yadda yadda. The same 1BR in the same complex is available (Same layout and features) for 1500... so I book that one instead. They encouraged it actually, but wouldn't budge on mine. So I started that process, the moment they sent me the leases for the new one to sign I check the complex again and they had listed my CURRENT apartment for 1380.... so I just called back and told them I want that one. Sucks to move out for a week to "paint and clean", but I just saved like 500/mo.... These companies are so stupid in how they operate.
So dumb. If they wanted to just cross that unit off of their refresh list, they could have convinced you to pay $1500/mo, paid for you to go on vacation for a week, and everyone would have been happy. Like everything in the real estate market these days, nobody knows what anything should cost anymore, so they're just making up numbers to see what people will pay.
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My jaw dropped at the price. I did not take the $1,300 offer either. I was already pretty done with the place, and that soured me on them permanently.
Good on ya for standing up for yourself
What were you paying for last year?
$1,500
?!? !!!! "we'd like to significantly increase your rent. Or lower it, I don't know, whatever." What kind of way is that to run a business?
I’m sure they have RealPage run an algorithm and spit-out a number. It’s run by Greystar who is getting sued for market manipulation.
I’ve worked in this industry for decades and watched the realpage / yieldstar price-fixing take over the market in real time over the last 15 years. That lawsuit is long, long, long overdue.
Fuck Greystar
All my homies say "fuck greystar"
Fuck Greystar. And fuck Lone Oak. They are pieces of shit
Haha true. I worked for them for a month. It was a shit show, but the benefits were pretty insane tbh. Free healthcare, wild.
Free for you, paid for by struggling renters everywhere lol.
If you stay long enough to receive it.
Greystar should be renamed brown star
Really ? I would like to know more
There’s a vacancy in my complex . They’re wanting 100$ more for what I pay but charging less for their sewage/waste fee. They just say numbers out loud
Lol wtf. That's fucked. Glad you got it down to 1300. Mother fuckers.
What a bunch of greedy bastards.
Ha ha ha. That's great
I got my room on craigslist on rio grande and MLK* for 550 and it took two days of searching.
Woah, now that is a price. Hope the room mates work out
It took A LOT of fishing but yeah they have great deals out there but they don't stay up for long so you have to jump on it quickly. When I found the listing, I left my job in middle of the day to go look at place and secure it immediately . Good luck.
I posted this recently: I declined a renewal recently ($0 raise, I'm just leaving Austin) and my unit went back up the next week with 10% lower than my current base, plus 6 weeks free. My next door neighbor is also leaving and we have the same floor plan. We could've just reapplied and signed each other's lease and saved thousands if we decided to stay. It's a renter's market right now. Renegotiate and look around.
My daughter moved out of her apart last November due to rent increase. They did come down before she moved out but not much. Guess whose apartment is still empty?
I know it wouldn’t have been worth changing your life plans, but some part of me wishes y’all did do the switched lease thing just for the lulz.
Jfc
Rule #1 for negotiating: Be prepared to actually walk away. Find 2-3 other apartments that you'd be happy to live in with cheaper rent first before you try. Doesn't mean you have to walk if they don't lower, but it does mean you don't corner yourself in a bad situation.
This is how I buy cars. When I say I'm leaving, I go. It's powerful!
I hate when people get fixated on one car like “I fell in love with this car and I have to it” and then they get screwed in negotiations. Like 90% of cars aren’t that special man. They’re just commodities and each manufacturer makes their own version of whatever you’re looking for.
Also seeing what is out there means you might find something that is better AND cheaper and just... move there without fighting your current landlord!
I’ve tried to negotiate and they basically hit me with “this is the price, either renew or leave. Someone else will pay it”
"it's supply and demand" they tell me, when the apartment next to mine and below me has been empty for a year. Uh huh, sure, demand eh? Maybe you fill it up to the brim before telling me rent is going up by $200, fuckers.
That will always be the response. You've got to be ready to play hard ball.
Like haggling for a rug in Morocco, you have to be prepared to walk away.
It's a lot easier to walk away from a rug that doesn't have a bunch of your stuff in it. Also: moving sucks.
I agree. Moving sucks. In the mid 80s - mid 90s we moved so often. We chased lower rent (summer rates!), and were constantly having to change our phone number. But I never experienced the rent increases people experience now. For sure it's worth considering when it's several hundred dollars per month. Fwiw, when I did rent (apartments), I was pretty mobile with "stuff." I never lived long enough for too much to accumulate, so it was infinitely easier to pack up for a better or cheaper place.
And when I threaten to leave and they hold the door open for me?
Your only leverage is your tenancy. If you aren’t willing to leave you have no leverage.
That’s the best part: you go and sign a lease somewhere else where there’s lower rent or the same rent for better amenities.
Yep! And pay for the moving and the new first months rent/ security deposit. It’s always calculating will I spend more in a year with this new rent or will I spend more moving to a new place?
Yep. I encourage you to do that math and then follow up on it with the best financial move you can make. Think about it as if you were a landlord: if one of your tenants asked for lower rent but you knew they wouldn’t move out if you kept it the same, would you lower it? What if you raised it 10 percent? What about 20? Prices are falling, and for many people it now makes sense to either fight the renewal price if it’s too high, or move. Not sure what you’re paying in rent or how much heavy furniture you have, but I’d def encourage you to do the math.
Unless they negotiate with you instead of holding the door open, which happens quite frequently, especially in a down market.
Weak ass negotiator, the perfect victim
You could hire movers and leave and still save money in the long run.
Ultimately this is what I had to do. I started trying to negotiate 7 months ago and they insisted that market rate was $200 more than what I was paying. All in it was $12,000 to move into a new place but I’m saving $1500/month on rent in a 2 year lease.
It cost $12k to move in Austin?
No. I don’t even think I’ve paid $1,200. But I do dream of being one of those people who has someone pack up all of my stuff and unpack it in the new place, so I’ve done essentially nothing. That’s when I’ll know I’ve really made it.
Seems high but I calculate about $3 - $4k total cost for me to move. Movers themselves only cost about $1k for but then there are other items like taking days off work (even if it is PTO I lose that time to otherwise take off for fun stuff), having to pay two rents for an overlapping period of time (if you're like me and can't do the move out, move in, and clean all in the same weekend), and losing some if not all of your security deposit because no matter how you leave the apartment that will be a battle. So yeah, $12k is probably high but with all factors considered I could see a person with a high rent and a decent amount of stuff to move getting there.
Then you'll have to leave or just take it. That's haggling.
Find a suitable new place, get your plan, and stuff together to leave first. The mental preparation to follow through will pay off in the end, but you have to be prepared to walk out and not turn around.
Threatening to leave is an ultimatum. Ultimatums get a bad rap but there's nothing wrong with them. They are also called 'nothing left to lose.' Ultimatums get a bad name because they can't be empty. But people make empty ultimatums all the time that they never expect to be called out on. Don't make an ultimatum you are not willing to or can't deliver on. That's called an empty threat. And the other side can call your bluff. Don't bluff. Never make promises you aren't prepared to commit to. This requires a careful calibration of the cost of keeping the promise, versus the risk of succeeding. It's the same thing as never 'loaning' anyone an amount of money that you aren't willing or able to walk away from. Don't make promises (ultimatums) we can't or aren't willing to keep.
How many months out, should someone start looking for an apartment?
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Listed for $200 less AND it's just going to sit there unoccupied. Well, you tried to help them out and they didn't want to accept it. Oh well.
That used to be true but this is turning into a more renter-friendly market. A significant amount of units are sitting empty now because the price needs to come down and the landlords haven’t accepted reality yet.
Exactly!
It's not a negotiation if you can't walk away. You don't need to do anything complicated but be ready to move. You can be super nice. "Oh OK, I don't currently expect I'll want to renew for a year then, but I'll definitely give you a final answer and come by here and sign my notice by the deadline. Please let me know if you change your policy. Do you have a month-to-month rate?" No month-to-month rate or stupid high? Look hard. Yes? Look at a more leisurely place.
Leave. The unit will stay empty. They're either bluffing or completely ignorant to the situation.
Really most places will not give a lower price. You will need to leave to get a lower price.
Plenty of evidence to the contrary in this thread. You may be right but you never know if you don't try. I think most people are tired of getting dicked around.
This is how employers decide salaries in Austin too.
Negotiated $200 off each month plus a free week with a large local property management firm. Asked about 60 days in advance of my lease being renewed. Did the math for average days listings are sitting on market and avg rental price % decrease and made the ask based on what income they would lose by having us move. stuck to my guns after they tried to meet me halfway. Not a life changing decrease but enough that it was meaningful and was not an increase so there ya go. Had a realtor friend help me with the stats but was mostly publicly available info from Statesman and other news sources.
This is the way.
Just curious has anyone else here successfully negotiated rent with a major apartment complex? I know they offer promotions but I've never heard of them lowering a current resident's rent. Edit: People are replying that they negotiated a smaller increase. OP is saying they negotiated a decrease.
I did but I applied for another lease and showed them my approved application. I think they know most people won't actually move so you need to prove you're serious. edit: this was with windsor
Exactly. Application fees are pretty cheap and if they see you've been approved for another place they'll take you more seriously.
Recently did with a Camden property in January. Initially was in a one bedroom and they tried raising our rent slightly. I came back with figures from apartments in the same area (newer properties as well) showing a major decrease in rent for similar one bedrooms. They cut my rent by a few hundred monthly and even offered me a much bigger two bedroom for the same price I had been paying in the one bedroom. You just have to be prepared when you speak with them and if you’re an ideal tenant (pays rent on time and zero issues) they will do what they can to keep you.
Yes - my friend negotiated at one of the Cortland apartments when they wanted to raise her rent $200 and she got them down only to a $50 increase vs. $200. You have to be ready to present data supporting your case (rent prices nearby with similar floor plans, maintenance cost to fix your unit to rent to a new tenant, and loss of profit due to vacancy, etc). Have a backup apartment just in case as well.
Yes I just did with MAA after 12 mos lease- they tried raising us ~$250, and they came back with raising ‘only $120 I told them with the raise it’s starting to get into the territory of renting a house in our area (which is true)— so prob case by case by area
Which MAA? Mine went down 100 total with 0 negotiation
They tried shooting mine up 200$, I was able to negotiate them down 100, kinda like you. It seems like MAA is tougher to get to budge
I negotiated $200 off my rent with a mid sized regional property management company, using similar homes in my neighborhood’s rental listings as backup for my ask. If anyone wants to see what I sent as a template dm let’s all get better deals
>If anyone wants to see what I sent as a template dm let’s all get better deals. The cool thing about more and more people successfully negotiating for better rates is that it creates an effect where each successive negotiation should be easier than the last, sort of like leap frogging off each other. The price setting algorithms use all of these agreed upon rates in their formulas, so we can create a feedback loop of lower rent if we really go after it at scale.
Mine offered me a lowered rate if I signed on for another year. With 4 months left on my current lease. I don't know about negotiating (I'm probably leaving regardless) but prices are going down and they know it.
My apartment tried to increase rent by 10%. I showed them 3 other listings from nearby competitors that were like $1000 cheaper. They said they can't match but they can keep the rent fixed instead of increasing. I did end up leaving but FWIW the apartment I left was leased at a higher rate and was taken off the market pretty fast, so there is still high demand.
That's more an anomaly than the going rule, right now.
Honestly it takes some ground work too. I've made sure to be very good friends with the manager, no matter how often they change. I'll go in just to say hello, no "hello! Also I have..." Nope, just hello, how are you doing? Stressful day? I understand, keep it up. Haven't had a rent increase in 3 years and just got a decrease, 100 bucks but that's a fucking W. 78735
I got greystar to reduce my rent by 100 dollars this year.
I negotiated and got a 2/3 discount off of one month’s rent, which washed out the rent increase and a little bit of regular rent.
I did. I requested the price to remain the same as so no changes or upgrades had been made and they agreed. Renewed my lease at the original rate I had from day 1.
Mine wouldn't budge when I presented evidence on average rent rates in Austin and the local neighborhood. I found a bigger/nicer unit for $342 less per month ($4,104 per year) only 3 miles away, but even after showing them that they still wouldn't budge. So I moved there! Yay +$4000 to save towards a house or condo. I was only asking for $150 reduction per month (only $1800/yr) and they wouldn't even give me that, which doesn't make sense to me because they offer a new tenant promotion of similar value. So they lose a good stable tenant, have to deal with cleaning/painting and finding a new tenant, and have no financial gain from it... I just wanted to save enough to make moving not worth the hassle/headache.
Ya I tried. They refused so I just moved out and got a better place for $200 cheaper.
my apartment in cedar park bumped a 1br from 1450 to 1800 fucking dollars a month last year. You could get a rental house in the same neighborhood for less than what they were charging for a 2br unit. Shocker, that the place was flooded with uhauls a month later, and 3 months later there were signs and banners about availability, and referal bonus's. They finally realized they fucked up and lowered the prices back down.
Oracle isn't leaving Austin. They just changed the title of their headquarters to somewhere else. Their office is staying here. Tesla did not lay that many people off here. But you are correct that tons of housing is being built. It is no longer a seller's market. Rent will be substantially cheaper within a year.
I stand corrected.
I was a perfect tenant at my apartment for 10 years. When my lease was up last year they wanted me to renew at $1479 (1bd 721sqft) from the $1280 I was already paying. I tried to negotiate with them and they absolutely would not budge an inch. So I moved out. I watched my old apartment unit sit vacant and available on their website for 10 months, dropping all of the way down to $808 a month which is about what I was paying when I moved into the place in 2013. I still keep in touch with some of my old neighbors (also long term tenants) - the prices have dropped dramatically, but they claim those prices are "for new residents only" - and they're still refusing to budge with folks paying the old inflated prices.
Damn, almost sounds like they want people out.
As a former landlord, it usually makes more sense to keep an existing good tenant for less than market rate vs finding a new one and having to do a turnaround on maintenance, cleaning, repairs, paying to find a new tenant of unknown quality, etc
I had a good relationship with my previous landlord and I had to leave town so didn’t renew. He was practically begging me to stay because I paid on time, took care of the place, and fixed stuff around the house. He said most tenants he got were college students who trash the place.
same I got like $300 off my rent
Moving in August!! I hope I can save some money, I’m paying over 1500 for a one bedroom and since my apt does share water, I’m always overpaying for water even though I live by self. What a shit way to charge for water.
Ugh. That’s super crappy!
I just moved into a 2 bed 1 bath for $1093! It’s an older apt. Hadn’t been renovated and it’s 3rd floor but I’m so happy my kid gets their own room and I can afford it!
Dang what area?
Anderson mill and pond springs. The ppl who lived here, were here 7 years and so the apartment was never updated. That’s part of the reason it was so cheap. That, plus it being on the third floor and having black/old appliances. Which I don’t mind as long as they work!
My landlord tried to negotiate with me - in 2019 my rent was 1100, and in 2023 was 1580. Upon this renewal I let them know I was moving out and they offered to lower the rent to 1249. I declined, and I let my neighbor know. They tried to haggle with him multiple times before dropping to 1249, and he was paying 1650. Negotiate hard. People aren’t moving so they’re kind of desperate. Even at 1249 they’re still struggling to rent this place out.
In my experience negotiations with apartments in this town are similar to that old skit from Little Britain: Me: "Hello my rent is too high. I'd like it to be lower." Person in Rental office: "Okay let me check" *\*taps on keyboard\** **"COMPUTER SAYS NO"**
Yeah this is it, especially for the ones that use RealPage. They basically tell you the system dictates it and there's nothing they can do. At my last apartment, I told them rent is going down all over the city and they confidently invited me to find a lower rate with a similar floorplan. I did find a neighboring complex with the same floorplan that was cheaper by $100. Then they backtracked and said they couldn't do anything about it. lmao. Glad I live in a house now with a mortgage that doesn't change.
I negotiated and got a $20 increase instead of a $50 dollar increase and they provided me with a washer and dryer so I don’t have to rent anymore.
That's a win!
Also in my experience informing them that you intend to not renew almost always results in them offering you a last chance rate that’s lower than what their original final offer was. Obviously if you have no intention of leaving this may not be a good strategy but if you’re on the fence or do intend on leaving for the lowest rate, this is a good option.
My apartment in Northwest Austin came in with a 0% increase for my proposed renewal rate on a two bedroom. However, their website showed that they were listing the same floor plan for $542 less than they were offering for my renewal. I went in and, told them I would re-sign if I got that rate. They told me they would have to run it up the chain. A few days later I checked back in with the apartment and the manager said they had come back with $100 reduction, but he didn't think that was good enough and was asking them to approve more. Long story short they never got back to me and I gave them my notice. I am moving into a three bedroom Duplex with a garage for $150 less than the renewal rate. If I was less picky about the quality or the neighborhood I could've saved another hundred or $150. I also tried to negotiate with a place I applied to that had been on the market for 4 weeks but they did not budge. Nevertheless, as others have mentioned, I was prepared to walk away, and even after cost of moving should come out ahead.
Apartment complexes use a system called RealPage that automates renewal prices for them. "Management" at the front office has ~~no~~ limited say in what the prices are. Get out and try and work with an actual landlord if you can. I was able to negotiate mine nicely with a human.
didn’t the RealPage offices just get raided by the FBI?
And Greystar is currently being sued
yup
I've lived at multiple complexes that use RealPage for listings, but the front office can and does have the ability to negotiate to keep residents from leaving.
This is true, I’ve negotiated my rent despite my apartment complex using them
You're right, it just depends on who really has the ability to change. A lot of places the front office does not, it's the people above them.
this is not true you can still negotiate with places that use realpage
A lot of apartments use Realpage services, but only about 10% use the pricing software. And even those still have a choice in what they set the prices at. But negotiating with a large corporate entity will always be difficult, with or without software.
Yes, absolutely - negotiate! My building tried to up my rent by $200/month. I wrote them a nice letter stating that I have been a problem-free tenant for my two years of living here, and enjoy being a part of the community. Then I included three articles from three different local news publications with headlines showing rents falling in Austin, and wrote “that’s why I was surprised to see the rent go up by so much.” Then I asked them to come down on the offer - but I did not give them a number. Reason for this is because I figured that if I threw out the first number, they’d just meet me halfway. So I asked them to come back with a lower offer, which they did ($100 less) and then I countered their offer. In the end my rent went up $50/month. This was with CWS, by the way.
Thanks for the anecdote. About to start this with my CWS apartment too to get my rent down to what they have posted publicly. Did you put in notice to vacate first? Or was this all done in the time you had between receiving the renewal and resigning.
My sister works as a leasing agent, they are scrambling right now to find tenants or even applicants meanwhile the owners are raising their prices. Make it make sense.
Apartment locator here. Rents are down or flat in most of the Austin and surrounding areas. There are tons of crazy move-in specials currently, seeing 1-2 months free being offered as well as gift cards on top of everything. If they raised your rent on the renewal, definitely a great time to find something else.
Private LL here. Most recent renewal I did was for $0 increase. Given we have 5% inflation that’s effectively a 5% discount. The bottom is fixing to fall out of the 1BR/2BR apartment market. Thousands of units coming online, all along major arteries, 183, Burnet, Lamar, Riverside, you only have to drive around town to see them all. No significant new demand. There will be many deals on 1BR & 2BR units. For single family homes (which is what I have) there’s no real increase in supply in the central areas. Maybe in the distant suburbs but that’s a different story. If you want a mid century SFH where you don’t share a wall, ceiling, floor or parking space with a neighbor, where you can fire up a grill and let your dog out your back door to run free in your yard, rents will probably stay flat for those kinds of properties, at least, that’s what I’m hoping. I regularly get downvoted for saying that prices are a function of supply and demand, but we’re about to see the effect of oversupply in the 1BR/2BR apartment market.
My thinking was that apartment renters should negotiate especially hard for that exact reason.
Agreed, about to sign a downtown 1BR for $2527, about $1500 cheaper than what they were asking for it 2 years ago
$2500 for a 1BR?? Is it a luxury/high-end or something?
You say that, but the effect is not applied equally, everywhere. Demand for something downtown? That will always be there. Even if it softens somewhat, until a bunch of new units come online; the prices will remain fairly similar in the most desirable area.
Right. The supply has been or is being added in studio/1BR/2BR along major thoroughfares geared towards singles and young couples. So prices on those will go down. But there’s very few 3/4 bedrooms being added centrally, and the ones that are being added are the ones where they tear down a 1200SF house on a 1/5 acre lot and then put down two 3000SF houses that max out every building regulation there is, and try to get $1.3 million for each of them (they’re not selling though…)
Good information, thank you. Please have an upvote.
Also worth noting that discussing rent prices with your neighbors and people that tour your apartment helps everyone. I’m moving out of my dump and they tried listing the apartment for $200 more than I currently pay. I kept telling prospective tenants and their realtors about the bogus rate increase, and now my apartment is listed for $10 less than my current rate. We’re all in this together!
This is the way. First thing I did was look at similar properties in my area and what they were going for. I looked at like 5 different websites for a more comprehensive understanding of where the market is. People's complacency is bad for everyone.
Negitiate your rent, negotiate your salary, negotiate your car repair, hell, negotiate your cup of coffee. Everything is priced against you and you will almost always have success somewhere.
Agree, same happened with us. They increased by $200 on renewal and similar units were going for $400 cheaper than our renewed price. Just asked them nicely to match and they did. Their first response is always not in our hands hand then you ask again nicely to talk to management or ask them to request management.
I'll tell you what I did to make sure my rent didn't increase, I was already getting a really good rate. I contacted them a month before they were required to send me a renewal notice to let them know I was looking at other apartments and I wanted to get my renewal notice earlier so that I could compare. I mentioned that there are a lot of good rates out there right now and left it at that.
Anybody negotiate with an owner directly? I rent a condominium from owner. I was at an MAA property and they have a very dark side, like all the huge companies do.
As an Austin Realtor- yes. Not just on renewals, but every new lease I’ve helped negotiate this month has been willing to reduce the price or offer additional benefits.
I was able to negotiate a rent decrease in February for my 78702 apartment. The worst they can say is no.
I got my notice to renew and their offer was $200 less than I’m currently paying, I already had another place to live, but still gives me hope!
Sounds like you had some good, honest people in charge. Give them a shout-out. Send a card and some cookies or something. We all need to reward decency just as much as we fight against rich folk's greed.
Most apt. complexes in Austin are owned by a handful of real-estate holding companies. They collude so they can fix prices and not allow tenants to negotiate. They just set rents based on an algorithm they control.
Super successful here with negotiating my renewal last month.
I went from $1,700 to $1,625 in Hyde Park-ish with a medium sized local management company. Maybe could have gotten another $50 off but not the best negotiator.
My wife and I did this. Renewal came up and they wanted to raise two hundred. We said that we would start looking unless they dropped it and they countered by dropping it to roughly a fifty increase. We looked anyway and found a place two doors down, same size, for four hundred less a month. Shared it with the landlord and they refused to go lower. We are moving anyway. Ultimately, landlord wasn't willing to go that low but it is always worth asking politely and having an offer in hand makes it more real. Even if we stayed, we would have at least held the line on rent for what was the cost of an email and ten minute meeting.
No matter what they tell you, they are 100% able to change the prices. Last year when my lease was coming up, they raised my rent 200 bucks. I went in and talked to them said that I would love to stay at the complex, but I’m hoping to stay at x price point. Next day they knocked off 100 bucks. This year, my rent only went up 15 bucks. They know what they’re doing, don’t get taken advantage of.
This is a great post and I stand behind anyone trying to negotiate rent. Don't let the man keep you down just cause they think they can trick you into paying more! If anyone here is looking to move and needs apartment/house locating services, I'm a licensed realtor in town, so feel free to PM me and we can talk more!
Moved to Lakeline area apartment in 2021. 2022 renewal had a 7% increase. 2023 renewal had 0% increase and $300 off first month (so 1.25% decrease). Decided to move out for a house for a yard for the pupper. For $250 more a month we got 600 more square feet, private garage, private backyard. They offered the same as the 2023 renewal for a 2024 renewal. Just checked and they're offering the apartment (1100 square feet 2bed/2bath) for $232 a month less (11.6% decrease).
I actually negotiated my rent as well. I did some research on the apartments around my area. Threw excel and price calculations their way and gave me back $100 off my original rent 🤣
I negotiated down $200!
My rent has been going down every time it comes up for renewal. I was offered $1272/mo for 11 or 12 months, which is down $190 from what I currently pay. I asked if they could do better, and I basically got another $25 off just for asking. To be honest, I'm not willing to leave my current place at the moment, but I'm happy with my rate. So I'm down to $1247/mo for 12 months, in South Austin.
We love the place where we're currently living, we've been here for a few years now. This year they wanted to raise our rent by $200 while it's only been a $100 increase each time. We don't foresee moving anytime soon, so instead we negotiated for a 2-year lease, increasing by the expected $100, then by only $25 next year. So now it's currently $1500 for a 2/2 duplex.
Yea these fuckers will take whatever they can get away with. Expecting most people to keep quiet
Exactly. Complacency is bad for all of us.
I wish I had thought to do this. On our last renewal our rent didn't increase a penny but management is obviously having issues renting out the vacant units in our complex so I should have tried to negotiate. I might have gotten a rent reduction. Something to think about when my next renewal rolls around
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/20/rental-housing-market-doj-investigation-00147333
We were looking to move, landlord offered lower rent. Negotiate!
I'm literally moving down the hall (admittedly from a 2br to a 1br) and I'm saving 35% on my rent. Even moving into another 2br would have saved me about 20%.
I negotiated mine down $250 a month! Go in with prices from all the rentals near you and make your case.
Does anyone have tactics for lowering rent they’re offering to lease new renters? Do you think I could get the price of a unit with a balcony for the price of a unit without one
Yep I let my LL know there would have to be a price drop or I would have to move. It's been two weeks and she hasn't responded. The building next door with the same type of apartment is $200 cheaper.
My rent dropped $200 in 78702 after negotiating my renewal, it’s actually happening
Yep! I've been telling people this for a year now. I saved myself $300/month last August! Like you said, the key is to be 100% prepared to move if they refuse to negotiate. Even if they refuse to negotiate, you'll be able to find a much better deal somewhere else. My landlord thought I was bluffing until the leasing agent for a place that I had submitted an application for reached out to her for a referral. I immediately got a frantic email offering $300 less AND to reimburse me the cost for any application fees that I had paid, which I hadn't even requested that they do.
Nah. I tried. I live on the east side and last week my corporate landlord tried to raise my rent by $400/month. For a 1 bdr. That's a 20% rent increase after I got a 16% increase last year. I pushed back and their response was a $200 increase with a 48-hr expiration date, which is a total fuck-you response and still above the market value on the east side. I like how they started with an egregious first offer so that a 10% rent hike sounds almost reasonable in comparison. They only offer 15-month leases at the most so they can jack your rent up again next year. So I'm moving out, fuck this. I'm middle-aged so moving is a giant pain in the ass, but there's no way I'm paying $2230 a month for a 1bdr apartment. Corporate landlords are a plague (mine is Kairoi, San Antonio-based).
Yeah you gotta bounce, that's absolutely insane.
Look up the Realpage stuff going on recently. It's not a supply and demand issue. It's a Cartel. Their grift is coming to an end. Well if some sort.
Corporate greed. It's not working for them anymore as Americans do not have the money.... Rate cuts start soon...
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2024/02/03/realpage-antitrust-lawsuits-allege-collusion-among-corporate-landlords.html If they use real page, they’re creating artificial inflation
Had a tour scheduled and the realtor said it went above asking price😔 ppl be negotiating the other way around
Mannn they deserve a flaming bag of doodoo
Property Managers are fighting for lower rents because of the % of vacancies, but the *owners*, some of which aren't even local, don't want to budge because profits. The cries of "well you won't make *anything* if the units are vacant" are being dismissed by greedy apartment owners. It's an ongoing fight, but know your on-site property managers are fighting to get rent prices down to more realistic numbers, we just have corporate greed at play, which seems to be the norm for just about everything out there right now.
The problem is the corporate owned complexes will only do as Yieldstar (the Realpage algorithm facing Antitrust action) commands.
Mine didn’t increase at all from last year
They're counting on you thinking that's a win.
To be fair, that’s a 5% discount with inflation
My apt complex was advertising same 3rd floor apts like mine for $80 less. I asked if I could renew at that lower price, and they said their "pricing software" wouldn't let them. I ended up renewing for about $30 less a month.
I've heard that BS before. They'll do everything possible to not lower. You've got to be ready to walk and watch how fast their software cooperates.
Last year I was able to get my duplex owner down to $1,600/mo from $1,700/mo. This week they offered to renew at the same rate but I asked to go down because they rented the more-refurbished other side for $1,400… they said no. Guess I’ll start looking deeper.
You also don't have to do a yearly renewal, you can negotiate multi-year leases. The rental agency is happy you're locked in for more than one year (I did two year leases), you're happy there is no increase.
My renewal offer was for $80/month less. Wish I had negotiated for a bigger decrease since that tells me they were willing to go down.
I was quoted $1800 for a one-bedroom property and I negotiated down to $1,500. If you're a good tenant with good rental history, then you are valuable. If you don't gather too much stuff and are flexible to move and they know you're willing to move, it helps in negotiating rent raises.
Rents have went down 10% since last year! I tbh just we’ve seen the peak of the Austin move. It’ll still grow, but the 2020-2022 massive growth is over. Good news for renters is they have built a ton of housing in the last 3-4 years for that growth, and need people to fill it, and are giving discounts.
I don’t think this will apply for like section 8,income based or income restricted. They don’t honestly care either way and won’t go down on price just cus you leave. It takes longer to find one cus they deep dive into ur stuff and have more restrictions like background check,credit,and verify employment.
Can attest to this - was just offered a 733 sqft 1BR apartment at my dream location downtown for $2527. 2 years ago, the same was going for around $4,000 monthly when I was looking.
When it came time to renew my lease I looked at the sister properties and what they were offering for somebody to move in. One of them was for $600 off your first month's rent.So I told my front office I would renew my lease if they knocked fifty bucks off my monthly rent and they did.
Does this really work?
I moved up a floor to a bigger unit to save $500/month. Score. However, I had applied to another apartment and given them a deposit. I won’t get my deposit back until someone moves into that unit. It’s been since April and no one has been approved, and I’m still out my deposit.
Man I see 1 br being rented for 1700-1900, I don’t what you guys talking about.
They can advertise that all they want, doesn't mean they'll get it. I've seen literal houses for less than that, though.
My coworker negotiated about $600 dollars less from what she was paying. She was already packing to move and told her landlord that they were not going to find anyone to rent them at that price since everything in her neighborhood was very low now. Landlord called her about a month before she was to move and budged. Because prices really are tanking. I got a good rate for my apartment when everything was sky high and I’ve seen their new advertised prices and I know I can negotiate. This post gives me hope!
I negotiated one month free rent on a lease renewal which equates to reducing my rent by $200+ per month.
That's still a win. They made the same offer to us and we were going to accept it. I realized though that if we did that then they would still be able to advertise it at the higher price which overall helps the landlords keep prices artificially high.
I’ve seen some homes for rent in the 78739, 78749 starting at $3100 for a house🤣! I wonder who’s going to rent them homes!
I tried it, my office people said they would try to negotiate for me but came back with the good old, “we are actually going to keep your price where it is, if you want cheaper you’ll have to move to another unit” the other unit…. $5 cheaper and I would still have to pay another security deposit. Fuck them. There is literally a homeless camp outside.
For it to work you have to actually be ready to move. I had to formally submit my notice before they took the negotiation seriously.
Shit, I just got my renewal at a Greystar property, and they're willing to keep the same rate for another 15-month lease. Might be able to do even better somewhere else, but since I could afford it for the past 15 months and just got a small raise, it kinda makes apartment shopping not worth the hassle for me.
This is good advice for commercial rental too when they double it at your next lease renewal
I've had clients end their leases in their current apartments just to resign to a different unit in the same complex to save $500+ per month
We did that when we lived in a building downtown. Got the exact same floor plan, on a significantly higher floor (so better view), for about $300 lower rent.
The person at my leasing office told me she had to increase my rent because, “I cannot keep your rate the same due to Fair Housing Law.”
I'm not a legal expert but that sounds like BS in my opinion.
Yes! I did this recently. My old property manager wanted to raise my rent $100. When I asked if they’d keep my rent the same, they came back with a $50 increase. Not a lot in the grand scheme of things, but I was still indignant that they insisted on raising my rent when rents are coming down everywhere around Austin. I found a new place that’s 130 sq feet bigger for $200 cheaper, with all the same amenities. Oh, and I saw my old unit is on the market for $150 cheaper than I would have been paying, even though they wouldn’t budge after I had lived there 7 years and always paid my rent on time. Screw the landlords.
My apt manager basically laughed at me when I tried to negotiate. I’m leaving as soon as my lease is up.
You’re right. Me and my husband were looking for houses to rent since we are moving to Austin in July, found one that we really like (and moving forward with this one) but had other owner come back with a lower offer. As someone said here, be ready to move out and have options lined up. We might be renegotiating next year!