It seems like a long shot, but negotiating rent is more common than you think, and according to insiders, it’s always worth a try. You might be able to haggle a better price by offering to do your own maintenance.
Photo by sean hobson.
There are a handful of ways you can go about haggling your rent, but like any negotiation, you want to make the offer sweet for the other person, too. For a landlord, that might mean saving them money on maintenance. GOBankingRates explains:
If you don’t mind putting in a little bit of elbow grease on a rental or spending money on maintenance, offer these services to an owner when negotiating rent.
“Simple things, like offering to maintain the property — leaf and snow removal, garbage and recycling — even minor maintenance and repairs are very attractive to absentee and/or ageing landlords.”
If your landlord goes for it, you’ll want to get something in writing that lays out what you are and aren’t responsible for maintaining. For more tips on negotiating better rent, head to the full post at the link below.
Proven Ways to Negotiate Cheaper Rent [GOBankingRates]
Comments
3 responses to “Haggle Down Your Rent By Offering To Do Your Own Maintenance”
Don’t think I’ve ever rented a place where doing your own yard maintained isn’t a condition of renting.
Gardening is fine. Electrical – not so much,.
I never stayed in a house that does not include the cleaning and maintenance of the yard. If you live there and the yard is in your use then you are responsible for its cleaning and maintenance… However, I don’t think so offering maintenance of the house will haggle your rent in any way.
There’s only really 3 ways to haggle down rent:
– If there is an oversupply of properties (outside your control)
– If you offer to sign a longer lease
– If you offer to pay to improve the property (put in aircon etc)