Landlords: What are your experiences of rental applicants asking for lower than your listed rental price?

[Anonymous]

I’ve had good tenants and PITA tenants. They all asked for a discount. It’s not an indicator.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That tells me they will be a problem tenant

Absolutely not. This was me. I'm a landlord's dream tenant. My last landlord told me that they didn't want me to move out. They called me 5 minutes after their walk-through to thank me, and mailed out my full deposit the next day with a nice note. They wrote to call them if I ever needed a place again.
My new landlord and their maintenance company were and still are the problem, because of incompetence and living abroad. The AC unit didn't get fixed all summer and now that it should be the heat, I'm using a heater just to not bother them yet again.
This was already a problem when I moved in. I got sick on very first night trying to sleep in the bedroom. I 'fixed' the problem for now for $0. The valves were turned off, so it wouldn't continue to leak water. Mold makes me sick. The landlord fired their property management, who showed me dirty unit with food still in the fridge.
We have maintenance in the building, but AC unit leaking water needs a different company to fix it. It was 'fixed' with kitchen pipes instead of original parts. They probably bought the place and didn't check.
I can always move out if it gets too much. I want to live in this building, which is the only limitation.
I asked for lower rent because:
1.) I had options, based on credit, payment history, and cash available at all times.
2.) The place was overpriced and empty for months.
3.) I was the one going to save my landlord money as I know all about the building and problems that may arise.
Every person in different. See what their story is. If I'm a good tenant, I will let you know. I told in the application that I have no problem paying for small fixes, but I want to be left alone. Last landlord e-mailed me 50 times even though they had property manager and maintenance in the building. I took it all like a champ and learning experience as it came to maintenance.
She forwarded me every e-mail from the building that I already got. I was there to get the windows changed. I let in every person wanting to see the place. I sent her pictures about of the place, so she doesn't have to come and can get the estimates to get the place ready for new tenants. Many other things I'd rather have not worried about.
After I moved out, they still emailed me as I knew their property better than the did. Asking me where the storage unit was.
I answer people and I answer fast. I wasn't going to change who I am, but it did get to be a little too much.

TLDR, you are really verbose and defensive. No need. Everyone at some point asks for discounts somewhere. When people say it's a red flag it is always a generalization because individual circumstances always differ. And when LL evaluates tenants it's not true that people asking for discounts get automatically dismissed, as you know yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had good tenants and PITA tenants. They all asked for a discount. It’s not an indicator.

I agree that among people asking for discounts there are good and bad customers. But it's not true that every tenant asks for a discount. It's actually minority, most people just shop around for price range they want and dismiss your property if it's beyond their budget. Those asking for a discount usually really want your place specifically but cannot afford it (which usually indicates that it might be lower priced than market..) or are the type of people always looking for bargains trying to shave off at least something to make it worth it for them.

People who truly cannot afford your place are simply not going to inquire, they'll go elsewhere. If you get a lot of inquiries from people who want discounts it can also mean your place is a bit lower priced for the area, so you get a lot of interest from people priced out of the area/type of property who would otherwise not even contact you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That tells me they will be a problem tenant

No it doesn’t.
It’s a business deal, take it, leave it or renegotiate.

rental search these days is largely online where people put filters based on their budget and tend to know which areas/types of property they are priced out of. It's not that common to have people ask for discounts, because people outside of your price range simply don't contact you, too much other fish in the sea. If your property is overpriced it's rare to have a lot of people bother. But if it is underpriced, then you open yourself to the expanded market of potential renters who hope to nudge you to be within their budget that's not enough to afford a rental in your area. This has been my experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How long has it been on the market? I would be inclined to tell them you'll get back to them and look for a full price renter.

One month (there was another offer but the credit score was too low), which is surprising b/c it took me less time to find a good tenant last year. And I've already cut the price. So with this applicant's offer it'd be $200/mo lower than what last tenant paid. I guess it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. But I'm wondering if it's because of the market (with government shutdown and everything)...

https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/renters-have-the-upper-hand-and-they-are-probably-keeping-it-cc2eb760?mod=Searchresults&pos=1&page=1

Renters across much of the U.S. have enjoyed easing prices and months of free rent this year. Now, this tenant-friendly environment looks poised to extend deep into next year, and perhaps beyond.

Apartment rents nationally are advancing at their slowest pace in years, thanks to the glut of new units that has taken longer than expected to absorb. More recently, job concerns among young people are posing a new threat to the rental market.

Apartments are getting leased at record levels. But that is largely because of all the supply and because building owners are offering more tenant incentives. They agreed to concessions such as months of free rent on 37% of rentals in September—a record for that month—according to Zillow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is what I do
Price my rental properties few hundred dollars cheaper than my competitors in the neighborhood.
Because, of this potential tenants don’t ask me for a discount.
One potential tenant asked me for a discount and I told her I priced it better than most of the properties near by but if I don’t find someone in few weeks I will send you a text.
Since I had multiple applications I found full paying tenant.
The point is if they are your best option you have take it specially in November not a good time for rental.

Pricing it slightly cheaper than other competition in the neighborhood is how you get more people asking for a discount because you open yourself to the tenants who cannot afford the area prices and are trying to nudge their way to get into the area for their budget. People don't usually look if it's much higher than their budget at all. If you are slightly higher they may contact you.

If it's slow season, it's definitely a good strategy to get more traffic. It's numbers game. Plus shows potential tenants there is competition, so eventually you can get someone paying asking price

[Anonymous]

Longer leases typically come with a discount. The request sounds normal to me. I’d do a credit check, but if that’s good it wouldn’t bother me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is what I do
Price my rental properties few hundred dollars cheaper than my competitors in the neighborhood.
Because, of this potential tenants don’t ask me for a discount.
One potential tenant asked me for a discount and I told her I priced it better than most of the properties near by but if I don’t find someone in few weeks I will send you a text.
Since I had multiple applications I found full paying tenant.
The point is if they are your best option you have take it specially in November not a good time for rental.

Pricing it slightly cheaper than other competition in the neighborhood is how you get more people asking for a discount because you open yourself to the tenants who cannot afford the area prices and are trying to nudge their way to get into the area for their budget. People don't usually look if it's much higher than their budget at all. If you are slightly higher they may contact you.

If it's slow season, it's definitely a good strategy to get more traffic. It's numbers game. Plus shows potential tenants there is competition, so eventually you can get someone paying asking price

Not really.
If my properties are little cheaper but better looking than my competitors I get a lot more appreciation during the first week.
From the bunch of applicants I chose the strongest possible based on income and credit.
I am always puzzled by properties that are over priced and sitting on the market for few months.
By putting tenants very fast I am also making more money than the people who asked for more monthly rent but couldn’t rent them out for few months.

[Anonymous]

*application

[Anonymous]

You are also competing with the bigger buildings, which often give a free month on a 12 month lease. Right now, a good credit potential tenant has the power to negotiate. They have many options.

[Anonymous]

What is your credit like? What kind of job does she have? What does her social media look like? These will give you a better sense of the tenant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is what I do
Price my rental properties few hundred dollars cheaper than my competitors in the neighborhood.
Because, of this potential tenants don’t ask me for a discount.
One potential tenant asked me for a discount and I told her I priced it better than most of the properties near by but if I don’t find someone in few weeks I will send you a text.
Since I had multiple applications I found full paying tenant.
The point is if they are your best option you have take it specially in November not a good time for rental.

Pricing it slightly cheaper than other competition in the neighborhood is how you get more people asking for a discount because you open yourself to the tenants who cannot afford the area prices and are trying to nudge their way to get into the area for their budget. People don't usually look if it's much higher than their budget at all. If you are slightly higher they may contact you.

If it's slow season, it's definitely a good strategy to get more traffic. It's numbers game. Plus shows potential tenants there is competition, so eventually you can get someone paying asking price

Not really.
If my properties are little cheaper but better looking than my competitors I get a lot more appreciation during the first week.
From the bunch of applicants I chose the strongest possible based on income and credit.
I am always puzzled by properties that are over priced and sitting on the market for few months.
By putting tenants very fast I am also making more money than the people who asked for more monthly rent but couldn’t rent them out for few months.

+1 this is what we do as well. We’ve never had a vacancy longer than a week except one when the tenants moved out on Halloween. November is tough.

[Anonymous]

Limited experience but it did not go well. I leased to a grifter, but at least he moved out eventually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How long has it been on the market? I would be inclined to tell them you'll get back to them and look for a full price renter.

One month (there was another offer but the credit score was too low), which is surprising b/c it took me less time to find a good tenant last year. And I've already cut the price. So with this applicant's offer it'd be $200/mo lower than what last tenant paid. I guess it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. But I'm wondering if it's because of the market (with government shutdown and everything)...

Rent reflects market rates, which can go down just like they can go up. I think the real question is how long are you willing/can afford to hold out for your desired rent? If you can afford to wait in the hopes of getting an extra 200/month, then you don't need to negotiate. If you'd rather have the unit rented, $200 off is what the market is apparently willing to pay for your unit. My last landlord before buying preferred to price his rent below market in order to get a lot of applicants so that he could be choosy. He priced 300 below market when we rented from him. Of course he had purchased the house 30 years ago for 30K so he had a lot of financial flexibility and was still making a ton of profit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How long has it been on the market? I would be inclined to tell them you'll get back to them and look for a full price renter.

One month (there was another offer but the credit score was too low), which is surprising b/c it took me less time to find a good tenant last year. And I've already cut the price. So with this applicant's offer it'd be $200/mo lower than what last tenant paid. I guess it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. But I'm wondering if it's because of the market (with government shutdown and everything)...

I think the potential tenant is probably choosing between your place and another rental that is less expensive. It’s not a red flag for the tenant’s personality, you’re just overpriced for the current market conditions.

It's possible but not always true. Sometimes it's just the person who always wants a bargain and would not ever want to pay the price listed, some people just want to haggle or buy things only on sale even if in reality they aren't getting a deal, it's psychological. Sometimes it is indecisiveness and person wanting a sure sign that your rental is the place for them to have them pull the trigger. People ask for discounts even on things that are below market value.

Also, in general people who ask a lot of questions or for certain concessions will continue being needier than those who just make their decision after shopping around and pull the trigger. Often times people who ask a lot of questions, drag their decision end up not giving you the business.

So, yes, I'd say in general it can be a red flag that you may be dealing with a potentially problematic customer. It's true for any business, not just RE.

I've asked for lower rents multiple times over the years. I don't want anything to do with my landlord after I sign the lease. I pay the rent and you leave me alone.