Any tips on renting cheap?

[ScrimpAndSave]

Do you think you can usually talk down the rent of a small apartment that is owned by a huge leasing company?

[citypowerhouse]

Some tips on cheaper rent

You can usually get cheaper rent in the months November thru February (there are less tenants looking at that time as most individuals move in the spring and summertime so landlords are more willing to negotiate to fill the unit).

Also, you can negotiate a better rate on a unit that does not have a desirable view (For example, looking at neighboring building's brick wall or facing the alley).

[MonkeyMama]

If you want to rent cheap, find roommates.

This is how we survive in HCOLAs. So I don't know if the deals are as good where you live. But around here it's like renting a room in a nice big house for $400 vs. renting a studio on the bad side of town for $1k.

I'd take the roommates any day (only way I personally rented).

I rented from college to when we bought our first home. My situation was a lot like yours so I would highly recommend for a short-term solution. (I don't know if the 6 years I rented was "short-term" but it worked).

The best deal is homes that are already rented, they are looking for roommates, and the rent is low. A lot of the time if one good tenant stays around for a long while, the landlord won't raise the rent much - nothing near inflation.

I can't recommend this route enough. You hear the roommate stories, but I worked and went to school a million hours a week and when I graduated I worked 80-hour weeks. I never saw my roommates, thus no problems.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

No, I do not think you can usually talk down the rent of a small apartment that is owned by a huge leasing company.

Sometimes those huge companies are awful to work with. Once I was helping someone who was moving from out of town to find an apartment. I found a complex near what would be her school. There was a vacancy notice, so I called the company, which owned and/or managed apartments all over town. I know they had a bad reputation, but I was still surprised when I called about the apartment and also mentioned that there was a broken window with big jagged shards of glass just sitting there. I thought they'd want to know there had been some vandalism, or an accident. The reply was "So? Don't take it if you don't like it." Hoh-kay....Evidently, if they could get by with it they were just going to ignore it. I used to drive by there weekly and I never did see the window get fixed. I presume that if it was ever rented, it was to someone who just needed to stick a couple of underfed big-jawed dogs in there to protect a stash they were warehousing.

[LuxLiving]

No I don't think so either.

CashHappySon is beginning to look for an apartment elsewhere besides renting out my basement. For him the advice I've been giving is to check the local newspaper and just driving the streets looking for rental signs to the backhouses, garage apartments, rooms to let, that are plentiful in our somewhat older town. Almost every house has a backhouse that's usually equal to a 1 bedroom or an efficiency. They are much cheaper than local apts. in complexes. We looked at one efficiency for him yesterday that was $375 all bills paid with cable included. Very small, but newly remodeled. It was in the back of a ladies' garage. Don't know if he'll get it, but the local price for an efficiency is running $450 w/no bills paid.

[WiseOwl]

I just read on a real estate bubble site I've been reading for the past two years that rentals are now starting to come dowm, especially in states like California.

And, yes, people are now starting to negotiate with their landlords. I even read that some renters were encouraged to approach the owners (of the building they were in) by their real estate agent, since he did not have the authority to do so. The woman had lost her job and renegotiated their rent directly with the from $1800 down to $1400. That's close to $5,000 savings over a years time!

Maybe with some of these larger buildings, that could be the way to approach it. Find out the owners name and write him or her a letter.

[autowoman]

Roommates are a great way to split costs but not possible for everyone. Skipping out on paying rent for long can get you evicted of course, trust me I know. Bad neighborhoods offer the cheapest rent but be careful.

[jIM_Ohio]

Two issues-
define cheap. I paid $700/month here in cincy. I bet some of the posters living in CA paid double that for half the space. Cheap according to your budget or cheap according to your market?

Negotiable- yes. You might be better off negotiating the rent increases (IMO) than the initial rent. If you find a place which controls the rental price increases (my MIL did that), 5 to 10 years later the apartment is a steal. I believe some places call this "rent controlled"?

In one apartment I lived in the raised rent $10/mo every year. At the same time they offered something with the renewal- new carpet, something or something else (had 3 choices forgot the other two). Something to think about.

It would be easier negotiating with a single landlord than a big company (IMO). Fewer policies and procedures in place, and its possible the salesperson does not have the authority to make the changes.

[couponkingpeter]

Get a couple of roommates to help out with the rent.

[offbeatmove]

Roommates will make you save money from renting and also try to seek those roommates that you know will not be a baggage to you (if you know what I mean).

[hamchan]

I've had good luck calling the ads on craigslist that don't have photos, and after the first week of the month a lot of landlords drop the rent a little.

[offbeatmove]

I've had good luck calling the ads on craigslist that don't have photos, and after the first week of the month a lot of landlords drop the rent a little.

Yeah craigslist is one of the many ad sites that you can browse. Hopefully you're happy to move into your new rented home.