[00:00] but ugh, it is out of your price range. So how do you decide if rent is negotiable
[00:12] how do you do it? on how to negotiate your rent and when to decide (upbeat music)
[00:33] Rent is always negotiable. I mean, you should always ask, "Nope, it's take it or leave it."
[00:48] with the idea of, "Yes, let's negotiate." First, before you start looking,
[01:00] at UCLA in September. and start looking at comparable apartments, The more information you have before you begin that search,
[01:17] to avoid getting take advantage of, Second, once you've found the apartment you really like, about other rents in that complex.
[01:33] try to get comparable rents in that neighborhood. for my last year of law school. and I found an apartment in an 11 unit building.
[01:48] And at the time, the landlady was asking for $1,800 a month. of every other unit in that building Now, as you can imagine,
[02:01] but other people actually told me the rent. and certainly in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
[02:13] and you could get floor plans of each unit in a building. to determine the property tax. I got a floor plan of the other 10 units in this building,
[02:29] And then I went back to the landlady and I asked her, And so what I was really doing there I was trying to make sure that I wasn't just paying
[02:47] She looked at me and was like, "How about 1,700?" but I didn't want a haggle with her. And so I said, "Well, I'd be willing to pay 1,800 or 1,700."
[03:04] is getting into a haggle with you. in this kind of confused way and then I said, for this particular unit would be 1369.84,
[03:21] And then I used the comparables that I had researched to show her why 1369.84 was a fair and appropriate number.
[03:33] she looks at me and she says, "Okay, 1369.84 it is." beginning his last year in law school, I was like, "What?"
[03:47] But in retrospect, this actually makes a lot of sense when you have a very precise number with a reason to it,
[04:00] And so if there are ways that I can get comparables to the actual rent of the unit that I want to live in,
[04:14] Third, when I'm thinking about a negotiation over rent, of possible things we're negotiating So, what do I mean by that?
[04:30] that I will always pay the rent on time. Maybe I'm willing to live here for more than one year, Or maybe I can make some guarantees
[04:44] So I will give you another story, flash forward almost 15 years later for my sabbatical.
[04:56] And I found this really, really beautiful unit that ordinarily would completely outside of my price range. it had really nice wine in there.
[05:08] on the owner of this building, and this is why he was renting the New York apartment. who had made a lot of damage to the unit.
[05:23] was having somebody in there with a great deal of care. "Hey, I am an incredibly boring
[05:40] Most of the time I'm here, at NYU Law School doing some writing. I can guarantee to you
[05:53] that I'm gonna gonna take very good care of the rent, any of your very clearly expensive wine." I got an incredible price for the apartment and bonus.
[06:09] Last really important point here before beginning the negotiation over rent. Your BATNA is your best alternative
[06:25] if you don't reach an agreement. if I don't reach an agreement on the rent, Am I gonna stay in Chicago instead of moving to LA?
[06:40] Or do I have another unit but actually better than staying in Chicago Before I begin the negotiation with a landlord,
[06:54] In other words, I want an alternative with the other side. in a very hot real estate market,
[07:10] may not make much of a difference 10 seconds later to somebody else who's online, But in most situations,
[07:24] the better will be your hand across the negotiation table. So to review, first, if you're wondering can you negotiate your rent, the answer is yes.
[07:38] If you try the worst possible thing here are the four tips. before you start looking.
[07:51] get as much information as you can and use that in your negotiation. as a way to create value and incentivize the landlord
[08:07] And fourth, improve your BATNA, If you wanna keep on learning how to improve a negotiation, How do I negotiate when the other side has more power?
[08:24] click, click, click, click.