“How to Reduce Your Rent” via the WSJ

Clicking around today on Curbed, I came across a link to an awesome letter that a Wall Street Journal blogger wrote to her landlord when they received a lease renewal with an increase this past winter.  How did the blogger get a $300 rent reduction? By writing a rational, well-researched letter. She spoke to recent arrivals in her building to find out what they were paying, checked out Craigslist, cited articles in the newspaper and in the end was happy with her savings.

WNYC Radio Report on Rentals

Listen HERE to Curbed.com’s editor Lockhart Steele discussing the rental market, including the issue of negotiating with your landlord or moving out into a more affordable unit. There’s a lot of great stuff as readers share their experiences in the comments section.

Further Tips on Negotiating With Your Landlord

Right now it is a very real option to negotiate with landlords to get a lower rent and as lease renewal season is upon us, I’m sure any tips are welcome. Successful negotiation with a minimum of anxiety and bad feeling is something of an art form, and THIS factsheet from tenant.net offers some great tips and tricks that can help you to arm yourself better for what could prove to be a difficult or stressful discussion.

As a broker, negotiation is a big part of my job and I would also like to offer some negotiation advice for those of you who are moving and looking at new apartments as well as those of you looking to change the terms of your current lease.

1) If you see an apartment that you like and want to negotiate on the price, be prepared to submit your offer along with an application that includes a credit check and supporting documentation. This is not a trick to get you to apply for an apartment–the broker and landlord are not trying to force you to take it. The fact is that people make crazy offers all the time and most of them never follow through. If you are serious then prove it and submit an application! The stronger a candidate you are, the more favorably a potential landlord will view your offer.

Renters are Smiling? No Need to Ask Why

Once again, this weekend’s NY Times real estate section’s lead story covered the declining rental market but this time with a positive spin–the tenant angle. The Times is reporting on the fact that tenants are getting more for less, while uninhabitable craphole apartments are sitting empty (as they should). Young couples are no longer forced to live in cramped and tiny studios, recent college grads no longer must travel the farthest reaches of the L train to find an affordable Brooklyn share. Things are looking up.

I was particularly interested to read the Times coverage of the impact that owner incentives may or may not be having on the current market, with landlord’s paying the broker’s fee on an estimated 30% of all apartments and many more offering some kind of free rent incentive. You can read the full article HERE.

Brownstoner coverage of this article can be found HERE.

Links to further NY Times coverage of the rental market price decline can be found HERE.

Citi Habitats Releases February Market Report

Prices for studios, one bedrooms, two bedrooms are lower than they were in December but three bedrooms held somewhat steadier–no surprise as shareable three-bedroom apartments represented better value from the outset.

Citi Habitats February Market Report: Vacancy Rates by Neighborhood

This past month, the East Village had the highest vacancy rate in the city and vacancy is down in Soho/Tribeca. Are you all finally moving into your soho dream loft?

Manhattan Vacancy Rates Still Going Up

For the 9th straight month in a row, the overall vacancy rate in Manhattan continues to rise, although we’re not yet touching 3%.

How Much Did a Doorman Cost You in February 2009?

Prices continue to decline across the board and it looks like a doorman is one of those amenities that people are more willing to forgo in tough times as the price of apartments in doorman buildings declines faster and more dramatically than comparable non-doorman buildings.

Hall of Mirrors

One of my favorite things about being a broker is getting to see the crazy and awesome interiors that can be found all over this city. I just had to take a picture of myself in this awesome entry hall with mirrors on both sides. I look like I am in a kaleidoscopic infinity mirror. And yes, there are apartments available in this Upper West Side classic with doorman and elevator. One bedrooms for $2300 all the way up to a $6800 classic 6, get in touch if you want to see it for yourself.

Renegotiating the Rent??

As rent prices go down, landlords and tenants alike are wondering what their apartments are “really worth.” I’m no economist and especially in these difficult times I’m not able to make predictions. I do know that prices are going down overall and vacancy has been on the rise for the past few months. The trend is downward but activity has been picking up noticably in the past month. I’ve been getting more phone calls, there are more apartments on the market and I’ve seen units renting that were vacant for months. Many landlords have made the necessary adjustments and lowered their prices, offered free rent, paid the broker’s fees, upgraded their units (not usually all at once though) and these units are being snapped up by tenants looking for more, bigger, better, cheaper.

With activity on the rise, the question on everyone’s mind is “can I renegotiate my current rent?” This is a difficult question, one that demonstrates the forces of the market at work, the fact that an apartment is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Are tenants prepared to walk away from apartments they feel are over-priced? Is now the moment to find that dream apartment that has seemed so elusive for the past few years? Only you can answer that question, but whether you’re renegotiating with your landlord or are looking for a change, it’s important for tenants to be realistic about how much of a discount you can expect to receive and for landlords to be cognizant of the fact that people are looking for bargains and are no longer forced to take sub-standard units because vacancy is so low.

This issue unfolds from both perspectives over on the Brownstoner forum:

“Renegotiating Rent in Park Slope”

“Lease Renewal in Cobble Hill”

“Rent 2009″

“Renegotiating with Landlord”

My Craigslist Roundup

Check out my Craigslist ads for today!

No Fee: Bright Gramercy one bedroom for $2000

No Fee: Huge East Village pre-war 2 bed with eat in kitchen, garden, laundry, elevator for $3450

No Fee: West Village pre-war one bed with all new appliances and renovation in a classic elevaor building with laundry, you would think this one was a condo or co-op it’s so well-maintained. This picture is of an already-rented apartment in the same building as the current one is being gutted. A steal at $2800

No Fee: East Village junior four with 2 full baths in doorman, elevator building with laundry, tons of character including beamed ceilings and French doors for $3550

Low Fee: East Village real two bedroom with living room, very bright, steps to F Train at Second Ave for $2250

Low Fee: East Village three room large, shareable one bedroom with closets, eat in kitchen, very cute and well-maintained in a prime location for $1950

“Retirees See the Value in Rentals” via the NY Times

I love this article that appeared in last weekend’s NY Times Real Estate section. Although it covers New Jersey, the discussion of retirees chosing to rent rather than own hits many of the points I try to highlight on this blog–namely, the burdens that can sometimes accompany the responsibilities of homeownership. Home-ownership is less attractive to older adults seeking lower taxes  (which are paid by their landlords); freedom from home maintenance chores such as gardening and snow-shovelling, not to mention that all the bad publicity about mortgaes and the housing crisis has been making being a renter more appealing.

“New York Landlords Fight as Rent Refunds Loom” via the NY Times

According to this article in the NY Times, some of the city’s largest landlords may be forced by a court order to return millions of dollars in rent paid by tenants living in de-regulated apartments. It seems that it may not have been permitted for landlords of tax abated properties to deregulate units based on factors such as capital improvements. Obviously, this is a complicated issue and the article outlines the reasons that some buildings may be in trouble.

Gearing Up for Spring!

Sorry for the recent lack of undates! The rental market is busiest from April-September and I’ve been gearing up by looking at more apartments than ever, running around downtown like crazy and I’ve also adopted an abandoned kitten I found in the basement. So, it’s been busy!