Renters alert: Renting tips from a Landlord!
This week, SPEEDHOME speaks to landlords on some renting tips for renters from avoid getting screwed. Our friendly landlords offers 5 useful tips to help renters to obtain the best deals.
Tip #1 How much you pay in rent depends on how much you negotiate
Our friendly landlord is a shrewd negotiator and he shared a famous quote by renowned negotiator Dr. Chester Karrass who said “In business as in life, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.” Depending on what the situations are, anything you could do to lessen your landlord’s woes could mean a hefty discount in rent for you. Offer to clean up the place, assure him/her of a new tenant when you move out, or even something as simple as offering to collect rent on your landlord’s behalf could help.
Tip #2 Don’t settle on a verbal agreement
Things generally get confusing and unclear when they’re not based in writing. Remember that landlords can over deliver on their verbal promises in an attempt to rent out their property. If you don’t have things in writing, all that you’re going to have is just your word against theirs.
Tip #3 Be honest with your landlord
This is an important point as no one enjoys being lied to. Our landlord relayed plenty of disappointing stories where tenants had promised to pay him rent the following month and in turn never did because they were already in debt. It is always better to work out a repayment plan that is achievable with your landlord rather than to be dishonest with your situation. Remember that trust is a two-way street and lying would discredit you in the eyes of your landlord.
Tip #4 Meet up with existing tenants
Getting the existing tenants in the home is a great way to know what you might be getting yourself into. As our wise landlord shared “knowing is half the battle”. Getting to know the existing tenants helps you find out if you could live with them in the future as well. Here are some items of interest you can ask:
- How does the landlord respond to maintenance requests?
- Are there noise issues?
- Is there anything I should be aware of?
Tip #5 Document your move in photos
Moving in is a brilliant time to take a selfie and enjoy some candid camera shots but do remember a more important thing is to take some pictures of the apartment. Remember to photograph any existing damages or other problems and ask to have them fixed before you sign the lease. By doing so you would be able to protect yourself from any liabilities. It can also help you gauge whether your landlord is attentive to any complaints in the future.
So there you go, some renting tips that hopefully will help you to get the most of of your renting deals with landlord. To find such nice landlord that is willing to share his/her renting thoughts with you, don’t forget to download SPEEDHOME- a trustworthy property rental mobile app you can count on!
