conversation: User (CrabbyKruton): "So I'm thinking about getting my own place when my lease is up.  I'm thinking I want a studio in a nice part of town.  They are expensive but I have no debt and emergency fund with a great job.  \n\nIt also seems like there is an abundance of them.  The ads I see are running specials (1-1.5 months free).  So it seems to me they are not exactly flying off of the shelf.\n\nSo can I negotiate here?  Does that ever work?  Come in  $150 a month lower than the stated rate?  Obviously with a private landlord that would work but I'm more wondering about  bigger complexes\n\nIf it is relevant, I live in a medium/high CoL city that is not NYC, Seattle, or SF."
  Self: "&gt; So can I negotiate here? Does that ever work? Come in $150 a month lower than the stated rate? Obviously with a private landlord that would work but I'm more wondering about bigger complexes\n\nYou can try. They can say no. Bigger complexes will have monthly reporting (or should) that indicates expenses (mortgage/finance costs), depreciation, operating costs (personnel), and unaccounted expenses (IE, emergency repairs because a tenant fell asleep with a cigar and torched his unit). \n\nA great manager can look at that report and see if renting to you at below-list will improve his operating margin or not. Some complexes prefer to keep vacancies low even if the incremental marginal revenue per unit is minimal. Some won't. Keeping a unit vacant does not earn them any money, but the flip side of that coin is that flaky renters may cause more expenses than revenue generated, so they'd rather have an empty unit than one populated by people who incur expenses through repairs or legal proceedings.\n\nLandlords are more likely to negotiate when:\n\n- Eviction is easier for the landlord to perform\n\n- You can pay up-front for a few months\n\n- You'll sign a multi-year lease with a locked-in rate increase of a low percentage\n\n- You're willing to forgo an amenity like a reserved parking spot\n\nKeep in mind some management companies own a lot of complexes, so do your research before potentially getting blacklisted from future applications."
  