Hey guys,
Was curious about negotiating rent in a HCOL for short-term leases and perhaps what we should be expecting as far as the landlord's perspective on why they might be extremely stubborn about dropping their pricing.
DISCLAIMER: this is SoCal so the numbers are naturally unmustachian (lol) but it is intended for the short-term (1yr to 15-16mos)
Facts: The place we're looking at is in South OC and listed by a private owner (it's a 3bed/2.5bath detached single family home in a small community/association). It was first listed on 11/29/19 at $3500. They cut the price down to $3300 on 12/16/19 and we just viewed the place this past week and are working with our realtor to try to convince them to lower it by $100.
(It rented for $3200 on a 1-year lease before this and same/similar history of events according to Zillow (was listed at $3500 before they dropped the price to $3300 and finally lowered the price a month and a half later to $3200 where it finally rented out a couple weeks later. I realize we can't expect for history to repeat itself, but the other factor too is how long this has been on the market and how badly they would like for it to be rented out).
We've gone back and forth with the owners and at first they were demanding a 2 year lease to get it down to $3200/mo. We're not looking to stay that long. We offered 18mos initially at $3200 but they refused. And they're very adamant on their $3300 price, claiming they've spent a lot on repairs, paint, etc. He's unwilling to meet in person to discuss it verbally and all of this is occurring over text (with our realtor).
I'm inclined to think that, already, there is a red flag with him avoiding meeting in person as well as being completely unwilling to negotiate on price or offer concessions (considering how long it's been out there) in any way, shape or form (e.g. how does this translate to if we did enter a lease agreement with him and later down the road something goes wrong, repairs are needed, etc and if he'll be responsive/helpful to resolve the problems?)
Anyway, I'd get it if he had just listed the place and had dozens of people interested. But if that were the case, I don't think it would still be on the rental market for this long. Several similar places I've seen go to market in the past couple months have gotten rented out within a few weeks at most.
Thoughts? Any suggestions on other things we can try? Or should we just quit wasting our time with them? It's in a decent location but we're not in a huge rush to move. We do want to move within the next 2 months though.