4 ms·

I can only speak to residential, but when I worked in the industry, it was extremely rare for rents to go down because many existing tenants would see the new r

I can only speak to residential, but when I worked in the industry, it was extremely rare for rents to go down because many existing tenants would see the new rate and demand a discount or leave. It was perceived as cheaper to have a few vacant units at $2000 a month instead of renting them for less and lowering the rate for anybody renewing their lease.

awillen 5y ago
This is definitely true in large apartment buildings, where units are very comparable and leases are identical. Not so much in commercial where lease terms may vary widely, and even units in the same building may be meaningfully different in value based on how they're currently configured and who's looking to rent (e.g. if you want to rent a space to start a restaurant, and it was previously set up as a restaurant, you've got a lot of infrastructure there already, so it's more valuable to you as a tenant than it would be to someone who wants to use it as a hardware store).
BeFlatXIII 5y ago
I now have the mental image of a tenant moving one unit over to start “new” and get the discount lease rate. Thanks for brightening my day.
- TeMPOraL 5y ago
  That's how you deal with mobile phone operators :). Threaten them to leave if they won't give you a better offer, and if they don't, then just leave... and come back some time later, to get the much better "new customer" treatment.
  - BeFlatXIII 5y ago
    Works for cable internet, too, if there’s more than one provider in your neighborhood.
- m-ee 5y ago
  A friend of mine did this during the pandemic. Asked for a rent reduction and the landlord refused but offered them an identical unit in the building at the lower price.
  - maddyboo 5y ago
    I’ve had to do this before to avoid my rent going up several hundred dollars at lease renewal time. They offered me the unit right next door for $500 less than what my then-current unit would cost. The new one was identical in all ways except it was mirrored.

awillen 5y ago

This is definitely true in large apartment buildings, where units are very comparable and leases are identical. Not so much in commercial where lease terms may vary widely, and even units in the same building may be meaningfully different in value based on how they're currently configured and who's looking to rent (e.g. if you want to rent a space to start a restaurant, and it was previously set up as a restaurant, you've got a lot of infrastructure there already, so it's more valuable to you as a tenant than it would be to someone who wants to use it as a hardware store).

BeFlatXIII 5y ago

I now have the mental image of a tenant moving one unit over to start “new” and get the discount lease rate. Thanks for brightening my day.

TeMPOraL 5y ago
That's how you deal with mobile phone operators :). Threaten them to leave if they won't give you a better offer, and if they don't, then just leave... and come back some time later, to get the much better "new customer" treatment.
- BeFlatXIII 5y ago
  Works for cable internet, too, if there’s more than one provider in your neighborhood.
m-ee 5y ago
A friend of mine did this during the pandemic. Asked for a rent reduction and the landlord refused but offered them an identical unit in the building at the lower price.
- maddyboo 5y ago
  I’ve had to do this before to avoid my rent going up several hundred dollars at lease renewal time. They offered me the unit right next door for $500 less than what my then-current unit would cost. The new one was identical in all ways except it was mirrored.