The rental market in the Washington area is expensive. Prices tend to go up during the first few years of a new presidential administration when large numbers of people are moving in and out.
If you are moving into the area or are considering moving into another place, you’ve likely encountered the steep prices.
There are some things you can do to minimize the impact. Here are a few tips to help you get the most for your rental dollar:
• If you have control over the timing of your move, then you might be able to save some money. It is best to hunt when the rental market is slower. The slower time of the year is between now and February.
Larger apartment complexes are typically offering specials and waiving or offering discounted fees during the slow times. The larger apartment complexes mostly cannot negotiate rents. On the other hand, individual owners can. They tend to be more flexible in setting rent and often offer discounts to woo a tenant, particularly if the unit is already empty.
• If you can be flexible with your lease start date and lease term, this can help you get a lower rent. In larger apartment complexes, vacant apartments tend to be lower in price. In larger apartment complexes, shorter or longer lease terms can help you get a better rent.
With larger apartment complexes, always ask what lease term and lease start date will get you the best price. With individually owned rental homes, a longer-term lease or a sooner lease start date can, in some cases, help you get a better price, depending on the owner.
• Larger apartment complexes that do not have the ability to negotiate rents often can offer discounts on or waive fees. These include application, move-in, amenity, parking and pet fees. You can also ask if they can offer you a rent special, which would typically be a dollar amount off the second or third month’s rent.
• Apartments on lower floors typically are less expensive than apartments on higher floors. If you can live with an apartment on the third floor instead of the 12th, this could help you save money.
• When you receive a notice of an increase in rent toward the end of your lease term, contact your landlord to see if they can offer you a lower increase for a lease renewal for another year or longer. In the District, you can go month to month after your initial lease term, but it may not help you get a better rent.
Some individual owners may be glad to have a good tenant stay for a longer term. If you are comfortable with a longer-term lease, you will have locked in a better rent for that new lease term. If it’s a larger apartment complex, ask, in lieu of not reducing the increase, if they can extend to you the special they are offering new renters. The special may make a difference over the course of the new lease term. Your chances of getting a “yes” are greater during the slower time in the rental market.
• Some apartment complexes will offer a preferred employer discount. This is not entirely common, but always ask.
• Some properties will offer a discount on an upfront pet fee if you have a rescued pet.
• If you can find out if the property has been on the market for a long time, there might be room for negotiation in rent or specials. If it’s been on the market for a while, this may not mean there is something wrong with it. The unit may have been put on the market at the wrong time at the wrong price.
Nancy Simmons Starrs is founder and president of Apartment Detectives, a D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia apartment-search service.