6 Ways to Save on Rent
It seems like rent prices are always going up. Try these tips to save money on rent.
There’s a saying we have in hiking, “what goes up…keeps going up”. If you’ve ever been in the middle of a hike, and found that the mountain you’re climbing just..keeps..going.. then you know what I mean.
If you’re like me, then it feels like rent prices are the same way. Although we know that real estate prices can go down (see the 2008 housing crisis as an example), for the past decade prices have mostly gone up, pricing young millennials like myself out of home ownership. If only I’d stopped drinking lattes, I would be a happy home owner by now (joking, that’s not how math works). While 50 years ago, young couples may have been able to afford a new home by their mid-twenties, most of us today sail through our mid-twenties without even getting close to the down payment necessary to own a home. We’ll be renting for a while yet.
That being said, whether you’re renting or own your home, housing tends to be the biggest monthly and yearly cost for our budgets. There are tons of ways to save money on rent, but it’s up to you (and your partner, if you have one) to decide how to balance money-saving versus comfort. Here’s how that looks for me:
Not willing to compromise, no matter the cost:
Neighborhood safety: I’m a runner and usually go out early in the morning. The most important thing on my list is living in a safe neighborhood where I feel comfortable going out in the dark to exercise.
No studio apartments: Minimum 1-bedroom. I live with my husband, and we need the personal space of at least one door to stay happily married.
Would be nice, but willing to forgo:
Amenities (pool, tennis courts, gym): these would be nice to have, but realistically I could do without them. I don’t even play tennis.
In-unit laundry: I admit, this one would be hard to let go of, but if we found a great place that was only missing laundry, I would let it go.
Near a grocery store and park: I love the convenience of being able to walk to the grocery store, but I have a car and can drive somewhere, if necessary.
So before doing any apartment searching, make your two lists so you know what is a “must” and a “would be nice”. This will make apartment searching much easier as you’re comparing cost and comfort.
Here are my favorite tips to save money on rent:
1. Look in the off-season
Psychologically, as the days get longer and darker, we humans tend to do our own kind of hibernation. We stay put and wait for spring. This means that the rental market slows down quite a bit in the winter, and you may be able to get deals like lower rent, the first month free, or other deals to promote people to move in.
Even better, sign a 12 month lease, so it’ll expire in the winter, allowing you more power to negotiate your rent for the next year, or find the same deals when moving to a new place.
2. Find a roommate
I lived with roommates all through college and in my early twenties. I’ll admit, as I get older the idea of having a roommate is less appealing, but they can be a great way to save on rent if you’re willing to share your space. In most cases, sharing a 2 bedroom apartment with a roommate is cheaper than a 1-bedroom, or even a studio, by yourself.
3. Choose a smaller place
Ask yourself if you really need that 3-bedroom for just two people. Sure, it can be nice to have a guest room, office space, or work out room, but is it worth the extra $500/month in rent? Could you get a pull-out couch in the living room for guests instead of a guest bedroom? $500/month = $6,000/year, which is a pretty nice nest egg for vacations. Is that extra bedroom really worth missing a week in Yosemite National Park with your partner?
4. Exchange work for rent
Perhaps the leasing office needs people to work on the weekends and show apartments. Could you do some work in exchange for reduced (or free) rent? I recently listened to a podcast in which a woman taught tennis lessons once a week to tenants, in exchange for paying no rent. All she had to do was teach tennis lessons once a week in the evenings (after her regular 9-5 job), and she paid no rent for nearly a decade! That’s a pretty incredible work exchange.
5. Negotiate your rent
I’ll be honest, until recently, I didn’t even realize that you could negotiate rent. I figured it was a decision made by your landlord, and you had to pay or get out.
However, this year we were sent a copy of the new lease, with a $90/month rent increase, and asked whether we would be signing for another 12 months or vacating the property. I decided that this was a great, low-stakes opportunity to practice my negotiation skills.
I replied via email, asking whether the owner would be willing to keep our rent the same if we signed a 24 month lease. They accepted immediately.
This was a win-win situation for us and the landlord. We knew we were likely going to stay in our home another two years anyways, because we love where we live. By negotiating the rent, we saved over $1,000 for the next 12 months, plus whatever increase would have come the after as well. The landlord, on the other hand, was saved the cost of having to find a new tenant. Even one month vacant would have been more of a loss to the landlord than just granting us the price we wanted. Win-win.
6. Use a realtor
The older I get, the more I realize that life is all about who you know. The summer before we moved out of my parents house, my husband and I house-sat for a friend of my parents. She and her husband were both realtors, so I asked them if they had any pointers for where we should look for apartments. I found out that realtors can also help people find rentals, and they’re almost always cheaper than the traditional high-rise, business-y apartment complexes.
In much the same way that you would buy a home, we spent a couple weeks talking about what we wanted from our apartment, which neighborhoods we were interested in, and looking through a database of available apartments. After about 2 weeks we found a great 2-bedroom, 1.5 bathroom, two-level condo in a quiet neighborhood, just 15 minutes from downtown DC (now you see why we wanted to sign a 2 year lease). A comparable apartment in a business-owned, high-rise apartment complex? Easily $200/month more, not including the parking or utility fees.
The best part of all of this? The realtor is paid commission by the landlord, not the renter. So we got help finding a great home at a decent price, and didn’t have to pay a cent for it.
Whether you’re looking to move, or trying to lower your rent in your current home, I hope that these tips can help. I don’t expect every tip to work for you, but you can pick and choose your favorites.
Unwilling to compromise on space and location? Get a roommate.
Love the neighborhood, but can’t afford a 2-bedroom? Choose a smaller floor plan.
Remember, it’s up to you to decide how to find the balance between comfort & cost-savings.
Action Items:
If you can, wait until winter to start looking around for apartments. You’re more likely to find cheaper deals since winter tends to be a slower season for renting.
Next time your lease is up, try negotiating your rent. The worst that will happen is they’ll say no, and you’ll have to pay full price, which you will do anyways if you don’t negotiate..
Particularly if you live in an apartment complex with a lot of turnover, check the leasing office to see if they have any work you could do for reduced rent. Could you work a welcome desk? Show prospective tenants around? Working a couple hours on the weekend might be a great option to cut down on your rent.
Is your credit score stopping you from renting an apartment? Check out my blog: How to Increase Your Credit Score.
Your life may not be perfect, but it is imperfectly yours. The only way to live it is your way.
