If there is anything that you should take home from this guide it’s this: Everything (well almost everything) can be bargained down, whether you have old auntie skills or are a half-cent like me.

All I wish to say on the topic here is that a capable, professional and knowledgeable agent can also really help you through negotiating rental rates. If you still decide to go down the negotiations path yourself, then heads up! This guide is for you.

Step 1 – Research and Homework

When getting into the battlefield, remember you will be faced by agents who have these facts on their smartphones at just a click. As well, since information on rental contracts are available on the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) website, enthusiastic Landlords will be fully aware of how much the other Landlords on his block have rented their units out for.

The agent might even know the color of the red sofa in the unit because he has gone in to see the apartment when it was being marketed so he can tell the new tenant how beautiful the place looks when it comes down to negotiations. I suggest you call all agents marketing the condo you are looking at, compare prices by floor and if there were any improvements done recently before going for the viewing.

Of course, downloading the URA app on your smartphone when talking numbers to your agent and Landlord will help, too. This should give you some idea of the going rate.

The most straightforward way to go about it is to look at similar listings in the same building or neighbourhood, and to cross-reference the pricing with the one being offered to you. The downside of this method is that all price listings on the net are pre-negotiated rates (i.e. the rates listed online themselves are still open to negotiation), leading the information to be biased towards the higher price range.

Step 2 – Bargaining Position

If you have done your homework, you are now armed with a good understanding of both your prospective home’s market value and the neighbourhood’s market trends. While price trends may differ, the general market sentiment is such that rent prices have been going down. More people are being sent home, less expats are on housing packages, and there is an oversupply of homes making it a Tenant’s Market. I can confidently say that, currently, you have a good bargaining position but be very careful of homes with little supply as that gives a landlord a strong bargaining position where sometimes the landlord uses one tenant’s offer against the next to get a higher price.

However, with the current slow market, many homes have been left vacant, some as long as 6 to 12 months. One tip is when searching on property portal, such as property guru, if you see an agent’s property listing has been ‘relisted’ instead of ‘listed’, chances are it’s been vacant for almost a month, there have been previous offers and the Landlord is a hard nut or last but not least, there may be problems with the house, so tenant ‘beware.’

Step 3 – Negotiate Well

Negotiation is like walking on a fine line, do it well and you reach your destination or push it and it snaps.

Between truth and lies, right and wrong, fibs, facts and fiction, lie vast plains of ambiguity – and it is here that you will be negotiating your renting price. Homework and an analysis of your bargaining position can only bring you so far. At some point you shall have to take the jump and join in the game of negotiation.

Do not give away how much you want the unit or how much you are really willing to pay for it but as part of your homework, call the lister and try a low ball price saying you will come and see the apartment if you get it a few hundred below listed price, (some people even try a thousand). You will know the lister’s response and are semi ready for pricing when you view the apartment. If they are not open to it, skip the viewing and move on to the next best find because it’s a sale out there and it’s all about who gets there first and lays their hands on the right item.

A recent example is a family member who I represented in a negotiation for a fairly dated condo. My relative had asked me to find him a 4 bedroom 1800 square foot apartment in a condo for a budget of $4,500 per month. He chose a condo, and when I looked at it, all the apartments of this size in that condo were being marketed for $6500 per month and above. Oh my, was this guy serious, he wanted that condo for $2,000 less?! So I tried to approach all the listing agents and while some of them thought I was a rookie agent who didn’t know my work, others just brushed me off. But finally, one agent responded by saying, he would talk to the landlord since the apartment has been vacant. Shocked that I got that response, I told my relative and took him the next day to go see what was ‘wrong’ with that apartment. I mean, how could it be that cheap, it was right smack in Orchard Road vicinity! Guess what, it was perfect, I must say there was a leak, and some cosmetic work to be done, but nothing so unacceptable. So we left and came back to visit the apartment four times; to see the lighting, take measurements, we brought his wife. And finally after the 4^th viewing, he told me to draw up the Letter of Intent starting at $3,500!  I mean, was this guy crazy? I presented the offer to the agent and she hasn’t taken my calls ever since. The deal snapped!

This should give you some idea of when to stop the negotiations and accept the price.

Step 4 – Decorate, Innovate

Appear interested, but not too interested. Mention how much you like the apartment, but slip in there that you have a few other options, too. If everything has gone well so far, the landlord or agent now has an impression of you as a serious, reliable candidate who would be willing to commit, yet may require a little push (in the form of a discount perhaps) – and you will most willingly allow them to give it to you.

It is not all about money. During negotiations instead of asking for a lower price, you can request whether the utilities can be included, or whether furniture can be provided.

Remember, converting a fully furnished apartment to a partial furnished apartment is not always cheaper. In storage scarce Singapore, Landlords struggle to store furniture that is already there. It’s best to try to accommodate what is in the apartment as you will look like an ideal fuss-free tenant.

Even if an apartment is bare, consider buying your own furniture and selling it back to the Landlord or open market; after all, there are so many avenues these days.

Step 5 – Sign It!

Unless you got a fantastic deal right away, take some time to mull it over at home. Carefully assess what the lower price of the landlord is and set your rental price around that estimation. Call up the agent and tell him you are keenly interested, yet still a bit concerned about the steep price. Landlord’s now are also more accommodating and will settle for lower rentals rather than leaving the house vacant so do ask for that extra ceiling fan or rent free period while you move in your furniture comfortably but do remember that the moment you put in your offer and the Landlord says ‘YES’, sign, sign and, sign the paperwork because emotions may change overnight and the Landlord may abandon the deal.

Good luck!

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