How to lower your rent

If you guys remember, I pay a lot to rent my apartment ($1675). Blogging for the past couple of months and staring at my budget convinced me that I needed to move. I was apprehensive b/c I really like where I live, it's convenient and I hate moving. I decided to suck it up though when I received my renewal lease. Just looking at that number depressed me so I started checking out craigslist. I wanted to see what was available before I committed to moving.

I thought about asking my landlord to drop the rent by like 50-100 dollars but I never got around to it as I didn't think it would work especially after reading this. Anyway, I was looking daily on craigslist to see what was out there and I saw that they guy that sold my apartment was advertising apartments from 1475-1675 and I gave him a call. I asked if I could move from my apartment to the 1475 one and he asked which apartment I lived in. I told him and he basically told me that the 1475 was much smaller and not as nice as mine (i didn't mind) and that I should call up the management company and ask them to drop the rent to 1525. He changed his mind and said, ask for 1475 they'll probably settle ate 1525. I called them up and (stupid me) asked if I could pay 1525. He asked what apartment I was in, I told him and he said ok.

Just.Like.That

Obviously, I'm kicking myself for not asking for 1475 but $150 less a month is an extra $1800 that can go to paying off my debt so I'm happy! Like they say, ask and you can receive. Here are some tips on how to lower your rent.

• Call up your landlord and tell him/her that you can no longer afford the apartment and you want to know if you can pay less. With many people suffering salary cuts due to the economy this is something they will not find to hard to believe.
• If you pay for utilities, mention this. I know at least in New York, electric and gas delivery charges went up so many people play more for utilities. Ask your landlord if they would be willing to pay the utilities or subsidize the increased cost by lowering your rent.
• It pays to see how much building around your area are going for. Stalk craigslist and point out your findings to your landlord. If similar places are going for less, it might be hard for them to find a new tenant (in my case, i knew the apartment next to me sat empty for 6 months).
• Pay your rent on time. Landlords hate to see reliable tenants go.

Hope that helps