Monthly Rentals ! Do I Barter Or Is The Price Negotiatable

[kannot]

Some people may disagree but have you tried using an agent?? They can often get you a good price as they know the owner and know the owners limits taking away the guesswork.

You don't have to pay them they get commission on each customer who rents.

Some folk think the office is the best place but believe me they also get commission.

Actually I have to disagree. I've used an agent and they got one month's rent as commission. The owner said to me after we had used the agent that she wished we had called her directly as she could have reduced the rent for the 6 month period and we both would have been better off. True to her word, she reduced the rent for the 2nd term of 6 months. And she was a great landlady, fixed everything promptly and even bought us a wedding present. I've rented 3 houses over the last 3 years and had no trouble with landlords/landladies at all.

But did you know the owner to start off with?

Nope, didn't know the owner of any of the places I've rented. I just drive around the villages looking for the Rent/Sale signs and call the number on the sign. It's usually the number of the owner. In my experience the owner will come and see you virtually immediately or a neighbour will hold a key and let you in. When you talk on the phone the first time the owner will give you some clues as to their willingness to discount etc. It does pay to know some Thai or have a Thai speaker with you. All my landladies could speak English but they are a little relieved when they can speak Thai. However when negotiating the rent don't let your Thai wife do this for you, do it yourself. The reason is that sometimes the Thai age/respect cultural thing becomes an issue.

Villages??? I though he was looking for a condo more likely but I could be wrong? most of the signs for rooms available certainly in BKK are from agents, many of the owners don't want to speak to potential tenants at all and often are professionals ie doctors and are just too busy, they often own many rooms and don't want to be involved with haggling through the customer.

Then you have the people who bought to rent..............and probably wished they hadn't in many cases, this is where you might find an owner direct and even more desperate to rent out at a low price

Many are very rich own whole floors in buildings, some do it as a hobby even.

For a 6 month lease you had the owner would not pay 1 months commission, just half a month is normal.

Edited April 29, 2013 by kannot

[MrHammer]

Information is always key to negotiations. Check Prakard.com for Thai prices and then don't pay more. I got 4K discount down from 30K to 26K on my apartment. Could perhaps gone down to 25K even.

[Moo2cm]

Yes they are negotiable. I've never done 6 month contracts but have recieved some sort of concession on every lease

I have tried to negotiate here. A couple of times it was something creative instead of less rent, such as an additional AC. So give it a try.

[pattayadingo]

Two of the houses I rented I got the monthly price reduced from the asking price.

One was down from 5K a month to 4K

The other was down from 9K to 8K

Both these were on 1 year contracts with 1 month deposit.

One house I looked at, she wanted 11K per month and refused outright to take 10K. She wanted more money too to leave the air con unit in the house. I walked away.

As others have said in this topic, if you are not happy with the price and conditions it is easy enough to walk away from the offer.

[Razzler1973]

How much is the usual water and electricity 'units'?

I see some places on sites quoting 8 baht per unit or something, is that reasonable? 8 baht seems to come up quite a lot. I understand landlords can make money out you in this way, i.e. real price is x but you pay X+Y for each unit

Seems a bit sneaky, why not as cost? What is typical per unit rates?

[poanoi]

I get turned off if its more than 7 baht/unit, i.e owner too greedy and i wont rent there

[TexasRanger]

We got 5000 per month discount for a longer term rent. In our place in Bangkok we were paying 25k per month, there was an identical place a few floors down for 17k, so we gave notice. When asked why we were leaving we told the owner who promptly discounted to 17k. Might as well try.

i suspect you may need to revisit the math portion of this post

Why, the 5000 discount was on our current place, the Bangkok one is obviously not the same as it is an 8000 discount. Everyone else seemed to get it.

[robertson468]

Everything and anything for sale in Thailand is negotiable, including rents. Had an American on transfer for 6 months rent a house in the same village in Jomtien as me. His secretary secured the rental online and probably thought it was a bargain by New York standards. He was paying more than 3 times what I was paying for the same standard of house, and for the same 6 month lease period.

The longer you lease, the more discount. A typical comparison using hypothetical numbers might be:

1 month - 15,000

6 months - 12,000/mth (or less, and might include electricity/water/cable TV etc, or might not)

12 months 10,000/mth ( ditto)

And the most powerful negotiating tool is your feet. If things aren't going your way in negotiating a lease, just smile, thank them for their time, and say you have a better value offer somewhere else. A counter offer will inevitably be forthcoming.

Don't forget that you will pay a bond and if you leave before the lease period, you forfeit your bond. Take photos of the inside and outside, make sure the landlord sees you doing this as evidence of damages that can be claimed later etc.

Ask for a comprehensive list of all the assets in the property and make sure it is all there. Bit annoying to be leaving after 6 months and they tell you there's a missing TV, a fan, and 15 teaspoons!!

Interesting story about the American. We have been renting for 7 years and we have a short term and long term rate. We provide many free services included in the rent such as wifi, tv, drinking water, airport transfers, plus others they can pay for such as housekeeping and laundry, which we execute for the resident. Our view, which is borne out by being booked nearly 100% throughout the year, is our rates are non negotiable. It might be of course that we are not charging enough - God forbid

[Gsxrnz]

Everything and anything for sale in Thailand is negotiable, including rents. Had an American on transfer for 6 months rent a house in the same village in Jomtien as me. His secretary secured the rental online and probably thought it was a bargain by New York standards. He was paying more than 3 times what I was paying for the same standard of house, and for the same 6 month lease period.

The longer you lease, the more discount. A typical comparison using hypothetical numbers might be:

1 month - 15,000

6 months - 12,000/mth (or less, and might include electricity/water/cable TV etc, or might not)

12 months 10,000/mth ( ditto)

And the most powerful negotiating tool is your feet. If things aren't going your way in negotiating a lease, just smile, thank them for their time, and say you have a better value offer somewhere else. A counter offer will inevitably be forthcoming.

Don't forget that you will pay a bond and if you leave before the lease period, you forfeit your bond. Take photos of the inside and outside, make sure the landlord sees you doing this as evidence of damages that can be claimed later etc.

Ask for a comprehensive list of all the assets in the property and make sure it is all there. Bit annoying to be leaving after 6 months and they tell you there's a missing TV, a fan, and 15 teaspoons!!

Interesting story about the American. We have been renting for 7 years and we have a short term and long term rate. We provide many free services included in the rent such as wifi, tv, drinking water, airport transfers, plus others they can pay for such as housekeeping and laundry, which we execute for the resident. Our view, which is borne out by being booked nearly 100% throughout the year, is our rates are non negotiable. It might be of course that we are not charging enough - God forbid

Maybe you could increase your rates. 100% occupancy implies that it is overly competitively priced. I've seen the same house advertised on multiple websites and the "rent" varies dramatically. I guess the owner figures that if some Wally pays twice the normal rate because they booked online without doing the research, sum nom na!

[ayayay]

We got 5000 per month discount for a longer term rent. In our place in Bangkok we were paying 25k per month, there was an identical place a few floors down for 17k, so we gave notice. When asked why we were leaving we told the owner who promptly discounted to 17k. Might as well try.

Higher floors are usually more expensive, even for identical places, at least in my experience.

[super22k]

I have lived in five different residences in Thailand and never barted. Somehow,renting property is above bartering. If a Landlord started messing around with the rent I would suspect him of being very dodgy. After all,it is more important than buying a pair of socks at the market.

I have always found(and this is worldwide)getting my deposit back is the big problem, when I leave. They will deduct anything from a cracked cup to a loose bedspring.

[TexasRanger]

I have lived in five different residences in Thailand and never barted. Somehow,renting property is above bartering. If a Landlord started messing around with the rent I would suspect him of being very dodgy. After all,it is more important than buying a pair of socks at the market.

I have always found(and this is worldwide)getting my deposit back is the big problem, when I leave. They will deduct anything from a cracked cup to a loose bedspring.

Agreed, although last rental in Jomtien had it written into the contract that wear and tear was to be taken up by the owner and not the security deposit, to be honest I expected drama but there was none.That was done via an agency though and contract was in English and Thai which helped.

[Smalls]

Here's my experience. If you are dealing with a Thai landlord/agency, the price is negotiable. If they are from a western country it's likely that the price they initially quote is the one they're sticking with. I managed to shave about 1k/month off of my rent from a French guy, but that's not much.

On the other hand, when a few colleagues and I were considering moving in together we went house hunting - with an agent. We showed up at a house where the woman stated she wanted 36k/month + 3 months deposit. We stated we weren't interested and began making our way to the car. By the time we reached the car, the price was 12k/month + 1 month deposit. We still decided not to take it b/c the area was suboptimal and the house was only OK.

At any rate, don't take the price for anything in Thailand as non-negotiable. On the other hand, money talks and negotiating from the States (or not in person) is likely the least effective means of finding a deal.

Don't be afraid to show up in Thailand and rent a room for a week or so. If you're staying long-term it's better to pick a good place in person, get a good deal and get some local advice.

Good luck and happy hunting!

[candypants]

We got 5000 per month discount for a longer term rent. In our place in Bangkok we were paying 25k per month, there was an identical place a few floors down for 17k, so we gave notice. When asked why we were leaving we told the owner who promptly discounted to 17k. Might as well try.

i suspect you may need to revisit the math portion of this post

Why, the 5000 discount was on our current place, the Bangkok one is obviously not the same as it is an 8000 discount. Everyone else seemed to get it.

apologies, in future i will attempt to discern what you mean, and ignore what you actually write.

but i am with you, clarity is overrated.

[TexasRanger]

We got 5000 per month discount for a longer term rent. In our place in Bangkok we were paying 25k per month, there was an identical place a few floors down for 17k, so we gave notice. When asked why we were leaving we told the owner who promptly discounted to 17k. Might as well try.

i suspect you may need to revisit the math portion of this post

Why, the 5000 discount was on our current place, the Bangkok one is obviously not the same as it is an 8000 discount. Everyone else seemed to get it.

apologies, in future i will attempt to discern what you mean, and ignore what you actually write.

but i am with you, clarity is overrated.

Apology accepted