This is very true regarding them believing the pandemic is a real thing, and possibly regarding the best case scenario being keeping the rent the same. But, keep in mind that:
-
There’s no way in fucking hell I’m paying $3,880/mo for any 2br apartment anywhere, let alone this one. I mean to put that in perspective, I could buy a 4 bedroom house in this neighborhood for $485K and pay like $2,500 a month on the mortgage. I’d be a little hard pressed to scrape together the down payment, but could probably be in a position to do that in under six months.
-
There’s no harm in trying, given that I’m walking if they don’t come way down anyway.
-
If they’re willing to take the same amount, they’re almost certainly going to counter. Whereas if I counter with the same amount, they’re not just going to snap call. (Nor do I want to pay the same amount.)
I definitely wasn’t in the past. In Baltimore, when they asked for an increase and a new 12 month lease, I just flat out said no, I’d move if I had to but I wasn’t paying a dollar more and I wasn’t signing a new lease. Never heard from them again on it, lived there quite a while longer. Given that the acquiesced that easily, I probably could have gotten a decrease.
Yeah, I mean right now given their current offers to new renters the MOST they’re going to get is $3,060 a month with the six weeks rent-free. Throw in that they lose another month of rent turning the unit over even if they have somebody waiting, and it’s a push for them to keep my rent the same. Once it becomes clear that I’m not paying an increase, the question on their end becomes:
-
Would we rather have ■■■■■■■■■■■, who’s never missed a payment, or somebody new?
-
How likely is it that we can fill that apartment one month after he moves out? Keeping in mind that the apartment nextdoor is almost identical and has been vacant for 7-8 months AND has not been renovated in that time.