We’re living in very challenging times, and if you’re a landlord, and you haven’t yet been asked for a rent reduction or a rent concession from one of your tenants, the chances are pretty good that this may still happen to you. So with this in mind, how should you then respond to this request?
Ideally you’ll want to come from a place of compassion, because your tenant is most likely going through a tough time, and you’ll want to maintain a good relationship with them. Because in reality, in many ways your tenants are your partners in success, because when they’re doing good and they can pay you your rent, you become even more successful financially.
So in keeping this in mind, when that phone call comes, be understanding, and then ask them, “So what are you suggesting?” This will then put the ball in their court, and it will save you the possibility of you offering them an even greater concession than what they originally had in mind.
Then, when they tell you what they have in mind, you can either accept it right then in the moment, or if you’re not certain about this, or if it seems like they may be asking you for too much, you can simply say, “I don’t believe I can give you that much, but let me think about this, and then I’ll get back to you.” This will then allow you to hang up the phone, think about it for several hours, or until the next day or so, and then be certain that you’ll be coming back to them with a proposal that will be a good one for you.
The last thing that you want to do is to accept something immediately on the telephone that you’ll later regret, and utilizing this approach will help you to make sure that you don’t do this.
Then, when you finally call them back on the phone, it’s all about what you can then negotiate that’s mutually agreeable between the two of you. In addition, feel free to utilize those same words again if they later give you a counteroffer that may still be asking too much of you: “I don’t believe I can give you that much, but let me think about this, and then I’ll get back to you.” This shows them that you’re willing to work with them, and that you’re giving what they’re asking for serious consideration, and they’ll really appreciate this.
Ideally, you’ll want to strike an agreement that will be good for both of you because in this economic environment, finding the next tenant who will move in and pay you the ideal rent you want every single month, may not be as easy as you’d like it to be.
