My wife and I just moved here from Boston w/o jobs and we are finding apartments on our own using real estate companies. We are looking in the French Concession area.

Any advice on negotiating the lease? We are specifically wondering if there is a typical % off quoted monthly price that we should expect to get?

Thanks so much.

from my experience, it seems like you can negotiate a 10% cut in price. it's probably easier to negotiate to include utilities, gym memberships, curtains, furniture, etc. than to get a cut in rent.

also you can probably negotiate with your real estate agent and get a cut back as they typically charge the landlord 1 month's rent.

i would like to answer both questions.

1. If you are using a good real estate company(property consultant) they should have already outlined the rental process regarding negotiation and what you can include , they should be able to negotiate the price and include most ,if not all your requirements.Where realtors get a bad reputation is they always confuse clients and do not outline the process in a linear fashion .If you would like further assistance you can PM me and i will take you through it.

To lost in Shanghai:
2. Since the commision law changed a few months back it is rare for a real estate company to recieve 1 months commision, typicaly it is alot less than this.However i would also like to point out to Lost in Shanghai that i am sure that if he closed a deal with his company and they asked for money out of his salary he would be very upset .So comments of kick backs are very unprofessional .We all have a job to do here Maybe Lost in Shanghai has been here to long.

houseman you must be a realtor. it's an open market. if one realtor doesn't want my business, there are hundreds others who can provide the same service and are willing to negotiate for a lower cut. i'm not saying that one should squeeze realtors as some do a great job and i for one would be willing to pay for that service however, an open market is an open market...

TRY TO CONTACT ME, YOU DON'T NEED TOO MUCH NEGOTIATION WITH ME.-- SHIRLEY

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www.51house.com