situation: i'm about to buy a 2/2 condo near the galleria area and have a friend willing to rent one of the bedrooms from me. unfortunately, i made the mistake of telling her the listing price and what i was hoping to get it for. of course w that info one can calculate a ballpark estimate of my total monthly costs. so now she's trying to use that as justification for a lower rent, telling me she shouldn't have to pay more than 1/2 of my costs and that paying more than that isn't "fair". i, of course, have two problems w this: - what i pay for has little bearing on what i will charge for rent. market determines what is and isn't "fair" and i feel that i am giving her a deal below market. - my finances pertaining to the condo are none of her business to begin with. nevermiond the fact that i am the one taking all the risk and will be the responsible party for repairs, etc. now i made the mistake of discussing the potential finances w her to begin with, so i guess this is what i get, but am i being out of line? fyi there aren't any direct comps available for the type of unit i'm buying, but there are several 1/1 units for lease in the complex and that's how i've determined market. what i'm offering her amounts to what i believe would be a 10-15% discount. thoughts?
Your friend needs to nut up and accept your asking price. Haggling based on your financial status/picture is really not cool at all.
Friends and business (in any sense) is just asking for trouble. You aren't being unfair, but it was a mistake to let her know too much information. Can you find someone else? How close of a friend is it? If can't back out at this point, try and reason with her that you were being honest, and understand if she can't afford it or think its unfair since shes a "friend", but that you have to be able to make money off it as well since you do have the risk. Good luck.
I thought you were in real estate? How do you expect to receive 85-90% of FMV in a sharing scenario? If someone is subleasing in an office sharing scenario vs an outright sublease, wouldn't you expect a higher discount? Plus, you screwed up and stated you financials giving her leverage. Do you have a fallback plan or are you out the full cost if she backs out? no need to answer, i think you already know what's right.
Tell her you understand, that you have had others offer what you're asking, and that you told them it was occupied. Tell her the price is market fair and that you totally understand if she thinks she should look for a better deal, and even agree with her. Make sure she knows it's nothing personal... then ask her if you should continue to tell others she's already got dibs, or not. Now that pc crap is out of the way, i say run. If she is already starting out looking to get over this will not go well. Try to get out now before things get worse. Tell HER it's been filled. Thought about the obvious "friends with benefits" comments etc. and figure that's low hanging fruit and I'll leave it for the less fortunate.
Half of a 2/2 isn't anything like a 1/1, unless she gets her own living room and kitchen. And take the fact that it's a condo out of the equation for a second... if I rented a 2/2 apartment with a friend, it definitely wouldn't cost each of us as much as renting a 1/1. That's why you get roommates, because it's much cheaper than getting a place on your own. I had an apartment in college with a friend/roommate, went off to law school, leaving my ex-roommate with a 2/2 and an empty bedroom. Another friend of ours moved in, saving them money by taking over my half of the rent. It was considerably cheaper than their old 1/1. Lastly, why would you try to get every last penny out of a friend, even if you could? Isn't there a real value to you in having a friend in the apartment, instead of renting it to a stranger?
you're not unreasonable at all. what you paid for the condo is irrelevant. you set the rental price. basically, your "friendship" is over. she'll resent you for charging her "too much" and if you give in by lowering the rent, you'll resent her for taking advantage of your generosity.
This. Just don't do it. You're starting out on the wrong foot already and next it will be a complaint that you ate her fruit loops or didn't fix the toilet quick enough even tho it was her tampons that clogged it up.
wow the cheapness of her in general should be red flags. Run away from this coont as fast as you can. There is this thing called taxes that she is probably not taking into account either. she sucks.. Also as a renter she has the right to blow out of there at any moment and you are left holding the bag. I have had this happen to me , and seen it happen to others, countless times from countless 'friends' It costs what it costs and if she doesn't like it she needs to go find somewhere to try and run her BS... even if you *win* on her in her mind its doubtful that she will be paying into your place even 2 years from now, much less 30 years of a typical mortgage. Basically she sucks ,and you can give her a comparable rate to the area minus say $25-$100 a month friendly discount. That's being a friend. make sure she signs something and it's not all gentlemens agreements and handshakes... that is for suckers.
I think you're dead on. This is already spur in your saddle that is bound to cause resentment down the road if she moves in. Just call the rental off, find another roomie.
This is a very good point. There's no use crying over spilled milk in terms of telling her your finances. That's done with. Right now, you must weigh the current situation as it stands. Would you prefer trying your luck on the market or do you feel it's best to have someone you know instead. That said, since you look like the type who like to be picky with finances even with your friends, this might not be a suitable partnership. You might be the type who's better off living with a stranger instead, without having to angst over the money lost every time you see her in your condo.
While I would definitely give a cheaper rent to a friend, especially if I know that friend is a good renter/have roomed together in the past, I would definitely not split it even with my mortgage+costs. You're taking a risk on the market the cost of that risk should be reflected in the rent. For example, if your mortgage+costs is $2000 a month and the market rent is like $3000 I would give her a rent of like $1300
take it or leave it. You can charge whatever the hell you want. And yes, based on the fact you're having issues with her before she even moves in, is a major red flag.
If you want, tell her why you are charging, explain that you are doing it to make some money, and to help defray the costs of repairs etc. She doesn't have to rent from you. DD
