Our house is semi detached, 25min out from the city, right next to the main train line.
The average rent on our street is $390-$400 a week, all the houses are identical.
In our area the average rent for a similar property is $340-$400.
Our landlord is a lovely Chinese investor who lives in Shanghai and uses a property management company.
We have been living here for almost a year now and love it, we've always paid rent + bills on time, and have been very prompt in replying to emails etc, report any damage and have it repaired asap, trying our best to be good tenants.
Our lease will be coming up in June and we want to renew it, potentially for 3-4 years. However we need the rent decreased from $400 a week to at least $350 a week so that my partner can go to study next year.
We have met the landlord, she was walking by last night and looking for a bit too long at our house from the footpath, so I asked if she was okay, turns out she owned the place! She loves plants and seemed lovely.
I would like to renew the lease long term so I can do the garden properly, make a vege patch etc. I don't see much point investing that much time and money on a year to year contract.
Would asking for the rent to be lowered by $50 a week with the condition that we maintain and use the garden be too much?
We're willing to walk away from the house but damn we love it here.
April 01, 2017 at 02:03AM
