You’ve heard the scary stories about exorbitant rents charged by merciless landlords. If you’re among the thousands of bachelors who move to major metros every year, you need to be wary of being fleeced.

You could search online, use newspaper classifieds, or physically scout to find a reasonably priced house for rent. A word of warning though—whichever method you use, rents can be unfairly high due to shady or inept agents and landlords.

What if you could make this whole affair a little easier? Here are a couple of tips you can follow to make sure you get a fair price on your rented apartment.

Location Matters

This is the principal factor that decides rent values. Your first instinct would be to find a place close to where you work. However, if you work in a central area of a city, it’s better to find a place that’s as far away from the commercial districts as possible.

Don’t worry too much about travelling costs – in urban areas, you can trust in the cheap means of public transportation like buses, local trains, and the metro.

Ask and You Shall Receive (A Discount, Hopefully!)

Generally speaking, rent isn’t usually negotiable, but you can get discounts by other means; for instance, if you’re being charged for parking space, you could ask your landlord to waive this.

If it’s the rent you want to reduce, you can try this technique: offer to increase your lease period.

Most leases are a yearlong, but by assuring the landlord that you’ll be staying longer, you can try and get the rent reduced a little.

Rental Sites Can Be Your Best Friend

Your search ideally begins online. There are a number of real estate portals to help you find the best deal on rental homes.

All you have to do is log on to a good real estate site and enter your requirements, such as locality and budget. You can then pick from one of the many options the portal gives you.

Even if you end up using some other medium to select your home, you can still use online portals to get a good idea of the rent in a particular locality.

Don’t Dismiss Word Of Mouth

You can do your research through online real estate portals or through newspapers, but don’t miss out on the power of social communication.

Whether it’s through family, friends, or your friendly neighbourhood social media site, spread the word that you’re on the lookout for a good apartment—you never know when a great deal might materialise through someone you know.

Reach Beyond Rental Ads

Sometimes, a house that’s put up for sale doesn’t get many offers. Approach homeowners and realtors whose property-for-sale ad hasn’t received any attention in a while. You can find these by looking for old ads; these will only still be online if and offer hasn’t been made.

Through this method, you can try and strike a deal that’s even better—you can make an offer lesser than the average rent in the area, and chances are that you’ll get one due to the owner’s frustration.

Making a Call Can Be Crucial

When you visit a property, the realtor or landlord is more focused on showing you the features of the property. On the phone, however, it’s more about the numbers and prices.

Call and discuss rent before you pay your prospective home a visit.

Prioritise Your Needs

Before visiting the property, be sure to have your requirements in order. For instance, the location may be more important to you than the actual rent.

You need to pick your home based on your requirements. Don’t settle for a mediocre deal. Also, you might end up paying more for a feature that you could do without.

This is why it’s important to have a list of the things you’re looking for in a home, noted in order of priority.

That’s it; these are the general points you should be mindful of when looking to get a good deal on an apartment.

Here’s a parting tip: some homes aren’t open to bachelors. Keep in mind that, while many aren’t, there are definitely loads that are, so don’t lose heart.

Good luck finding a properly-priced apartment or house!

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