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Free Month's Rent, Other Perks Starting To Disppear
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 25, 2010
Modified Apr 25, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 25, 2010
Modified Apr 25, 2010
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When the economy fell, the overheated residential rental market attracted tenants by offering perks like a month's free rent. But now the NY Times reports that the days of wine and roses—and owner-paid commission, free gym membership, iPods—are on the way out. A broker whose client got one month free rent said, "We sat at the lease signing and the agent said, ‘You are lucky — we aren’t going to do that anymore.’" This current quarter is apparently landlords' biggest time of year, since college graduates flock to the ciy; the Times says, "If landlords think they can get away with raising rents, this will be the time to try." The softer real estate market also benefited renters re-signing leases, so maybe it's time to break out the rent vs. buy calculator.
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free rent
landlord
perk
real estate
rental
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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