Prospect tenant wants to negotiate security deposit of 1.5

[Jesse Santos]

Hello all!

I'm asking for 1.5 month's rent for security, which totals to $5,700. Prospect tenant says he counters with $4,000. He's signing a 2-year lease agreement and we already came down on the rent by $100 after negotiation (which I thought was over).

My question is, is negotiating a security deposit common and is that a risk I should be ok to take?

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Jesse Santos:

1. Don't reduce rent for longer terms. In fact, don't accept longer terms! I have a lot of experience and can tell you that the majority of renters ask to sign a longer lease because they want to distract you from looking too deeply into their past, they want to entice you to select them over other qualified renters, or they want to negotiate a lower price. In my experience, about 80% of them will break the lease early and you'll lose money because you negotiated a lower price!

2. Don't negotiate on your fees. If your house is worth $3,800 a month, then that's what you charge. If you require a 1.5x deposit, then that's what you charge.

This tenant already negotiated a rent reduction (costing you $2,400 in two years) and now they are asking for a 50% reduction in the deposit. I would withdraw my offer immediately and look for a new renter.