Negotiating Casa Rental Prices on top DR sites

Expat13

Silver
Jun 7, 2008
3,255
50
48
Curious, what are members experiencing when it comes to negotiating a rental price for an apartment in santo domingo-when using sites like super-casas etc.

Most of us know that (in most cases) "supply and demand" or "recent-solds/rented" appraising is not a basis, when Dominicans price their properties.I see some very irrational pricing-therefore i reach out to the wisdom and experience of fellow members.

This being said, I thought it would be very interesting to see what percentage you were able to negotiate off the listed price- on these top DR sites.
This could be helpful information for apartment hunters.
 

GringoCArlos

Retired Ussername
Jan 9, 2002
1,416
40
0
I've never used a website to rent anything in Santo Domingo .- the tried and true method of finding an apartment for rent here is to wear out some shoe leather and gasoline and take a walk-about until you find something you like, and then negotiate. If it's for rent, it usually has a sign out front.
 

bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
7,375
163
0
I've never used a website to rent anything in Santo Domingo ................
I spoke with someone who used the apartment dot com type of agency and was charged RD200 just for the agent to show them the apartment. I have never heard of anything like that before.
 

J D Sauser

Silver
Nov 20, 2004
2,940
390
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www.hispanosuizainvest.com
Dominicans above all base their fantasy pricing on what they heard another brag about asking for his property, rent or sale. The consistently overlook the fact that in most cases they are basing their asking price on somebody else's asking price... somebody who might not have move a single deal over, at times, years. "Ahi estan vendiendo / rentando para xyz mega bucks!" Well, NO. Asking in to no avail is not synonymous with selling or closing a deal.

Since most everything is for sale or rent (well, some are just kites being flown high)... there is more than enough on the market to feel free and make quite aggressive offers. One of these smarties will be hungry by now...
Know the REAL market and offer slightly bellow.
Don't offend, but hold your own and find a way for them to surrender gracefully without them having to feel like they did.

Don't feel intimidated because you are a "Gringo". You got the cash, they want it bad. Show some authority, tell'em you are not a Gringo palomo (tells them you know the street talk). You are a professional, living here, working here just like them (now you're in the same boat), but you are serious and reliable. Tell'em you can wait, maybe he'll get lucky and God sends him a Gringo palomo (reminds him, he's been waiting for that a looooong time)... asf. Short, bargain and bargain hard.
Keep in mind "we" have a reputation to see a deal thru and PAY. The local knows that albeit a few exceptions, if he'll deal with a local buyer or tenant, he's not likely to see the end of the bargaining and BS'ing even after it's all signed. THAT has a value, you can remind them that too.




... J-D.
 

Expat13

Silver
Jun 7, 2008
3,255
50
48
i dont think the natives here do negotiate very well or at all. I was about to rent a huge beautiful house-asking 1400$us monthly. needs work. i offered 1000$ month. w/ garanty of 12k$. no, was the answer. they need $$... almost three years later the house is still empty. Owner is still in u.s. prison system. family still needs $. i get a call every couple of months asking if i want the house at 1K$month. I dont evan answer the call if i see the # on caller i.d.

Yes, i have experienced similar. One will hope they will leran better negotiating practices after such experience.
 
Apr 3, 2009
176
42
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When "Smart" Equals Greedy and Stupid

i dont think the natives here do negotiate very well or at all. I was about to rent a huge beautiful house-asking 1400$us monthly. needs work. i offered 1000$ month. w/ garanty of 12k$. no, was the answer. they need $$... almost three years later the house is still empty. Owner is still in u.s. prison system. family still needs $. i get a call every couple of months asking if i want the house at 1K$month. I dont evan answer the call if i see the # on caller i.d.
Some people are just too "smart" for their own good. You should offer them $400...

LMAO,
BB :D
 

vivile

New member
Apr 1, 2009
50
0
0
Hello,
I am also an expat, but speak almost perfectly Spanish, however I was seen as a foreigner. We look during 1 month for an apartment in Sto Domingo and we had 2 bads experiences.
First, it is important to mention that you don't have to pay anything to real estate to show you houses/apartments and even if you rent it, the owner is the one paying for the real estate commission.
Our first bad experience was for an apartment that we visited twice in 2 days and in the second day we said OK we take it. It was listed as 1400 USD per month and the real estate told us that we could have it at 1300 USD. What happened is that when we told him that we were interested, and we try to negotiate 1200 USD, he immediately told us that there was already another person on it and that this person had already summited all papers required but that he will talk to the owner and try to negotiate... Basically what happen is that he wanted us to enter into a “price war” and try to get 1400 usd. We even try to negotiate saying we will put the A/C or the curtains... but this was not really the issue. The issue is money!
The second time, we visited also an nice apartment which was cheaper. Immediately we said we were interested, the same afternoon all papers were faxed. What happened is that in those paper they asked for your salary, nationality, employers... and obviously they saw we were foreigner with a good salary and immediately they raised the rent by 20% with no explanation! Even if it was a cheaper rent, for ethic and pride, we did not take it. In this case, I am talking of a very known real estate agency.
Based in our experience, for high rents you can normally negotiate a rebate of 100 usd per month, but most of all, you should ask for more stuff for the same rent. For example A/C installation or kitchen appliances, different painting, ect... Which normally they will pay with the 2 months deposit.
Also, if you are local (o Dominican) everything is different and negotiation is easiest.
Hope that will help you
Vivile
 

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
20,574
341
83
dr1.com
Leverage being a gringo, you have money, will not destroy the apartment, pay ontime etc. Also be prepared to walk away and don't put up with any BS.

Get a Dominican to help with the negotiating, it helps.

Walk the streets on a Sunday, note down the phone numbers and get a local to make the initial contact. Get them to feel out the price etc.

Oh yeah.. make low ball offers, you never know. It's a renters market right now in Santo Domingo :)
 

DRNED

New member
Oct 28, 2009
353
22
0
Rental in Santo Domingo, what to expect?

Hi, I am in some kind of negotiation on an apartment in the city. This is a one bedroom apartment fully furnished. My first point of concern is that when I initially found the apartment some of the photos were not of the apartment in question, and even some around a swimming pool of a hotel. Also ain the advertised it reads 'access to use the pool' at the hotel was included, along with sauna.
Within the negotiation process I have found out that he sneaked a bottom line in saying that if I we take the apartment that he would gift us a day at the hotel pool. And if this is not a permanent arrangement, if we want to use the pool we need to pay, and it is not cheap per person. He has said sorry for misleading us, but it isn't a good start. Trying to figure if he meant to mislead us of it is a genuine mistake is difficult.

Something else is the photos of the apartment I have been being sent don't look like the same apartment. TV hung on walls in some photos and in the bedroom in others on a broken stand. The furniture is different, beds chairs tables etc are different in each of the photos and I'm not sure what is what. I just have the feeling that the photos are of 2 or 3 different apartment and not sure how to deal with this.

The next concern is that he wants me to pay some legal/contract fees. What exactly can I expect to find with regards to this. My concern is that if it isn't actually legal then I may have trouble getting the deposit back when I leave, so what does this involve. I have rented before but never been over this process with a solicitor and so don't know what to expect.
Mind we have never rented there before, so are not at all familiar with just how trustworthy landlords are with things like contracts and paying deposit back.

Can anyone tell us what to avoid and what to look out for in this process. I'd hate to get taken for an idiot and sign something that may come back and bite me at some point or when we need to leave.

So We're almost there, just a little defensive with our money as we really can't afford to lose it or let our time in Santo Domingo ruined by a money issue.
 

J D Sauser

Silver
Nov 20, 2004
2,940
390
83
www.hispanosuizainvest.com
As with getting out of the bed on the wrong foot... and the whole day usually going sour, I think that if a deal starts out fishy, it's not going to get much better down the line. From the distance from which I am reading this, I would say, walk away!

As a general business rule, you ought to have YOUR lawyer look at anything you'd consider to sign before you do and YOU pay YOUR lawyer for that service.
The same holds true for the other party.
Most certainly, there are those who will try to tell you that HERE in the DR it would be customary for YOU to pay this and that... well, you know what? BS!

... J-D.
 
Sep 22, 2009
2,875
1,305
113
Hi, I am in some kind of negotiation on an apartment in the city. This is a one bedroom apartment fully furnished. My first point of concern is that when I initially found the apartment some of the photos were not of the apartment in question, and even some around a swimming pool of a hotel. Also ain the advertised it reads 'access to use the pool' at the hotel was included, along with sauna.
Within the negotiation process I have found out that he sneaked a bottom line in saying that if I we take the apartment that he would gift us a day at the hotel pool. And if this is not a permanent arrangement, if we want to use the pool we need to pay, and it is not cheap per person. He has said sorry for misleading us, but it isn't a good start. Trying to figure if he meant to mislead us of it is a genuine mistake is difficult.

Something else is the photos of the apartment I have been being sent don't look like the same apartment. TV hung on walls in some photos and in the bedroom in others on a broken stand. The furniture is different, beds chairs tables etc are different in each of the photos and I'm not sure what is what. I just have the feeling that the photos are of 2 or 3 different apartment and not sure how to deal with this.

The next concern is that he wants me to pay some legal/contract fees. What exactly can I expect to find with regards to this. My concern is that if it isn't actually legal then I may have trouble getting the deposit back when I leave, so what does this involve. I have rented before but never been over this process with a solicitor and so don't know what to expect.
Mind we have never rented there before, so are not at all familiar with just how trustworthy landlords are with things like contracts and paying deposit back.

Can anyone tell us what to avoid and what to look out for in this process. I'd hate to get taken for an idiot and sign something that may come back and bite me at some point or when we need to leave.

So We're almost there, just a little defensive with our money as we really can't afford to lose it or let our time in Santo Domingo ruined by a money issue.

I have a rule of thumb: "It is what it is". if you think it's the Kansas City Shuffle, than simply say "No thank you" and walk away. There are a million apartments!

Not whether it is "legal or defined" or not, but the "norm" is that the tenant absorbs the cost of putting together the rental agreement. Sometimes this can be 2K or sometimes it's a WHOLE month's rent. This depends on whether you are going direct to the owner or using a broker (individual lawyer or Remax, for example).

The important thing is always have your a-- covered legally, whether here in DR, NYC, Arkansas, or China.
If you cannot cover yourself legally, you should not enter into that respective deal.

With some time and experience here, you can begin to identify legitamate contracts for say rental agreements or professional services. You understand details like the the signatures on the back need to all appear on the same page along with the notary's and the seal (for example). You also know how to do name and RNC searches for validity (DGII, Datacredito and the PN). With time, you certainly will have a trusted attorney relationship, to assist you with the above.

Here a hustle is a dime-a-dozen, but there are also laws to protect folks against fraudulent and abusive situations. You really need to be comfortable with the cultural and regulatory environment (both) before entering in to any financial obligation in DR (or any other foreign soil for that fact).

The above is not intended as legal advice, but you need use good judgement and instincts.
 

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
17,850
982
113
DRNED - please don't continue to engage with this person - he is clearly dishonest. Come and stay at an aparthotel and see things for yourself before deciding. Even if the apartment itself turns out to be ok, how do you know it isn't above a noisy colmad?n, overlooking a traffic-choked intersection, the municipal garbage dump or worse???