OK, HERE’S THE SCOOP…

I was getting impatient as it had been a week since I spoke with the manager and I hadn’t heard anything. But, she did call today and gave me the details of the aforementioned “renewal special”.

The “special” is $25 off of current market rate (the prices listed on their site) OR continuing at your current rate, whichever is “more” (and that’s IT.) I didn’t understand if she meant whichever is “more” of a discount, or “more” of a price. I asked her to clarify but I did not understand her answer, sorry. She spent a lot of time telling me how they calculate it but never really said which one is the number they go with.

In any case - I reminded her that last week she offered me $100 off my current monthly rate and she sounded very regretful of that. She said she spoke to her boss and it is not something she was supposed to do at all but that since she has offered it, she has to stand by it, but that nobody else would get it. I told her she also offered me a $250 credit to renew and she said she thinks that offer has expired! (Wait - what?? I told her she never said anything about any expiration date. She said she would check to see if she could offer it and call back…) Before she hung up I told her that I will need to know how they prefer to receive an “intent to vacate” notice - such as a form to fill out or just putting in our own writing. (Thanks, Cuatro.)

Fast forward - she calls back and tells me that $250 credit for renewing has expired. Great! (Remember, she told me not to decide anything yet because a better deal was in the works.) So then she says the boss has authorized one of two choices: $100 off our current monthly rate on a 12 mos. lease OR $250 off our first month up-front.

I expressed appreciation for getting back to me and doing what she could ... but let her know that this offer is not enough to make me jump.

I did ask for you guys if the renewal special applies to the other IAC complexes. She said it really depends on each individual complex and will vary by the age of the complex as well as other factors. She did say IAC offers a “longevity discount” for those who have rented at least 3 years.

So, that’s pretty much it in a nutshell. I am pretty disappointed with the inconsistent information I was given and the seemingly disorganized approach to negotiating. I am NOT happy about her reneging on last week’s offer and blaming it on a non-existent expiration date. IAC has lost points in my book. (I do think the manager wanted to help more and just couldn’t. I don’t blame her - I think she was just shooting for the stars.)

Well, for all you other IAC renters maybe you can try and do better than I did. If all else fails, you can mention that your “friend” in P.S. was offered $100 off a month (since that is the deal we will probably take IF we decide to stay.) Our lease isn’t up until New Year’s Eve so I’ve got some long, hard thinking to do. Darn, I was hoping this would be an easier decision.

- SoCal78

That’s realy a shame, SoCal.  I would caution you to keep in contact with them…if they hit you with an imaginary expiration date on the $250, I’m guessing you could be risking your $100 deiscount if you take another month to make your decision.  As far as turning in the 30 day notice is concerned, in this case, she could conceivably use that as an excuse to “expire” the current offer.  It sounds like she’s already been scolded for what she offered you and she may be looking for any excuse to justify voiding it.  If you like the place and don’t intend to move, jump at the $100 and consider it a BIG victory. 

There is a longevity discount.  After two full years you can renew at 3% below market.  After 3 years, it’s 4% off market capping out at 5 or 6% I think.  But even that has its grey area.  Some properties will still not use that as a tool to LOWER your rent below what you’re currently paying. IE if you’re already within 1% of market after your second full year most/many places will renew you at a $0 increase rather than offer you the additional 2% decrease the “discount” seems to suggest.  Also, the discout follows the apartment, not the resident.  If you transfer to another apartment in the same communty, your longevity discounts starts from scratch.

SoCal78 - 02 November 2008 11:52 PM

OK, HERE’S THE SCOOP…

I was getting impatient as it had been a week since I spoke with the manager and I hadn’t heard anything. But, she did call today and gave me the details of the aforementioned “renewal special”.

The “special” is $25 off of current market rate (the prices listed on their site) OR continuing at your current rate, whichever is “more” (and that’s IT.) I didn’t understand if she meant whichever is “more” of a discount, or “more” of a price. I asked her to clarify but I did not understand her answer, sorry. She spent a lot of time telling me how they calculate it but never really said which one is the number they go with.

In any case - I reminded her that last week she offered me $100 off my current monthly rate and she sounded very regretful of that. She said she spoke to her boss and it is not something she was supposed to do at all but that since she has offered it, she has to stand by it, but that nobody else would get it. I told her she also offered me a $250 credit to renew and she said she thinks that offer has expired! (Wait - what?? I told her she never said anything about any expiration date. She said she would check to see if she could offer it and call back…) Before she hung up I told her that I will need to know how they prefer to receive an “intent to vacate” notice - such as a form to fill out or just putting in our own writing. (Thanks, Cuatro.)

Fast forward - she calls back and tells me that $250 credit for renewing has expired. Great! (Remember, she told me not to decide anything yet because a better deal was in the works.) So then she says the boss has authorized one of two choices: $100 off our current monthly rate on a 12 mos. lease OR $250 off our first month up-front.

I expressed appreciation for getting back to me and doing what she could ... but let her know that this offer is not enough to make me jump.

I did ask for you guys if the renewal special applies to the other IAC complexes. She said it really depends on each individual complex and will vary by the age of the complex as well as other factors. She did say IAC offers a “longevity discount” for those who have rented at least 3 years.

So, that’s pretty much it in a nutshell. I am pretty disappointed with the inconsistent information I was given and the seemingly disorganized approach to negotiating. I am NOT happy about her reneging on last week’s offer and blaming it on a non-existent expiration date. IAC has lost points in my book. (I do think the manager wanted to help more and just couldn’t. I don’t blame her - I think she was just shooting for the stars.)

Well, for all you other IAC renters maybe you can try and do better than I did. If all else fails, you can mention that your “friend” in P.S. was offered $100 off a month (since that is the deal we will probably take IF we decide to stay.) Our lease isn’t up until New Year’s Eve so I’ve got some long, hard thinking to do. Darn, I was hoping this would be an easier decision.

- SoCal78

Sorry to hear that you didn’t have better luck in getting a great deal on your renewal.  Go to craigslist.org and check out the rents offered at other possible IAC apartment complexs of the floorplans you like and determine how much you would save per month versus if you were to renew at $100 off.  Annualize that costs savings subtract out the cost of moving and see if it is sufficient to make the decision to move.  If I’m not saving more than $1,500-$2,000 for the year then it’s not worth it to move (i.e. the 1 bedroom unit I rent now at Quail Meadow for $1,445/month is available for $1,380 over at Serrano so I’m not gonna move because the numbers don’t work out for me to move).

Thanks, Cuatro & USC.

Cuatro: I will definitely take your advice into serious consideration.

USC: Yes, I’ve checked Craig’s. The rates shown there on my place are pretty much identical to market rates but I found some good deals on other properties that I printed out and took into the negotiation with me. Thanks for weighing in. I appreciate it.

If I accept, do you guys think this still warrants a “glowing letter of appreciation” that I had offered in the first place? I am torn. On one hand I feel gypped. On the other, I think she did try and at least I got something or more than a regular renewal is given (or so she says). I don’t want to go back on my word… yet she went back on hers. Ugh, I don’t know.

I wouldn’t worry about the letter.  If it read anything like, “you’re management staff is great, they gave me this incredible incentive to stick around…” you may just be highlighted the behavior that gets them in trouble.

On the other hand, I’m all for giving a well earned attaboy if they’ve impressed you in other areas.

SoCal78 - 03 November 2008 07:03 AM

Thanks, Cuatro & USC.

Cuatro: I will definitely take your advice into serious consideration.

USC: Yes, I’ve checked Craig’s. The rates shown there on my place are pretty much identical to market rates but I found some good deals on other properties that I printed out and took into the negotiation with me. Thanks for weighing in. I appreciate it.

If I accept, do you guys think this still warrants a “glowing letter of appreciation” that I had offered in the first place? I am torn. On one hand I feel gypped. On the other, I think she did try and at least I got something or more than a regular renewal is given (or so she says). I don’t want to go back on my word… yet she went back on hers. Ugh, I don’t know.

If they are advertising market rents on craigslist then that probably means that your complex has a relatively high occupancy rate.  I know that my complex is 93% leased (or maybe even lower) which is probably why I got 9% off the market rate.  As Cuatro stated before, the lower the occupancy rate of a complex the more inclined the leasing folks will be in discounting it.  You also have to weigh in the intangible value of the area that you live in now vs. where you would live if you moved.  For me, picking between Quail Hill or being by Tustin Marketplace was a no-brainer (I mean, I have lived in Quail Hill for about 4 years now so I’m pretty comfy here).

“If they are advertising market rents on craigslist then that probably means that your complex has a relatively high occupancy rate.  I know that my complex is 93% leased (or maybe even lower) which is probably why I got 9% off the market rate. “

The manager said the vacancy rate here is 8%.

SoCal78,
I skimmed this thread and am sorry the negotiations didn’t go as well as you expected.  One thing to remember is to do the math.  Finding a new home is a very emotional event in everyone’s life but it’s time like this I recommend that you take a step back and calculate what it means to stay in the “home” or to find a “new home”.

The $100/month savings over 12 months… Is that a better financial choice compared to the cost and time for moving to another location?  Can you move at a fraction of the cost of $1200?  Would save on utilities? gas for your commute?  Emotions aside, the numbers will paint the real (and sometimes ugly) story.

You can also use the math to help with the negotiations as well.    Also talk with some trusty realtors that may have empirical data on PP market rents in the surrounding area (like in Woodbury, Northwood, or Northpark).

Hang in there and wish you the best in all of this.

SoCal78

I too was able to get about $100.00 off my IAC after trying every angle I could think of back in May.
Been at my IAC just over 2 years now. I signed a 12 month for that $ 100.00 off. Its better
than nothing and moving.

One item to be careful of. Watch your conratct for the Lease Break Fee. They will try and up it to $ 3000.00.  When I renegotiated I specifically asked “any other changes or ammendments”?. The agent said. “No other changes” then low and behold the lease break fee doubles.
Needless to say they fixed it back down but gave the lame excuse that the IAC wants to try
and change that fee by default.

Think of it this way. At least we didnt lose $ 100K in equity this year like my GF did
on her house.

SoCal78 - 03 November 2008 05:14 PM

“If they are advertising market rents on craigslist then that probably means that your complex has a relatively high occupancy rate.  I know that my complex is 93% leased (or maybe even lower) which is probably why I got 9% off the market rate. “

The manager said the vacancy rate here is 8%.

With that kind of vacancy, they should be offering 6-9% off the market rate for new movins.  For example, my complex is about 93% occupied and my rent of $1,445 is about an 8% discount to the market rate of $1,575 of the unit I rent.  I’m sure that renewals won’t get the best deals, but at least you have an idea of what the bottom of the barrel pricing is.

bltserv - 03 November 2008 07:04 PM

SoCal78

I too was able to get about $100.00 off my IAC after trying every angle I could think of back in May.
Been at my IAC just over 2 years now. I signed a 12 month for that $ 100.00 off. Its better
than nothing and moving.

One item to be careful of. Watch your conratct for the Lease Break Fee. They will try and up it to $ 3000.00.  When I renegotiated I specifically asked “any other changes or ammendments”?. The agent said. “No other changes” then low and behold the lease break fee doubles.
Needless to say they fixed it back down but gave the lame excuse that the IAC wants to try
and change that fee by default.

Think of it this way. At least we didnt lose $ 100K in equity this year like my GF did
on her house.

Were you already paying under the market rate for your apt when they offered you the $100/month off for your renewal?

Bltsrv,

I’m surprised you were able to negotiate the lease break fee back to what it was originally.  Several months back IAC did an across the board increase on lease break fees for all their properties that were supposedly non negotiable.  I’m guessing the fact that you got the consultant to spcifically quote “no other changes” helped your cause.  But I would be shocked if anyone else pulled this off.

SoCal, a $100 decrease is nothing to be disappointed about.  If I had to guess you’re likely in the 95th percentile of IAC’s best lease renewal deals if you take advantage of it.

usctrojanman29 - 03 November 2008 07:41 PM

bltserv - 03 November 2008 07:04 PM

SoCal78

I too was able to get about $100.00 off my IAC after trying every angle I could think of back in May.
Been at my IAC just over 2 years now. I signed a 12 month for that $ 100.00 off. Its better
than nothing and moving.

One item to be careful of. Watch your conratct for the Lease Break Fee. They will try and up it to $ 3000.00.  When I renegotiated I specifically asked “any other changes or ammendments”?. The agent said. “No other changes” then low and behold the lease break fee doubles.
Needless to say they fixed it back down but gave the lame excuse that the IAC wants to try
and change that fee by default.

Think of it this way. At least we didnt lose $ 100K in equity this year like my GF did
on her house.

Were you already paying under the market rate for your apt when they offered you the $100/month off for your renewal?

Yes, I was under market rate when I moved in. We came to see another, smaller, apartment and they offered us this one for $25 more than the one we came to visit. But since then, market rate on my apartment has dropped $60 (this is since May.)

SoCal thank you for keeping us up to date, my lease expires in 2 months so I’m going to take a serious look at private rentals if our renewal price doesn’t make sense.

Sure there are pitfalls in renting from a private party but they are still worth considering because they’re very competitively priced compared to IAC rates…
These private properties should deffinately be taken into account when calculating rental values, not just IAC’s “market value”

ABSOLUTELY. Great point, Peter. I would strongly encourage any future renters to seriously consider a private rental. At first, I had decided not to consider them after the horror stories of rent-skimming… but now I think we have enough information to do our homework and know what to look for. So far from what I’m experiencing, the “premium” you pay to live in an IAC is not worth it. The over-crowded parking lots, the small garages and lack of storage, the neighbors stacked three-high… I am having regrets. Unless they can make it a better value, I’m not so sure I am going to stay. I think TIC should probably start coming to terms with reality. There are just so many other rentals out there right now to take advantage of. The leasing office manager made it a point to talk down the other management companies by saying “they don’t care about their tenants”—yeah, well does IAC? I didn’t mention it earlier but she also tried to snow me with TIC having financial problems too, not being able to finish out P.S., having to lay people off, and therefore not offering much concessions. It’s timing, not hardship. They must think we have “stupid” written across our foreheads.

Edited to add: WTH are they thinking. I just realized that there are SIX new IAC complexes all near the Woodbury Town Center (Mirasol, Palmeras, Esperanza, the one in Woodbury, and 2 behind the Home Depot.) Seven if you count mine. So they have an 8% vacancy rate here and what do they do? Keep building.

Well SoCal, I think the managers and LA’s are good people working in a horrible economy but we are in the same Boat as they are…except they are tied to IAC, we’re not…

The other thing that bothers me is the increased lease break charge, in an economy such as this we need to be mobile, if I get laid off I want to beable to give my Ikea furniture away and leave to wherever I get offered a job! That’s going to take a great deal of the advantage of renting away…

But anyway, I took a quick look on Craigs with Irvine and $1800-2000 as the criteria…once I’d plowed through all the hundreds of IAC ads I was stunned by how much more I can get for less rent..

I’m wondering if IAC has a whole dept of people who’s job it is to flood CL with Ads?

I agree, they are good people and just doing as they’re told. I just tried that search criteria you mentioned - $1800-$2k, and a minimum of 2 bedrooms. Craig’s yields 1,096 results in the Irvine area. Even when you take out the IAC properties, that’s a lot of competition.

Either post here or PM me and some of the regular IHBers before you consider renting from a private LL. We will get you the full background check you deserve before you pay rent to skimmer. Most LLs in good shape would be happy to have you as tenants. I know I would, but Costa Mesa isn’t so much an option for you, and being a good LL who keeps his tenants happy, I have no vacancies. Although… I would have to charge Petah a wanker fee if he ever did rent from me. 

Here’s an example, for $70 less than what I’m paying now I could rent this one.
It’s 200 sq ft bigger than my place, it has an extra Garage plus, -now get this - it’s a Gated community!! I could post a Pic of Graph in the Guard Shack and order them to keep him out!!

Woohoo!!

Cuatro - 03 November 2008 07:47 PM

Bltsrv,

I’m surprised you were able to negotiate the lease break fee back to what it was originally. Several months back IAC did an across the board increase on lease break fees for all their properties that were supposedly non negotiable. I’m guessing the fact that you got the consultant to specifically quote “no other changes” helped your cause. But I would be shocked if anyone else pulled this off.

SoCal, a $100 decrease is nothing to be disappointed about. If I had to guess you’re likely in the 95th percentile of IAC’s best lease renewal deals if you take advantage of it.

Cuatro.

Thats exactly what happen. I specifically asked about any changes after we agreed on the price of the new lease. I was paying a little above market. And I was willing to move into a next door unit that was priced lower on Craigslist. Just a little bit larger floorplan but less windows. I think the IAC is going to need to keep in touch with the market. Especially with all those new units in Woodbury. I just dont see the job market in this economy supporting all this growth right now. If anything it may be a couple years for these new IAC complex`s to reach full occupancy. And as I have mentioned before. In my 2 years in Quail.
It really seems like its getting more and more seasonal. Nobody is staying very long at all.
So either people are braking a whole bunch of leases or they are all getting the expensive month to month rates.

Not sure if this will help, but my friend at Sonoma Aisle said the vacancy rate is at 12 % including tenants who have not responded to renewals.

The lease on our 3 bed townhome at San Carlo is up Dec 31st, we got the letter last week that indicated they were laying a $25 increase on us—- from $2450 to $2475.  I called back and told them to try again.  The following day the Community Manager left me a VM say that she had “GREAT NEWS!!”—- they could give us the same $2450 for a 12 month lease….But that we needed to sign in 3 days.  Whatever. They post lower prices than that for our model on Craigslist, and we have been here for 3 years.  Talk about insulting to our intelligence.

I didn’t even call her back.  I’ll wait until 31 days before my lease is up, and then give my notice.  We have already found a pp SFR to rent in West Irvine from friends that we trust.  Glad to be done with IAC.

CK - 04 November 2008 06:40 PM

and we have been here for 3 years.  Talk about insulting to our intelligence.

They should have offered you the longevity discount! If you’ve been in the same unit for at least 3 years then you qualify.

SoCal78 - 04 November 2008 07:22 PM

CK - 04 November 2008 06:40 PM

and we have been here for 3 years.  Talk about insulting to our intelligence.

They should have offered you the longevity discount! If you’ve been in the same unit for at least 3 years then you qualify.

I mentioned the discount in my conversation.  They said “but market rent on your unit is $2580” so we are giving you a 5% discount from market.  When I pointed out that they were advertising on Craigslist for $2380-$2400 she said “well, you know that you always get better deals when you first move in, and then we increase you to market in subsequent years”.  I then asked when was the last time they assesed the “market”, because I thought they were out of touch with it.  She said that is done at “corporate” and she didn’t know. 

Right on.  That’s all I needed to hear.

Keep us updated CK.  Even though it sounds like you are going to that private rental, please let us know what the IAC tries to do in December to keep you when you are getting ready to move.