I have a very nice two bedroom apartment coming available June 1.

It is close to the university and rents easily because the second floor is a beautiful loft that has two decks on either end of the bedroom.

It is partially furnished and a quiet and private apartment. Water, sewer, snow and trash removal and Internet are included in the rent however, gas and Electric are not

I received an inquiry from a parent who has a son who will be coming to the local university, and she was inquiring about the place….. do I live there, who takes care of it,..etc….. understandable..

Then she wanted answers to questions where the information was clearly in the ad. The utilities were not included as she inquired.

She asked me “if the utilities aren’t included is the rent negotiable“.

When I hear that, I just shake my head. Your replies?

When they ask if the rent is negotiable, I always reply, "Yes, I'll take more".

They usually do a double take and move on. But, it's a fun reply.

I absolutely did that a few years ago to someone as I got so frustrated and he ended up laughing!

Negotiable? Lots of people try that.

NEXT!!!

I own apartment properties near to Los Angeles City Collage, CSUN Cal State North ridge and other areas as well. It is a Very Bad Sign when a "parent" negotiations for a tenancy for their "child".

My last encounter was with an entitled mom, she wanted to co-sign for her "party animal" son. He never head a real job more than a couple of months, and never saved/banked any of his salary. Parents provide and the kid takes. I have a rule. If a tenant can not stand on their own to provide their "basic" needs, then I won't rent to them.

I can fully understand why the mother is trying to find a good rental for her college bound kid. I would have done that as well.

My son graduated from high school a year early. Went to college the next year. No way would I want him to try and make decisions like that on his own.

Now with that being said I would not try and negotiate for rents. Maybe about start and end dates, but never the rents themselves. They are what they are. I don't go into the grocery store and ask if they will reduce the price on a can of soup. It is what it is and that is that.

She asked questions where the answers were clearly in the ad.

Perhaps she did not read it too well.

That aside, I did answer her questions. I said the rent was not negotiable and gave her some other options to other rentals that I have...so far...no response.

I understand that as parents we want to make sure our kids choose a good place to live, and we can become involved without doing "all the work" to find a rental for our kids.

Makes me wonder if he can make any decisions on his own!

I did have 2 "helicopter" mothers several years ago and what pains they were!

I have a feeling that this one would be contacting me about every little thing.

I guess parenting is different these days. I'm 65 years old and my parents set the tone when they sped past my school bus stop.

That's right a bus STOP; not stopping and waiting for 10 minutes at each individual driveway while mommykins and daddykins video records the entire even often stepping on board to chat with the driver. Singlehandedly holding up rush hour traffic for miles on the two lane highways.

Anyway I was barely 5 years old and my dad thought kindergarten was a waste of time so he drove past the bus stop in the neighborhood we had just moved to (again) at full speed and pointed it out for a nanosecond. I was expected to WALK to the bus stop in order to start first grade as a small-for-my-age child, unescorted by parents or anyone else. It's amazing we all survived!

Ouch Map, tough love maybe?

I care enough for my kids that I still do things for them.

Mowed my son's yard last week as they both have severe allergies.

Loaned my daughter the wife's vehicle this morning because the SIL started working on his last night and didn't finish.

I've used the "sure it's negotiable ... how much more are you willing to pay"? Usually will get a laugh. Some don't.

I tell them the price is the price and that's it - no negotiations on that. If you don't like it... feel free to find another place - I won't be offended.

Before I "freak out" on anyone asking about things that I put in the ad I ask them where they saw the ad. Many times they may not know and say "oh, let me check" because they just click on the "call now" and they don't really have the ad in front of them. They just maybe see the price, location and pics then click "call now".

Other times I have found that other sites will pick up the ad and then will not provide all of the same information that we had in the ad that we actually posted (re: pets, lease info, what's included or not, etc).

When folks call me to inquire about a rental I posted in an ad, I usually do get a bit frustrated with those who cannot read everything that's stated right there. I do ask them where they sourced the ad from though. Here’s a few examples, and how I answer them:

- "Does the unit include utilities?" "No - just as it states in the ad."

- "Does it have hardwood flooring?" Yes - just as it states in the ad."

- "How close is it by the train station?" One block - just as it states in the ad."

My voicemail directs people to my website.

On the website they can find out if I have any places open or coming open soon.

Yesterday I had someone who sent a msg thru my website asking if I had anything open.

She had to go thru the page stating that we are currently full before she could send anything.

I negotiated for the first time ever. The tenant hads excellent credit and good income. They asked for $50 off. That was the same rent at the unit was at before. I accepted and the tenant thinks they won and are happy. But the city has strangely become slow to rent. It was empty for almost 2 months before leasing. If it stayed empty for another month it would have taken me two years with the extra $50 to make it back. So I did it for me.