Moving in the winter: what to know

If you’re a newbie winter renter you probably do not know the inventory of available apartments is lower or that you’re probably seeing better rental prices that your friends paying market price in the same neighborhood will drool over.

This is because the “renting season” -- as insiders call it -- typically begins Memorial Day weekend and goes through Labor Day. During the hot rental months there is a lot of inventory available but not a whole, if any, wiggle room with rental prices. And frankly competition is fierce when everyone is searching for a new apartment at the same time – which essentially lowers the field for even the best applicants.

When apartments hit the market in the winter landlords and management companies want to fill these vacancies and so while they might post an asking rent of let’s say $3,500 if you’ve got great financials and a good rental history you might be able to get the landlord to reduce the rent by a couple of hundred dollars to possibly $3,200 or $3,300/mo.

Other landlords don’t want to bargain and they’ll post a lower asking price to induce renters to rent their apartments over another one advertised at market price.

The catch with some of these owners is they’ll request a longer lease. Probably a 15-month or 16-month lease – whatever makes the rental last to catch up with the normal renting season.

I’ve noticed that younger renters are terrified of a commitment that is longer than the standard 12-month lease. However, if this is you – you shouldn’t be. What a longer lease period, at a lower market rent gives you is predictability. You know what your expenses are and aren’t at the mercy of the rent drastically increasing at the end of the one-year lease term.

Planning for the move.

Now that you’ve decided to take the leap, accept a lower rent and a longer lease period it’s time for the actual move. Which means planning for a move. What you need to keep in mind is that moving on a holiday – for example, January 1st – is going to be challenging. Not just for the movers but also for parking and in some buildings – there are strict rules that prohibit people from moving in or out on holidays.

Weather might be also an issue. A moving company may not be able to get movers if we’re in the middle of a snow storm.

This said, finding movers is easier in the winter months because, again, there is less demand. Just make sure to ask your landlord when you can move in, and when calling movers be sure to ask what their contingency plans are when weather is an issue. As long as you plan accordingly your winter move will be smooth and you’ll be settled into your new apartment ready to start the New Year off right.