In The States, when I was there, you could get an apartment as long as you could prove that you have a job. As competition increased to fill large complexes, all which had wall board division of rooms, they were offering "First Month Rent Free" in order to get you signed. You could not be denied because of race, gender, religion, etc. and you still had to pay before getting the keys because the deposit had to be paid.
That is a different culture and you have to try to get the hard working people that live from paycheck to paycheck. Nobody has an extra $800 to pay a deposit (non-California renters). Sales get tailored to their needs, or rather, their debt based habit. I blame the ads everyone is exposed to for the problem. They make you think you need things that you really do not.
After moving to a free country, I found out that landlords were able to deny people a place to live, rentals that is, by all of the above. They do so in their rental ads. When I saw a place for rent and the owner was there painting or something, I would ask, "How much is it?" Without exception, they would say, "For who?" I would reply something like ' you are looking at him ' and they would ask many questions, married, divorced, kids, and 'where do you work?' When they were satisfied, they would tell me the price.
If you passed the initial test and got the price, that was just the start. You then needed a guarantee. When I asked around about getting one of those, everyone who knew and liked me refused. I quickly learned that there was no competition for getting things rented. Many people have several apartments for rent but they would rather have them empty than have even a slight risk when it comes to renters. I could write for weeks on this topic alone, but I won't.
What worked for me, being a non-credit-card type of person. I offered to pay a year up front and any deposit they required. I was rarely turned down. They then learned that I had obsession with paying my bills on time. I do not even wait for the due date. I pay them as soon as I get them in my hand.
I was essentially handing them a risk free renter falling out of the sky with only one condition, which they also agreed to easily. Here, rental contracts have inflation built into them. Rent goes up at the six month mark of your contract as the paper money gets more and more worthless. By paying the year up front, they had the opportunity to use the money before it lost half of its value due to the passage of time. And I had twelve months to save the lump sum again.
Now, things have changed as contract build thirty to fifty percent increases every few months during the term of the lease. Those types of things are coming to The States too if nothing is done about the government's money habits.
I still choose to rent because, without fail, every time I spend solid assets, meaning sell them for paper to "buy" something, the asset I held goes double or triple in value (dollar value that is). It would not matter if I rented or bought a place to live. My holdings increase and I find myself looking back and regretting changing them into paper. I regret spending the money. Renting makes those regrets smaller monetarily.
If one day I chose to buy a home, I need to be sure that the asset I am cashing out is at its peak in dollars before making that leap. Like that guy who bought the pizza with his coins, not holding on to an appreciating asset is a sin. One that never feels good to have committed.
My latest rental involves someone I have known for years. I actually got him into crypto coins years ago. He likes holding them and understands the principles I am going over here. When I signed the contract, I told him I can pay him rent in bitcoin. He liked the idea and I told him that I really like seeing people learn and hold this marvelous asset. "I have no problem with your coins going up in value after I pay you. That has been the case, and is unavoidable, when I buy anything. He has a store and has made gains on every purchase I have made at his shop. He understands the way this stuff works. I explained that I will need fifty percent of the gains you make on the coins at the end of the year. He agreed. It is a win/win deal.
Example: If I pay him ten thousand dollars for the year, and the price of the coin doubles, and is worth twenty thousand at the end of the contract, he keeps the original ten thousand worth and another five thousand in gains. I receive five thousand also, which is half of what I would have made by simply not renting his apartment.
He asked what would happen if the price is much less at the end of the contract. I told him that I would have been worse off had I held and there is no foul. He would be at a loss too, which I would not be replacing. He can hold and recoup that money when the price is not being manipulated and rises again. (I would not have that option since he has the coins.) As I said, he agreed because he has some experience in crypto.
As it turns out, and I knew it would, the coin has doubled since the day I paid that year in full. If I were to renew today, I would get half my rent back for this year, in crypto terms.
Let's say, he decided to balk at the idea of giving up half his gains. I would be happy to pay him in cash dollars, a failing paper currency, for next year. It would be no different than looking at the hundred thousand dollar laptop I am using right now. Yes, I bought it for one bitcoin years ago. If he honors what we had written into the contract, He could apply those gains to the new year and I would give him more bitcoin to cover the rest of the year's rent.
Empathy, putting one's self in the shoes of one's opponent, is always in play when I am making a deal. Finding an agreement that works for both parties is always the best way to come up with a good deal to offer someone. It also greatly increases the chances of closing any deal.
Lastly, I no longer pay the bills as soon as they arrive. The landlord in this case has agreed to pay all the bills and I just send him USDT for the lump sum of gas, electric, water, and internet on a certain day of the month, every month. Talk about making my life easier! Freedom and smooth sailing.
Trato Hecho means "Done Deal"