Desperate Times

I got a lease renewal form for my apartment the other day. They're offered to extend my lease for another year at the current rate plus toss in the last month for free. If I had any desire to renew my lease, these terms would make me happy. But I don't. So they don't. And it stinks of desperation.

At my first apartment, which was in midtown, they gave me a lease renewal option that raised the already seriously-overpriced rate to something even higher; and they were surprised that I declined. I suggested that they could give me a larger apartment for a lesser rate and I would reconsider. They declined.

When passing up the option to renew, you have to deal with letting them show your apartment to prospective renters. And for the nearly four months that I remained in the apartment after having passed up the option to renew, they didn't show my apartment once. It wouldn't surprise me if it were still sitting vacant.