Finding an apartment in VN

    I have been in VN for about a month and considered getting an apartment, perhaps furnished on a month-to-month rental but I have no idea on how to find such listings.
Are there websites or services to locate available rentals? 

I am currently in a city an hour or so outside of HCMC but I am curious to find or price apartments in various cities. I am in Da lat now and because of the more favorable temperature, I wondered how much it might cost to rent here eventually but have no ability beyond searching a 30 day span on Booking.com.
   

    -@Dannyroc3

Are you and the new girlfriend still together?

Normally she would be my #1 recommendation for all things house finding.

    I have been in VN for about a month and considered getting an apartment, perhaps furnished on a month-to-month rental but I have no idea on how to find such listings.
Are there websites or services to locate available rentals? 

I am currently in a city an hour or so outside of HCMC but I am curious to find or price apartments in various cities. I am in Da lat now and because of the more favorable temperature, I wondered how much it might cost to rent here eventually but have no ability beyond searching a 30 day span on Booking.com.
        -@Dannyroc3

I had written quite a few months back, "As a tip to newly arriving expats, rental ads written in English will easily be twice the cost (at a minimum!) as those written in VN." Best for you to arrange temporary accommodations upon arrival and recruit a local VN to help you in your search.

My tips to foreigners looking for long-term housing units?

#1. Take a walk around the neighbourhood you want to live in, looking for signs stating "Cho Thue" (for rent). The sign with "cho thue" might have the prefix "Chung cu..."(apartment), or "Nha..."(house). So, Nha Cho Thue means "House for rent", and Chung Cu Cho Thue, "apartment for rent".

#2. Get a VN friend to look and/or ask around for you. If they find something acceptable, the price they will be quoted will be what the landlord feels a VN person would be willing to pay (which will certainly be less than what the landlord feels you'd be willing to pay).

#3. Try not to spend too much time on English language property sites. They'll have E̲n̲g̲l̲i̲s̲h̲ ̲l̲a̲n̲g̲u̲a̲g̲e̲ ̲p̲r̲i̲c̲e̲s̲.

If you can find a local to translate for you, you can try the popular website, chotot.com

chotot.com

Da Lat rentals, here.

Ho Chi Minh, here.

@OceanBeach92107

I have insisted there must be an online place to look for apartments, she is not aware of any and she seems very eager for me to stay so I don't think she lacks the desire to help me.

If my request here lacks results, I will ask her to ask her Brothers how to locate a local place to rent, they seem sufficiently educated and capable to know, I should have done that already.

Orig she wanted me to just move in her place but when I realized how small it is and with no air..... and its on the outskirts, I ruled that out.  I have chosen to stay at the central hotel ($17) for the AC, pool.

Me living jammed with her and two kids in a place which is just a large room with a platform over the kitchen and bath would probably lead to tensions.  So I thought renting a two bdrm would give a more realistic chance for a harmonious place.

Her kids are very well-behaved and cheerful toward me but I don't want to create a cabin-fever situation.

@Aidan in HCMC

Thanks for that good practical advice.

@Aidan in HCMC

Thanks for those links.

Currently I am curious about prices in various places but in the immediate search I would be looking in Long Khanh. When I tried to see if that site had any listings here, I didn't see anything or maybe I did it wrong.

Do they have a Facebook market place for selling and renting in VN?

In the US, FB seems to have dominated local online exchanges, Not sure if they have it on the VN version of FB .....or if it is popular.

@Dannyroc3

Dong Nai province, here.

Curiously, no results coming up specifically for Long Khanh City, in Dong Nai Province.

Ask your girlfriend to take a look through those to see what might be nearby.

Yes it seems strange almost all listings come from one area Bien Hoa.

She looked through and only saw one nearby place which I think was a place for commercial.

In.  the event others are looking for Apartments and other things, It does seem "Marketplace" (on Facebook) does seem to have listings of things for rent and sale.

I simply googled- Facebook Marketplace Long Khanh - and got a few results and of course more results for bigger cities.

So far, all together,  I have only come across a Doz or so online adverts for my area.

    In.  the event others are looking for Apartments and other things, It does seem "Marketplace" (on Facebook) does seem to have listings of things for rent and sale.I simply googled- Facebook Marketplace Long Khanh - and got a few results and of course more results for bigger cities.So far, all together,  I have only come across a Doz or so online adverts for my area.        -@Dannyroc3

I thought I mentioned this before because I've mentioned it so many times to so many people.

You will never get all of the search results that you want in Vietnam unless you search in Tiếng Việt.

It also helps to turn off any VPN so that your internet browser reads you as being in Vietnam, either through your Ethernet, Wi-Fi or your data plan.

Most of the local apartment rentals are done through apartment rental groups on Facebook, not in the marketplace.

Searching Facebook for you I found a group called:

Cho thuê mặt bằng kinh doanh, nhà nguyên căn, phòng trọ Long Khánh

(edit) My wife just found you this group with 24k members:

Cho Thuê Nhà & Mặt Bằng Long Khánh

Check those out and see if they help you.

Also, ask yourself why your girlfriend couldn't find these for you.

Maybe she doesn't want to help you stay away from her?

Good luck!

@Dannyroc3

A reminder...

"As a tip to newly arriving expats, rental ads written in English will easily be twice the cost (at a minimum!) as those written in VN."

@Nguyen Hieu Loc

Thanks for your tip, is that a website or something?

If I google a phrase like that I have no idea what I am looking for because results are in VN.

THNX

@Aidan in HCMC

Yes, I am well aware of how this works which is why I have her make all contacts and look for

listings in VN language.

@OceanBeach92107

Thanks for taking the time to repeat info.

What is Tiếng Việt. when I googled it I didn't know what I was looking for. I had results leading to new site to WIKI.  Is there a link I can follow. Sorry for being so green.

The FB groups you offered were very helpful, not sure why I didn't think of that.

Your question as to why my GF did not go there is fair. Its actually been the one point of frustration for me.  I told her a little sharply last night that I was frustrated that she is not doing more to locate a place.

I don't think she has been avoiding finding a place, I think the case is she is just illiterate on these things. My best friend and a few others are the same way. They don't know the diff between an app and a website.

I noticed when people only use a cell phone to go online they are a bit retarded in anything beyond scrolling through apps. As I said, my friend with a few years of college needed me to help him set up an email account when he couldn't recall his PW to his old one.  How can someone be so tech-numb? 

I assume she scrolls facebook nonsense and might not even be aware of using Google and other means to locate useful info because there has never been a need.

I sent her the FB groups you offered and she contacted a few opportunities first thing this morning and seems to be "on it" now.  She found one place we will look at today. I was hoping to find a furnished place because of the cost and difficulty of buying n moving furniture to another (cooler) city in the future if all goes well.

Thanks for your help.

What is Tiếng Việt.
    -@Dannyroc3

The Vietnamese language.

You talk a lot about Google searches and they are helpful, especially when done in Tiếng Việt, but I wonder if you've become fluent/literate in the use of Google Maps, Google Translate and Google Lens?

Because whenever you ask a question in the forum those are usually the tools I use to get your answers for you.

For instance, searching Google Maps for "Saigon Domaine" will bring up "Saigon Domaine Luxury Residences" and show you that Nguyen Hieu Loc is continuing to SPAM the forum with an apartment complex that is 2 HOURS AWAY from your search area.

"The forum helps those who help themselves..." ~ 1st Hesitations 6:9

@OceanBeach92107 No, I have not used Google maps hardly at all because I tend to use my Apple maps program.  Strange thing happened in Da lat when I was trying to find a place using Appl maps. It kept changing or mislocating me, I never had that happen.

So how can Google maps help me?

I have used Google translate, the app with great success and I use the photo translation function sometimes, most to read a menu or a food product to see if it is spicy or what flavor it is. Is there another "Google lens" feature I should know about?

We went an looked at a place tonight. She talked to the owner online and we drove by to see its location. Online it looks nice and the location was fine but when she spoke with the neighbor he said they have had a problem with water when it rains. Not sure if the roof leaks or infiltration from another source and she would not have thought to ask. A roof leak seems easy enough to repair but if water is dumping from one roof, down between walls that would be a bigger problem.

She wants to look at another place tomorrow so we will see how that goes. I am glad things are finally moving, mostly thanks to you and others.

...No, I have not used Google maps hardly at all because I tend to use my Apple maps program.  Strange thing happened in Da lat when I was trying to find a place using Appl maps. It kept changing or mislocating me, I never had that happen.
So how can Google maps help me?

I've experienced something similar with what I'd call "drifting GPS" when driving through the Central Highlands and over Hải Vân Pass.

Also, Google Maps will sometimes (often) expand my search area and highlight results from paid advertisers, so its up to me to refocus the search results map to the exact area of interest to me.

I've never used Apple Maps or iPhones or Macs so I couldn't compare the two.

Every (and I do mean every) Vietnamese person (mostly drivers & rental agents) that I've ever shared locations or directions with has used either a Google Maps link or (frustratingly) a screenshot of Google Maps.

iPhones are definitely status symbols here but android still reigns supreme amongst the everyday people with whom you'll largely be dealing.

I'm just saying, if you had searched for that recommended property in Google Maps you would have gotten better results than in your Google search.

I have used Google translate, the app with great success and I use the photo translation function sometimes, most to read a menu or a food product to see if it is spicy or what flavor it is. Is there another "Google lens" feature I should know about?    -@Dannyroc3

Just try translating your search terms into Tiếng Việt before searching with Google or Google maps or Face.book or whatever.

In Vietnam, searches in the Vietnamese language always get superior results over English, especially when you turn off any foreign VPN setting and allow your location to help determine your results.

I believe you said you don't use the Chrome browser, but it has a great feature:

You can translate all of your search result links and most individual web pages.

Use Google Lens to translate screenshots.

In addition, you can easily "lift" Tiếng Việt text from documents & images & screenshots using Google Lens.

Recent example:

When my wife & I discovered those FB groups for you, I took screenshots and then opened them in Lens.

I then selected the Vietnamese text of the group names, copied it and pasted it into my reply to you, so you would have the exact names of the groups including the correct diacritic glyphs (accent marks) so you'd be able to search for the exact matches.

My experience: the more often I can use the exact Tiếng Việt in my searches, the more relevant and accurate my results.

YMMV... 😉

Hey Danny

I just read your post and seems like u having difficulties with housing and need some recommendations.

if u don’t mind, I can quote u on some aparaprtments that I currently have available. I live in Thao Dien, HCM so I know exactly what you need.

I can help u find and recommend which ones that fit your needs.

Let me know further if you still have troubles. 

@OceanBeach92107 What.   exactly is Google lens, an app or the photo feature on Google translate?

    @OceanBeach92107 What.   exactly is Google lens, an app or the photo feature on Google translate?
   

    -@Dannyroc3

An app (link)

@OceanBeach92107

GOT IT.  Earlier I  searched in the APPthats why.  In the APPL app store but it did not include the word LENS on the app for some reason.  ALSO I am still using an old Iphone and I thought it might be too old for that app.  My old Iphone just keeps on working so I have not bought another phone yet. But the battery is in decline so- soon.

Yes the app works great especially for scanning webpages.

And I do use 3 or four browsers on my laptop and I knew Google translates pages. 

We went and looked at a few places to rent today. The floor plans seem to leave so much open space, they feel too big, I will have to adjust.

I did see a few furnished places but not in a good location.

When I tried to get an idea on furniture, must of what is see is all wood products, usually quite decorative.

Where is the Vietnam version of IKEA?

...Where is the Vietnam version of IKEA?
        -@Dannyroc3

IKEA type furniture stores in Ho Chi Minh

A very old thread (please don't post there/resurrect it) but some of the suggestion might suit your needs.

I bought all of my furniture (a lot!) at UMA. Good quality.

@Aidan in HCMC Your tip was so helpful. I think we have decided on a place and it will not be furnished so I will need to buy a few things.

The good points are- reasonable price- good location- month-to-month lease.

    @Aidan in HCMC Your tip was so helpful. I think we have decided on a place and it will not be furnished so I will need to buy a few things.                                                                                         The good points are- reasonable price- good location- month-to-month lease.        -@Dannyroc3

Good stuff. I'm very glad it helped. Happy to also hear you've hit on a place to live which you find suitable.

Many of us use the services of online order sites like lazada and shopee (select "Tieng Viet" at top of the shopee page to switch to English) for all sorts of incidentals. I looked up-and-down, with no luck, through the markets of three VN cities (Thai Nguyen, Saigon, Duong Dong) trying to find a kitchen drawer organizer to untangle the jumbled mess of the forks/knives/spoons/etc I saw each time I opened the drawer. Finally found and ordered one on lazada 2 years back. In fact, I've ordered easily more that a hundred items from lazada. Both lazada and shopee will deliver C.O.D., so no need to enter credit card info.

@Aidan in HCMC Those links are helpful. I guess that's the Amazon over here?

Are those products out of china?  Do they often have a shipping charge?

    @Aidan in HCMC Those links are helpful. I guess that's the Amazon over here?Are those products out of china?  Do they often have a shipping charge?        -@Dannyroc3

Many are from China, others are local.

The import/customs charges are included in the item's price. The shipping charges will show once you create an account and log in. The amount of the shipping charge is dependant upon where in VN you are.

You'll often find that the shipping charges from China will be equal to, or even lesser than, products shipped locally. This is due to China covering much of the shipping charges in an effort to assist Chinese industry.

@Aidan in HCMC

Speaking of -Shipping charges- I used to wonder how china could sell a few dollar item on EBAY and ship it for free (if you can stand the wait.)

When I sold on EBAY, the cheapest domestic shipping of (media mail excluded) any package was 4.00. (with sellers discount on shipping)

How could china send me a flashlight ... from across the globe for four dollars w free shipping?

I asked the USPS guy, he didn't know and then I stumbled on an article that mentions a global reduced shipping program to benefit "developing countries" where Wealthy countries subsidize this program.

I think this is how they do it.

I have looked at maybe 8 or 10 apartments.

Only one has been a month-to-month lease.

What is the ramifications for breaking a lease?

What is commonly the responsibility of the renter? Should the A/C or some other mechanical problem happen

what is the expectation in VN?

I looked at one place which looked pretty nice but I was surprised the bedroom walls were so dirty... it seems preparing a place to rent is not important to some renters. 

Only one has been a month-to-month lease.

Month-to-month is uncommon in Vietnam, except within expat bubbles.

Even then, rents are higher.

What is the ramifications for breaking a lease?

Break a lease; lose your deposit

What is commonly the responsibility of the renter? Should the A/C or some other mechanical problem happen what is the expectation in VN?

All routine servicing is generally up to the tenant, unless specifically negotiated in your contract before signing the lease.

So you buy new light bulbs, pay to have your A/C inverter cleaned/serviced.

You pay for clogged drains.

Landlord should take care of anything that outright fails (A/C, refrigerator, plumbing, electrical system) but repairs may be slow and replacements may not match the quality of the original; smaller, cheaper TV, used refrigerator, inferior plumbing fixtures, less powerful A/C, etc.

I looked at one place which looked pretty nice but I was surprised the bedroom walls were so dirty... it seems preparing a place to rent is not important to some renters.     -@Dannyroc3

That's generally true. Negotiate to have the place cleaned prior to signing the lease.

Avoid bringing western expectations into a Southeast Asian rental unit unless you are willing to pay the much higher prices of modern luxury housing.

Negotiate ALL special requests prior to signing your lease.

Too many sad stories out there of foreigners who thought of something AFTER they moved in.

Use this thread to create your own checklist of must haves:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=829388

It seems I have located an apartment.

It checks most boxes such as AC, fairly close to the business area, seems fairly new with 3bdms all appliances

even a garden area and carport with roll down security door. There is even a fishpond in the house which I will likely not activate.

The downside is a 6 month rent w/ 2 months deposit. My hope for a month-to-month lease was just a hope.

The rent is higher than most others we looked  at  (7.5 mil.)  but it is furnished completely and that saves me buying furniture and then dealing with it should we relocate to another city.

I thought the GF would like it but she thinks it is too much money but placed the decision on me.

I'm generally an economical person but coming home to a place you like has value to me.

I tried, through my GF to get them to go to a one month deposit in case we may want to break the lease but they would not move on that.

The downside is a 6 month rent w/ 2 months deposit. My hope for a month-to-month lease was just a hope.
The rent is higher than most others we looked at but it is furnished completely and that saves me buying furniture and then dealing with it should we relocate to another city.

You are essentially paying a routine 1 month damage deposit and a 1 month rent deposit, whether or not it says that in your contract.

Considering the behavior of foreigners who've come before you plus the horrible effects on landlords during the COVID fiasco, it seems as if you've been treated fairly, IMHO.

I thought the GF would like it but she thinks it is too much money but placed the decision on me.

It doesn't necessarily mean she doesn't like the place, but Vietnamese people are in the habit of doing without the things they like for the sake of financial security, especially when paying for rent instead of purchasing real estate.

Vietnamese women in relationships with western men look at housing needs through a totally different set of lenses 🕶️

If you are still "marriage minded", I highly recommend that you firmly negotiate your expectations before getting married.

The long-time model here has been that the foreigner promises to give their wife a regular monthly household budget allowance and then she pays for everything including rent, utilities, groceries, etc.

The problem with that is she will always be looking for ways to economize and SAVE* while bluntly pointing out any time she deems you to be extravagant.

(*whatever the wife saves out of the monthly budget is generally her's to save apart from your funds).

In my case I had a serious talk with my wife to be, explaining that I would be paying the rent & utilities and would spend whatever is necessary for my personal comfort.

So she takes care of most other household expenses out of the monthly budget I provide.

It took her a little while to stop being shocked by higher utility bills but she now accepts the arrangement and no longer complains.

I tried, through my GF to get them to go to a one month deposit in case we may want to break the lease but they would not move on that.  @Dannyroc3

Vietnamese landlords and I think most landlords around the world are not really concerned with the desire of their tenants to be as flexible as possible.

There are places where you can rent month to month, but certainly not a three-bedroom house where the landlord prefers to have a long-term tenant.

I actually think you lucked out, because it's much more common here to have the landlord of a house insist on at least a one year lease.

Congratulations on finding a place that suits you!

Cheers!

O.B.

I agree with Ocean Beach, in my experience vietnamese women are very frugal, especially with things that westerners think of as essential. They always like to have a stash of money somewhere in expectation of the financial disaster that they seem to expect. I think you did well to find a place you like on a 6 month lease.

@Malcolmleitrim In fact she is having heartburn that a property broker will be getting paid.

I explained that the market value of the part is what it is and that the fee will mostly come from the owner.... just as prop manager fee does from my rental. 

True, if we could have somehow connected with the owner before hand we might have haggled the price a little lower but probably not as the place just went on the market.

This morning we went over to sign the agreement but hit a few snags like the hot water wasn't hot and the frig seemed to be not cold enough for the freezer to work.

We will see what happens, I was reluctant to fork over money until those things worked.

Just an update:

The issues with the apartment seem to have been resolved yesterday. (hot water etc) so the contract was signed in the evening and so we will move in today.

So glad to this search is over and get on with things.

My GF is there now cleaning and getting things in order and I will check-out of the hotel shortly.

Last night I mentioned to my GF, that we would need to buy a few fans (to circulate the A/C out of the rooms) and maybe a dehumidifier. My GF felt we had spent enough money already but I will overrule this and buy at least fans this week.

Surprisingly, ceiling fans are not more popular here.  I will settle for the fans on a stand I guess.

Its especially helpful that it comes with all the furniture needed, even sizable wardrobes.

So things are going well, everyone is happy. 

    Just an update:
The issues with the apartment seem to have been resolved yesterday. (hot water etc) so the contract was signed in the evening and so we will move in today.
So glad to this search is over and get on with things.
My GF is there now cleaning and getting things in order and I will check-out of the hotel shortly.

Last night I mentioned to my GF, that we would need to buy a few fans (to circulate the A/C out of the rooms) and maybe a dehumidifier. My GF felt we had spent enough money already but I will overrule this and buy at least fans this week.
Surprisingly, ceiling fans are not more popular here.  I will settle for the fans on a stand I guess.

Its especially helpful that it comes with all the furniture needed, even sizable wardrobes.

So things are going well, everyone is happy. 
   

    -@Dannyroc3

unless it's a very old unit, your air conditioner should be a more modern "inverter" and will have a dry or dehumidify function built in.

look for the word "dry" or a water droplet icon setting on your remote.

it's amazingly effective at cooling down places and keeping you from having to use the less efficient cooling setting.

that and a couple of stand-up fans should be all you need.

Tell your girlfriend that you are hoping there will be days when you will only need to use the fan and not the AC inverter.

Vietnamese women love to save on energy bills.

I wouldn't purchase a ceiling fan on a 6-month lease.

I'm currently making the switch from a one year lease to a 3-year lease at the same house and so now I will upgrade a few things at my expense since we will be here for 3 years.

everything you've written indicates that you are unsure where you will want to be in 6 months so I would avoid making any upgrades that you can't take with you out the door.

I'm having déjà vu thinking I already told you much of this...

@Dannyroc3

I have chosen to stay at the central hotel ($17) for the AC, pool.

May I enquire is that the C Central hotel or the Saigon Central hotel?

@OceanBeach92107

Your advice on the "dry setting, was right on schedule.  One of the remotes has this setting. Does this work in conjunction with the air conditioning function or does it turn off the cooling?

The remote has a handy screen but perhaps I need to look up the remote model online for more explanation of what all those symbols mean.

Of course this may all be a moot point because I noticed after I moved in, that one of the ceiling sections  (maybe 10x10) is open to the weather as are parts in the bathroom ceilings, probably for ventilation.

So it seems any effort to dry the air would not be effective.

I didn't consider buying a ceiling fan for the reasons you offered, I just wondered why they are not used more here.  It could be the high ceilings keep the hottest air upwards and no matter the direction that the fan turns it would only move hot air down.