The Procedure of renting an apartment.

Hello,
If you would like to rent an apartment in Hanoi, You will have to pay 1month deposit and 3 months rental. In Hanoi, it has many real estate agent so you can contact them. They will help you find apartments and you don't need pay any fee for them. 

wow 3 months deposit. well i need foreigners opinion too. Are you sure man?

oh, Sorry. I mean only 1 month deposit and 3 months in advance

alright well. thanks a lot. do u think I can get a decent apartment for USD500 range?

what documents do I need to rent an apartment?

Passport, and plenty of these:

lol good one mate. even if i have a visit visa?

Landlords don't care what kind of visa you have, only that you can pay. 

It's not going to be very helpful asking online what the procedure is to rent, because it's going to vary based on the landlord.  Just book something temporary (a $20/night hotel, for example), and explore the areas you're interested in, look for rental signs, talk to people,  etc.  Online you're not going to get any decent specifics on rentals, only real estate peddlers trying to sign you up as a client, while telling you their service is free. 

Finding a place to stay is one of the easier things about Vietnam. Plenty of places do month-to-month, without multiple months in advance. It all depends on your needs and how much you want to spend.  $500 per month should get you a very nice place.

I truly appreciate your advice mate. yeah i think that would be the best thing. besides looking for a job as an English teacher.

Sounds good.  Just curious:  Do you know that TEFL hiring in Vietnam is very biased in favor of caucasian westerners?

yeah man I know. well i grew up in US. got a degree and diploma in TESOL....................i mean i am taking my chances.......any tip would be helpful mate?

Check out the usual schools online (Apollo, AA, ILA..), as well as Dave's ESL Cafe, Craigslist VN, here and applying in person to other schools.

oh cool . yeah i am planning to do walk in interviews when I arrive . do u think i hold any chance buddy? I mean me being now a white guy?

Which teaching cert do you have?  And what university degree?

Well I got a diploma in Tesol and a degree from a malaysian college .it was an American degree program

Should be okay with those.  Are your documents notarized?  Do you have a police clearance?

Also, how much pay are you looking for?

Well I got my trancripts trancripts from college and Tesol was sent to me from LTTC london teachers training college. I have also got 7 years of teaching experience . No criminal record . I mean I have worked and learnt from experienced and professional native teachers.but I am from pakistan originally. I hope that doesn't hold me back

So, it sounds like you may have a few issues.  If you don't have a recent police clearance, and your credentials notarized, you're going to have trouble getting a work permit.  You could still work for a smaller school, but they tend to pay less and maybe give you less hours.  Unfortunately, the number of years you work in another country doesn't mean much to the schools in Vietnam -- you're really going to be starting from scratch.  The fact that you're not white is going to limit you as well, regardless of whether you have an American accent.

Sorry, I don't make the rules -- these are just the harsh realities of Vietnam.  If you're going there to earn enough money to sustain yourself and perhaps save for your future, you might be disappointed.  However, if you have a good amount of savings, and you're just teaching to have some extra spending money (i.e., you don't really need the job), then you should be fine.  In either case, you might want to look at spending less than $500 per month on an apartment as you can find decent places for a good deal less than that -- like, $200-$250.

Well I got my trancripts trancripts from college and Tesol was sent to me from LTTC london teachers training college. I have also got 7 years of teaching experience . No criminal record . I mean I have worked and learnt from experienced and professional native teachers.but I am from pakistan originally. I hope that doesn't hold me back

i understand man I know its not easy .well.......i hope i can get a job where i can live a comfortable life. what about the police clearance. should  I have to make one in Malaysia and bring it with me? i heard that its required for a foreigner who has lived for ore than 6 months in Vietnam? bro can u give me any useful tips that can help me land a job? how much do they normally pay non native teachers?

Sorry, I'm not sure what the details of a police clearance in your situation is -- I guess having something from Malaysia is better than nothing, but it just depends on how difficult they want to make it for you.  Remember, this only matters if you want to work for a school that requires a work permit.  Many do not, but they pay less.

The advice AlwaysBeClosing gave above about finding a job is solid.  As far as pay, I would think you're looking at $12-15 per hour, and perhaps 20-25 hours per week at best.  You might get lucky and find a better gig than that, but you have to remember, at this end of the market, you're competing with scores of 23-year-old blonde-haired blue-eyed tatooed backpackers, who look the part, and are willing to work for beer money.  Unfortunately it's not a slam-dunk by any means.

Damn............thanks man i mean i know u r not trying to bring me down but thats the truth. light brown skin and a non native passport..........all i ever wanted was to work hard and have a simple life.....but I mean if i work for an academy. arent they gonna provide me with a working permit? academies like language link and others?Man i am so lost..........i was really excitedand was looking forward to start a new life there.............

Like I said, to get a work permit, you need certain things (notarized credentials and diploma, police clearance, etc.).  This isn't the school's requirements, it's the government's, and their excuse is they do it to make sure the schools aren't taking a job away from a local and giving it to someone from a foreign country.  i.e., the government intentionally makes it hard for you, because you're a foreigner.  All countries do something similar, and the US is probably worse (e.g., they actively deport recent university graduates rather than give them the opportunity to get a job that "might" go to a US citizen).

The advantages whites from native-English-speaking countries have are (1) they have an accent that VN people want to learn (US and Canada first preference, followed by the other subjects of the crown) and (2) little Thuy or Binh can go home and talk about how much they love their funny white-faced teacher, making mommy and daddy proud, who can then brag to their neighbors that their kids are learning E from a white man. 

And, sorry to rain on your parade even more, but I think a good number of schools will look at your CV, see your name "Omar Salim" and immediately say "Nope".  Sorry, man, a lot of it is about image, not necessarily delivering a good service. 

This is all harsh, I know, but forewarned is forearmed.


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hahahahahah wow isnt that great man? life with full of challenges and not being born with a silver spoon........just amazing.......and my name? u mean cause its a muslim name...they gonna have a problem with that? I mean the more i am learning about how difficult would that be ...the more i wanna go there .....its gonna motivate me to get a passport from a native country one day and maybe do some plastic surgery like Michael Jackson.lol

It's not necessarily because your name is Muslim, it's because it's non-Anglo. 

Just something to remember:  Vietnamese will say they love Uncle Ho.  They're not talking about Ho Chi Minh, they're talking about the paper with his face on it (see above).  The other paper they love with faces on it are all faces of white men.  That's 50% of what you need to know about Vietnam.

Lol you got that right buddy. Anyway life is gonna go on. I am gonna give it a shot . I know the odds are against me but ........uncle Ho. Lol that ll work.its Asia. R u gonna be in hanoi in December? I owe u a couple of beers mate.

I'm down for some beers, but I'll likely be in Saigon.  That's the plan at least;  I'm just finishing up some loose-ends in the US before I come back to Vietnam.

Nice . Well come up to hanoi after I move there. It will be good to have a conversation over some  beers.

mate... renting a place is dead easy if the landlord is easy with you.
I rented a furnished place near the Oz embassy and the landlord is easy .... paid in USD ...he loves it. later I found out that he get 3 times move by renting the place to expat ...(like all expat are suckers)..my colleague informed ..he rented the same place for only 1/3 rent.. depend on how you negotiate. good luck .

Hye thanks mate. Well u know I have been checking out some places online but I know the best way to find a place is to be there in person.  As I am planning to come down there and get a job, I would like to rent a place near to my workplace. Someone told me Tay Ho or WestLake would be a good choice. Any suggestions?

if you havent got a job... the chances of renting a place might be difficult as many owners prefers working tenant.
In any case hotel is cheap.

An agent could find a place for you ... it is free ... the landlord pays the agent not the tenant. Check the local paper.
normally one br apartment cost about USD$400 to $500 per month.
good luck.

Cool . Mate what area is really safe and good for a foreigner to live in?

it is very safe in Hanoi. Other cities are no comparison when it comes to safety. bus transport is ok... very crowded and cheap ...cannot find any cheaper in any part of the world.  Bread and pho bo are very cheap and good .....
Depend how much rent you want to pay ... 
good luck ...

Hello, welcome you!
There are many apartment with rental fee about 500 USD and don't worry about any document, the real estate agent will handle this for you.So many real estate company in Hanoi (Moderated: no free ad on the forum pls+ register in the business directory)

A word of warning:

On the streets of Hanoi, there's the quicks and there's stucks. Get a smaller bike (less than 150cc and you dont need driving permit). Learn to drive it in-city.

no license needed ??? Not sure abt that ??
you need insurance papers for sure otherwise .. you will spend several nights in their guest house (free).
Those cowboys in the street are no monkety business ... seen them pulling down riders ... who gives a shit .... mate.

The littlest motorbike, honda cub or equivalent, require no driver licence that I know of. For Vn people at least. I am not sure about foreigners. You might want to check with a lawyer for the exact wording of the laws, write it down, and present to any cop stopped you,

Well, if you dont mind te procedures to get a DL, it might be the best way in long term.

... a few million DONG will make them happy. Suddenly no traffic violation.. U r the best driver in town.

hey --- dont get it wrong mate .... same in KL... 50 ringgit when handing over driving license solve all traffic/police problems. You will be merrily on your way.
good luck.

kingsford72 wrote:

no license needed ??? Not sure abt that ??
you need insurance papers for sure otherwise .. you will spend several nights in their guest house (free).
Those cowboys in the street are no monkety (sic) business ... seen them pulling down riders ... who gives a shit .... mate.

Remember the OP is (now) from an ASEAN country and there are special provisions between ASEAN member countries that cover visa, marriage documentation, etc. It's why VNese can drive in Cambodia whilst non-ASEAN have to get a Cambodian DL.