Reliable real estate agents and night life

Hi I am John an English hairdresser I have been here for three weeks - I am in a hotel my new bosses arranged for me when I arrived - I am looking for somewhere myself and in my short experience dealing with rental agents they are bad at communications and I have sent several requests out with no reply - I am in district 1 working in district 2 - unfortunately I cant comment on district 5 but if I find out anything I will let you know - also be careful when renting from  the locals as you may find there are conditions in your rental for example curfew meaning after a certain time you cant gain access to your apartment - and make sure everything is working in the property before handing over any money - there are alternatives - there are Apart Hotels - fully serviced/cleaning/laundry etc. Which may be a better proposition I think for now I am going to look at these - hope I have not painted too much of a black picture just trying to be of help - should you require a fantastic hairdresser when you get out here please give me a try and good luck to you - Kind Regards John Birks 

Thank you! That was very helpful. I'd rather be safe than sorry. From what I've read elsewhere it is recommended to use a real estate agent to help with the language barrier. It's also noted to be firm with prices and negotiations so I'll keep that in mind. Maybe you're having difficulty because you're in District 1? I hear that's the most expensive and busiest part of town.

What's your budget? Most agent don't deal with anything below $400 USD from my experience. That means the cheapest property they'll show you is $400 or higher.

Having said that, if your budget is higher than the threshold. I'd used couple of decent agents that I can recommend to you for my first 6 months. My current place I found on my own.

D5 is in Chinatown area so should be cheaper. I personally prefer D3 which borders D5. To me D3 is much nicer for living but still right next to D1 (where most of the actions here) and D5 (your work).

I don't ever recall someone telling me that they want to go to D5 for nightlife. For food yes. Not for nightlife.

Otoro, are contracts usually available in English if I search for an apartment on my own? I am afraid of being scammed. My budget is 600$ max. Is District 5 far from D3 or D5 by motorbike?

Also how did you look for places without an agent? Thank you for your help! I'm completely lost on the matter.

Sarahcrowley13 wrote:

Otoro, are contracts usually available in English if I search for an apartment on my own? I am afraid of being scammed. My budget is 600$ max. Is District 5 far from D3 or D5 by motorbike?

Actually, most of the listing for apartment-for-rent websites are made by agents. Some websites are run by the agent themselves. I can pass along the contact if you'd like.

$600 is a good budget and you can do quite a bit with that. You should be able to find something good (by Saigon's standard) for around 500-550 that includes cleaning/internet/laundry/water. Usually electricity is separate. Plan to pay around $30 to $50 for it (depends on how much your landlord tweak the meter).

Depends on which part of D5, a certain location in D3 might actually be closer than living in D5! Same applies to certain location in D1. Usually it's around 10-20 minutes by motorbike or taxi between those three districts...again depending on location A and B.

Sarahcrowley13 wrote:

Also how did you look for places without an agent? Thank you for your help! I'm completely lost on the matter.

My contract was in English (via agent). I have yet to talk contract with new apartment. I doubt it since the owner barely speak English. Not sure if said owner would be amendable to signing your version of the contract or not.

When you live here long enough, you start to notice different "for rent" signs in less obvious buildings/locations. I usually just go up to the place that looks interesting to me and ask about the info. Having said that, individual owners tend to very unprofessional. So it's a roll of the dice whether you get responsible owner or not.

In Vietnam where service tends to lack, the odd is usually against you. Even big brand hotels have a difficult time training their staff to their usual standard (I make this statement base on first hand experience in case other people here start to get defensive). Not to put you off but setting proper expectation.

When I first came to Vietnam I had the problem on conception of " GOOD Service". Required a period of time to tune myself and accept the Level of "GOOD Service".

Think another important point to note is many locals want to have a contract to feel assured and most foreigners would actual abide the contract terms. However, do not expect the same attitude from the locals.

When the unexpected happens, most contract value is usually too low to file a legal suit. So usually, we peruse and advise clients on an "escape route" before get into a contract.

So in the end of the day, if they breach the contract, the loss is acceptable. PM me if you require assistance.

Best of luck in your search!

One of the best ways to find a rent house or apartment is by chatting up the waitstaff at the local cafes. Most real estate transactions in Vietnam, rental or sales, do not involve an agent. Most of the time it is word of mouth only via family members or friends that offer a "finders fee" for referring people to their place to rent.
I live in a 3 story, 4 room house and pay only 350 usd per month. That same house through an agent would be +900usd. I live in Vung Tau but the same holds true everywhere in Vietnam. In the backpacker areas you can easily find good leads at the cafes because most of them speak English.

Seconded! That's a good one.

Like !

Hi Sarah!

Are you still looking for a place to live? My family has four serviced apartment buildings in districts 1 and 8. Rental is from $300-650/month, excluding electricity. [link moderated]

I'm living in the building in district 8 (Nguyen Van Cu bridge). It takes about 10-15 minutes to go to Ben Thanh market in district 1 or Parkson in district 5. There's a one-bedroom apartment (45sqm) available now at only $450/month. If you're interested, don't hesitate to contact me at Tracy260387@gmail.com or 0907859727.

Cheers,
Tracy

When are you come here? Which address will you work in Dist 5? let's me more information, maybe I can help!

Sarahcrowley13 wrote:

Any recommendations for real estate agents in HCMC? I'll be working in District 5.  Id Ike to rent in D5 but am curious if there's a nightlife in that part of town? Or does it tend to die down in the evening. Thanks for any help with this!

hello Sarah,
i'm living in D5. So just feel free to contact me if you need any further information.

regards,

Maria