禁漫天堂

Thinking of returning under tourist status for a longer stay.
Ideally I'd be looking for a short term apartment instead of hotel/airbnb type arrangement. I imagine it's possible to find such? Would like to hear input on how to do such if quite realistic. - @It2VN

What...city...

This is a different person from original author but would like the same info. I鈥檒l be there 90 days in HCMC.

This is a different person from original author but would like the same info. I鈥檒l be there 90 days in HCMC. - @kevinodprobate

Hey there. Won't be long now!馃榾

Have you taken a look through our HCMC Housing ads? Many (most?) of the ads there have been placed by agents who, I am sure, would be quite happy to speak with you about your upcoming plans. After speaking to an agent, feel free to post any questions you might have (deposits, lease agreement, utility bills, etc) to the forum. Lots of friendly folk here ready to lend assistance.

That said, I would suggest you not enter into any written and/or verbal agreement prior to your arrival. Decline their offer, should it come up, to meet you at the airport.

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 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 English language prices.

Was thinking of coastal city maybe Da Nang, or similar for accessibility to beach.. Maybe not Nha Trang as it seems to be full of Russians. Good to have the rental search tips too; though personally speaking I have no contacts in VN

Was thinking of coastal city maybe Da Nang, or similar for accessibility to beach.. Maybe not Nha Trang as it seems to be full of Russians. Good to have the rental search tips too;...

A subsection of a very popular VN marketing/sales site, , has a subsection devoted to property rentals. See . There's no English language choice on the site, so you'll have to use a browser add-on translator. The prices there will give you a good idea of what a VN would be willing/expect to pay.

...though personally speaking I have no contacts in VN - @It2VN

Not yet, you don't 馃槈

Frequent the same restaurant/bistro/bar for a few consecutive days after your arrival and it won't take you long to recruit a local, if for nothing else than help with translations, directions, or their opinion on a unit's location.

Why the aversion to Russians?

Was thinking of coastal city maybe Da Nang, or similar for accessibility to beach.. Maybe not Nha Trang as it seems to be full of Russians. Good to have the rental search tips too; though personally speaking I have no contacts in VN - @It2VN

basically anywhere in Vietnam you can usually find an apartment to rent for 30 days or multiples of 30 days.

The rent will be more if you attempt to rent a place for only two or three weeks.

you can rent the apartment for as long as you and the landlord agree to the term.

so even if you are limited by a 3-month tourist visa, you can sign a lease for one or two or three years and simply leave the country on a border run every 90 days and come back and you have your apartment still waiting for you.

try to avoid the property management type websites. they usually have the worst deal for rental.

always best to come here first for 3 to 10 days and stay in an affordable motel hotel.

You can use Airbnb as a tool too figure out the high rental rates in that area, but I agree that it's not a good source for an affordable apartment long-term (30 days or longer).

Don't try to get too cute with landlords about one or two or three weeks rental as you're the only one who's going to get hurt by that type of arrangement.

The best source for local rentals is usually the FB groups for that particular area.

it would be nice if you had a Vietnamese friend to assist you, but there is usually a hidden price in those type of arrangements; Prices quoted Will be a bit higher to cover a kickback to your helpful friend.

there has been tons and tons of information written on this subject over the past 6 years I've been active on this forum.

A search for apartment rental in Vietnam or some similar terms will get you people telling you about all of the common pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Here's one thread from back in 2019 that had a lot of worthwhile input on the subject of getting the best possible apartment for your 膼膼膼

/forum/viewtopic.php?id=829388#4476401

Thanks for the feedback and advice, I'll look into the links and so on.

I was thinking of combining a longer stay in S.E Asia with possibly a similar coastal Thailand location and even another country,聽 which would be new to me at this point. Just bouncing around for a few two- or three-month stretches, getting a feel for places, expat communities etc..聽

Only having ever had rental contracts in Europe before, I am exploring the possibilities of non-tourist rentals, in regular apartments, while not being resident.

...Only having ever had rental contracts in Europe before, I am exploring the possibilities of non-tourist rentals, in regular apartments, while not being resident. - @It2VN

That's pretty much not going to happen in Vietnam, and you very well wouldn't like it if you could.

You are correct in assuming that there are apartment buildings where rental units are targeted for Western tourists and their unique wants & needs, and then there are far more apartments that discourage or totally block renting by foreigners.

The two types of apartments are drastically different from each other.

There's really no such thing as a "serviced apartment" for locals, while apartments catering to foreigners are virtually all "serviced": Linens including sheets & towels provided, Western style mattresses, refrigerator & cooktop & basic kitchen appliances & dishes & cutlery & cookware included plus usually a washing machine and enough A/C units to cool the entire place.

Tourist apartments will sometimes allow 1 month rentals, especially in off-seasons.

Apartments for locals are virtually unavailable for anything less than a 1 year lease; often the minimum lease can be as high as 3 years.

While it's possible you could luck out and have a refrigerator or cooktop in a locals apartment, the common practice here is quite similar to that in Germany, where you are definitely fortunate if any light fixtures are included.

So renting a "locals" place will likely require purchasing all linens, upgrading the mattress(es) if you can't stand the Vietnamese style mattress provided (though it's more likely you'd get a bedframe without any mattress), buying a refrigerator and virtually everything you might need for a functional kitchen and a washing machine to connect to hookups provided AND a TV.

You'd always pay at least 6 months in advance plus at least 1 months rent for security deposit.

Not really the ideal solution for someone only planning to be in one place for 2 or 3 months.

...Only having ever had rental contracts in Europe before, I am exploring the possibilities of non-tourist rentals, in regular apartments, while not being resident. - @It2VN That's pretty much not going to happen in Vietnam, and you very well wouldn't like it if you could. You are correct in assuming that there are apartment buildings where rental units are targeted for Western tourists and their unique wants & needs, and then there are far more apartments that discourage or totally block renting by foreigners. The two types of apartments are drastically different from each other. There's really no such thing as a "serviced apartment" for locals, while apartments catering to foreigners are virtually all "serviced": Linens including sheets & towels provided, Western style mattresses, refrigerator & cooktop & basic kitchen appliances & dishes & cutlery & cookware included plus usually a washing machine and enough A/C units to cool the entire place. Tourist apartments will sometimes allow 1 month rentals, especially in off-seasons. Apartments for locals are virtually unavailable for anything less than a 1 year lease; often the minimum lease can be as high as 3 years. While it's possible you could luck out and have a refrigerator or cooktop in a locals apartment, the common practice here is quite similar to that in Germany, where you are definitely fortunate if any light fixtures are included. So renting a "locals" place will likely require purchasing all linens, upgrading the mattress(es) if you can't stand the Vietnamese style mattress provided (though it's more likely you'd get a bedframe without any mattress), buying a refrigerator and virtually everything you might need for a functional kitchen and a washing machine to connect to hookups provided AND a TV. You'd always pay at least 6 months in advance plus at least 1 months rent for security deposit. Not really the ideal solution for someone only planning to be in one place for 2 or 3 months. - @OceanBeach92107

Three other considerations I failed to mention:

1. Noise: any apartment building in Vietnam is subject to increased noise at inconvenient times, but it's probably much easier to get an apartment house full of foreigners to shut up by 10:00 p.m. at night, and they won't be as inclined to have karaoke running all the time.

An apartment house in Vietnam for locals only is a different matter.

Vietnamese people are quite reluctant to call the police on their fellow Vietnamese citizens, as doing so has led to mortal injury many times in the past.

So it would be up to you to take it upon yourself to contact the local authorities and have them enforce violations of noise laws.

They might assist you after 10:00 p.m at night, but during The hours from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., you can still expect a whole lot of legal noise bothering you.

2. Odors

Certainly foreigners are capable of creating foul odors and smells that the majority of residents in the apartment building find offensive.

But living in a locals only apartment building would be especially challenging for almost all foreigners.

You have no idea what you've been missing if you've never had a neighbor cooking bamboo for fermentation, and the Vietnamese version of pork intestines is an odor that many foreigners simply can't tolerate.

In apartment buildings and even in hotels and motels, Vietnamese people are notorious for wanting to crack the door open and usually not use air conditioning but instead allow air flow from a window to take their food odors in one direction or another; outside or into the interior corridor.

I experienced that for about 2 months at V农ng T脿u Melody Apartments (along with the higher level of noise that comes when my neighbors refused to close their doors) and that's been a significant reason why my wife and I have always insisted on renting a house and not an apartment.

Houses can still have their own neighbor problems, but if you take the time to find the best situation you can usually limit the unwelcome noises and odors to a minimum.

3. Hot water in all faucets

Properties that are maintained primarily for use by foreigners are much more likely to have hot water in the bathroom shower or tub and the bathroom sinks, as well as in the kitchen.

Apartment buildings that are primarily for locals are much more likely to have only cold running water.

Thanks again for the detailed feedback Appreciated.

So it seems it would be easiest/best to just get an apartment rental on a site such as airbnb or similar, with some monthly rental discount. The serviced element isn't critical for me but obviously a furnished place would be expected, though I could see myself eating out a lot considering the price of street food etc.

Thanks again for the detailed feedback Appreciated. So it seems it would be easiest/best to just get an apartment rental on a site such as airbnb or similar, with some monthly rental discount. The serviced element isn't critical for me but obviously a furnished place would be expected, though I could see myself eating out a lot considering the price of street food etc. - @It2VN

Do whatever