Negotiating with landlords in Vietnam
This content is provided by Mooveezy
As an expat trying to rent a place to live in Vietnam, how can you negotiate with the landlord to get the best result?
Many expats must have heard some advice about negotiating (especially in real estate field) in Vietnam such as: "do not let "them" know your price", or "always bargain a lower price",.. And we bet that not many in these advice work! Or worse, they can make you look like an idiot in some cases! So today we would like to share you some tips to actually "win" a deal.
1. Know the market
The problem with the advice "always bargain" is that: how do you know when to stop? And what is an actual "good" price? For example if the price of an one bedroom apartment in Masteri Thao Dien is about 650-700$, you will make yourself a true *sshole trying to bargain the price to 500$! or even if you succeed, the landlord will not happy with you at all during your lease (to be honest, you will not want your landlord unhappy with you during the lease!). So the best solution is to really know the market, the average price or the custom of that area. You can do that by asking some agents to see some options, or you can ask other experienced expats in many facebook groups (and remember to notice the time because real estate price in HCM may increase every year!) .
2. Communicating and communicating
Believe it or not but the best way to get good options from agents and landlords is communicating a lot! (as long as things you said don't put you in disadvantaged position). Talking and asking questions to know their "why". For example: you find a very suitable apartment but the landlord doesn't accept your cat, you may ask some questions to find out why they don't accept cat, do they hate cats? or are they afraid that your cat will damage their furniture? If they afraid your cat will damage the furniture, you can guarantee to pay compensation for damage by an additional contract, or you can increase the deposit to make them feel safe. And you can also clarify your request, your need and be explicit so the landlords and agents can find ways to help you!
3. Understand the value of intangibles!
You may ask yourself a question: as a tenant, what is my advantage to negotiate with the landlords? The answer is you have a lot actually! Maybe you can ask the landlord to decrease the price a little bit because you will rent for 1 year, or to change a larger fridge for you because you really want to rent the apartment and ready to deposit immediately. All of that are intangibles but they are really powerful! Combining with tip #1 and #2, you can be very creative in finding a way to make both parties feel that they are "win".
That are some tips from Mooveeteam for expats to negotiate in the complicated real estate world out there. Like and follow our page to get more useful information, and if you have any another great tips, share with us in comment!
And if you need a trustful agent to find an apartment in HCMC, contact Mooveezy and explore thousand of apartments:
Mooveezy - Online platform for long term rentals
🖥Website: https://bit.ly/2SNvOuM
☎️Call: 079 297 0217
