Searching accommodation in Vietnam? Educate yourself!

Remember someone asking for a rental guide, tips & tricks? Decided to put one together, I hope it will help people to deal with the issue wisely ;)

1) Choose a location that suits your purpose

First off you should narrow down your search to the exact area you'd like to live in. There are some particular areas where foreign citizens prefer to live. For example, in HCMC it’s the city center with most offices and shops. Also, D7 and D2 are very popular since there’re many expat communities there. However, the working place must be of most importance since traffic here is terrible! If you’re going to live somewhere in Hanoi, Danang or some other province, no need to worry about traffic, it’s a personal HCM problem((

2) General knowledge

Speaking about HCM, there’s a huge problem of flooding in raining season. The most vulnerable regions are D10, D2, D1, and D7 are partly damaged.
Districts 2 and 7 are most convenient for expats since there you can find any goods you might need without importing it from your home country.
While searching for accommodation it might be useful to read forums such as this one, sites and groups on the subject. But the profit from it is 50/50 since useful information often mixed up with trash like dramas, trolling and other worthless stuff…
Use all your acquaintances and connections in order to find the best option possible. Don’t hesitate to ask relatives and friends for help, most of the time such a teamwork does have a positive result.

3) Trust NO real estate agent

Please beware of fraud. Some real estate agents post fake pictures of the apartment advertised and set up way too high price. The higher the rent price, the more money they will get from the landlord, so it’s a thriving business here.
So how do you know if it’s the real offer or a fraud? Try to google the pictures. Usually, such agents post loads of ads with the same phone number and fake photos. How do you detect inflated price? Just join some sites for leasing properties and compare prices, easy research and you’re safe!

Here's my knowledge on the subject, if you have any further questions, feel free to ask!