How To Easily Find Apartments in Da Nang in 2021

Finding apartments in Da Nang is easier than most people think.

While looking for apartments in western countries can be quiet the hassle, you will be surprised how much quicker it is to find good apartments in Vietnam…and for waaaay less money.

And in the following, I will show you how.

1. Where to stay in Da Nang?

But first of all, lets determine whether the City or the Beach Side is better for you.
Because everyone has different preferences and needs, it is hard to say which area in Da Nang is the best.

🌇 The City Side

If you prefer a more local lifestyle, then the City Side which is left of the Han River is the spot for you.

To be honest, I’m not 100% sure how the apartment landscape is in this area, however I can say with certainty that you will find cheaper apartments there than on the Beach Side.

Having lived in Da Nang for over a year now, I can share with you how life on this side of the river can look like:

PRO

• living costs are cheaper (the beach side is always more expensive)
• there are so many more local options
• food is cheaper compared to the beach side
• the city is more lively at night
• more (creative) coffee places and restaurants

CON

• you need to cross the bridges every time you want to go to the beach (15min)
• the local traffic can be more intense
• the air quality is usually worse in the city
• the noise level can be higher because of traffic and bars / karaoke at night.

🌊 The Beach Side

If you want to stay close to the beach and don’t mind being surrounded by a lot of foreigners, I would recommend to stay in Anh Thuong area.

Anh Thuong area is an up and coming district and very popular among foreigners.

PRO

• expect higher living costs (housing + food)
• lots of western food options
• hipster coffee places
• very close to the beach (5min walk)
• great vegan food options
• very relaxed lifestyle

CON

• It is quieter at night and if you want to enjoy nightlife, it can be pretty boring
• not very traditional Vietnam that you may expect
• lots of constructions going on at times (noise level can be annoying)

One important thing:

While Anh Thuong is a very popular area, you need to be aware that this area is still under construction. Sometimes, heavy hammering can even extend over the weekend which is not optimal if you want to sleep in.

While being in Vietnam in general, you need to get used to constructions, but if you are VERY sensitive to noise, you may want to look into another area, either more north or more south from Anh Thuong.

2. How to find apartments?

Finding apartments in Da Nang is very easy and shouldn’t take you longer than a few days.

Here are the three most common ways:

1. Using Facebook groups

This is probably the most common way to find rentals if you’re not in Vietnam. There are a lot of apartments posted every day.

You can either just scroll through the feed and see which photos attract your attention or, like many people do: simply state your requirements and wait for agents to comment your post with options.

These groups are usually the most active:

Da Nang Expats House

Apartments, Houses, Villas Rental in Da Nang – Hoi An Expats.

Da Nang Apartments & Rooms

There are lots of groups on facebook but I wouldn’t recommend joining too many apartment groups, because people mostly post the same all over the place. You’re better off, following a focused approach.

2. Working with an agent

Agents are usually very active in Facebook groups. If you don’t have time to look for apartments in Da Nang yourself, you can easily outsource your apartment hunting to an agent. Keep in mind that Agents are working commission based and that you are likely end up paying more.

One of the most common approaches that saves time, is to  post your requirements and wait for agents to get in touch.

Here is a real estate company that many people worked with:

Da Nang Accomodations

3. Walk around

I personally found this the most easy and time saving way to find an apartment in Da Nang.

Once you decide where you want to stay, you can just walk around and see if there are apartments available.

Many apartment buildings have phone numbers printed on the front door. It’s easy to get in touch via Whatsapp to make an appointment quickly.

Why this is my preferred method will be explained further below.

3) Paying The Deposit

If you don’t go for a Hotel or Airbnb, you will most likely have to put down a deposit.

The deposit is just a security for the landlord and in most cases, matches the amount of one month rent.

You will get the deposit back at the end of your stay, but the landlord can deduct the money for your electricity or other services of the last month.

I find this a good practice, otherwise you get a huge chunk of money back that you have to exchange at the airport.

I can imagine that 1 or 2 months of deposit is common practice (same in Thailand). It is very unlikely that a landlord will ask for more which should raise concerns.

Sometimes you can even negotiate the amount of your deposit.

For example :

If your rent is 15 million VND, then your deposit will be 15 million as well. Having to pay 30 million VND in cash for the rent + deposit can be pretty steep. In this case, you can negotiate to pay only 10 million VND or pay small amounts over time. Many landlords will agree to reasonable requests.

4) Paying The Rent

Cash is still King in Vietnam and most places will prefer cash payments every month (for other obvious reasons too 😉 ).

But in some cases I’ve seen people paying via bank transfer because they have a vietnamese bank account. This way you can avoid withdrawing big chunks of money and paying banking fees every time.

Some modern apartment buildings will also allow you to pay by credit card and usually charge a 1.5 – 2% fee on top.

5) Here is what I would recommend:

With the important things out of the way, I want to quickly share with you my preferred method of finding apartments in Da Nang.

1. Book a hotel for the first 2-3 nights

I normally book a hotel for the first few nights to reduce the stress. When coming from another country, you don’t want to rush your apartment hunting in the first days with jet lag.

If you book your apartment online, you may run into the risk that the apartment and area doesn’t match your expectations. Do some exploration first.

2. Explore your neighborhood

When I first arrived with my girlfriend in Da Nang, we walked around the neighborhood to see if we like certain areas.

This helped us to answer a few important questions:

How safe is it?

How quiet is it?

Are the coffee places good for working?

Are there supermarkets in walking distance?

What are healthy food options?

How well connected is the area?

Do I need to rent a motorbike?

You cannot really answer all these questions by just looking on google maps or asking people in facebook groups. You have to see yourself.

 

3. Look for “Apartments” signs and phone numbers

When you find an area you like, pay attention to the buildings and whether they have apartment signs. This shouldn’t be too difficult to find, since owners WANT you to know.

Many places have phone numbers written on the windows and the front door. You can easily contact them via Whatsapp:

4. Negotiate the price

Because the prices are not written on the door, you may have some room to negotiate.

My advice for negotiation is to always state your budget first.

Even if the apartment is more expensive, the owner / manager will most likely come down a little.

But don’t be a cheapskate. Being cheap is not a good start of a business relationship!

If they are willing to match your budget, congratulations!

If not, you can ask them if they have other apartments that fit your budget. In many cases, one owner has multiple properties. In our case, we looked at four different apartments of the same owner before we decided.

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5. Take your time

If you feel like you’ve seen enough, walk away and take your time to think.

From my past experience, it’s better to sleep over it instead of making a quick decision. But sometimes it’s also good to trust your gut feeling. It’s up to you.

Nevertheless, here are some questions to ask before making a decision:

1. Clarify what’s included in the rent (water? cleaning?, etc.)
2. Ask if you can access the wifi to check the speed
3. Clarify how you would receive packages if you need to order something online
4. Ask how they handle deposit and rent payment 
5. Specify the date you want to move in and out (may help to lower the price if you stay 1.5 months)
6. ask about the safety of the area
7. ask about the noise level and construction (if you arrive on the weekend, it’s hard to judge)
8. If there is kitchen equipment missing, ask if they can provide it 
9. Check if they have filtered water in the building (so you don’t need to buy water bottles)

This is roughly what we did and it took us only 1 day to find an apartment, pay the deposit and move in a few days later.

One more tip:

Use Google Maps

I have seen more and more apartments popping up on Google Maps in 2020 and 2021. For our last apartment hunts, we used Google Maps a lot to scout our favorite areas.

To end this little apartment hunting guide, make sure to also check out my apartment tour: