z66p65

Hi Martin,
Thanks for your detailed reply, but I've more questions for you, please.
I was wondering if you could tell me:
1. Tap water quality and whether you need to buy bottled water?
2. If the 3-pins from UK fit the plus in the Barwa city apartments?
3. Would you happen to know if it's better to freight your furniture from UK to Doha or buy new/second hand there?
Cheers
Z

Sanshinman

Barwa City seems to offer good value, and Martyw makes it sound tempting.

The position I am in negotiations about would see me traveling around a lot so being close to a main expressway would be useful, the office is in be Ar-Rayyān - Google Maps says half an hour drive but I drive in London and know this is probably wide of the mark.... What Google calls 30 mins in London is between 1-2 hours and I'm guessing Doha is no different.

I like to train and the local dojo (martial arts school) is in Ad Dawhah - again seems quite close so I guess the question is is it a nice area to live? Although I'm married with kids I'll be spending the first few years out alone - I don't need (can't afford) to be out drinking all the time so I'd rather be in a quite area.

Russ_Sarah

anyone got a feel for rentals in and around doha??

for example..there are LOADS of places in the pearl, a fully furnished 2bedder in there though looks pricey at circa 15k qar per month..but there are loads of them to rent so i am just wondering if there are any seasoned expats out there who can advise me on if its possible to haggle with any of the estate agents? how much should i be aiming to haggle them down by as a percentage…or…is there no room for negotiations due to a high demand???

thanks

Russ

britexpat76

A month free is a fair negotiation. There is loads of availability on the Pearl and remember YOU DO NOT PAY THE AGENT, the landlord will be paying him/her.

Russ_Sarah

right..ok thanks for that…so where i see 50% of one month rent as commission…are you saying that the landlord will sort that out..not me??

thanks for the heads up.

Russ

britexpat76

The General rule here is that the landlord pays the commission, typically 1 month but they will try it on with the renter too.

Capoeira123

Interesting view Britexpat76, I've been chatting to lots of agents this week, and every single one of them has stated 2 weeks commission payable by the tenant. The only exception seem to be those representing a developer (i.e. for brand new places).

This leads me to think that the market has now moved in this direction, or alternatively that they all start with this and expect the well-informed tenant to negotiate it away!

Russ_Sarah

estate agents…dirty bast**ds the lot of them!!

britexpat76

Nope market has not moved, they have been ripping tenants off for a long time here................ All lying cheating tw@ts.

z66p65

The golden question is: What can you do about it? how can you avoid it? Is there any regulation to refer to?
Z

martinbkk

Smile, laugh a little and follow it up with "go get from de boss my tinted friend"

martinbkk

Tap water???
I don't get it

martinbkk

Plugs n sockets same as Blighty, ME, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong all same same.

Furniture, no idea, never owned any, it's only wood n sheets n stuff

johnny22

Nice post!!