Frustrating Apartment Search -- Need Advice

kmalik

crvlvr -

Does the number-of-posts confer you some kind of special privilege to launch an uncalled-for attack on a thread you have nothing to contribute? Does OP's low-post-count make him/her an easier target for this type of attack?

OP might have been better advised to phrase it differently, but it is clear from the thread that no harm or disrespect was intended. Contribution such as one you just made here only makes IM an unwelcome place. I, for one, did not appreciate the attitude Bishti's first response contained - and definitely do not appreciate the aggression and lack of content in your response. It is uncalled for and has no place in a civilized conversation.

crvlvr

kmalik, my apologies if me previous post seem to imply that poster with more posts is entitled to be rude. No one should have that authority. The number of posts however may eb a good indicator of how much a poster has given to this forum rather than taken from it.

IMHO, brishti's response to the OPs question was fair. He is explaining the reality of real estate in Bangalore.

On the other hand, the OPs response to bristhi appeared harsh.

capt_mahajan

Maybe we should all relax.

It's an apartment, not the apocalypse

Nick-H

That comes when a power cut happens just as you're ready to go to bed on the hottest day of the year. No fan, no AC... you just lie there, trying not to move too much, and trying to breathe enough!

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Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

kmalik

Crvlvr -

Thank you for your reflection. I hope the OP will have a successful apartment search and will come back to contribute more to this forum. Who know, he/she might even become a moderator here. Seems like the current ones all relax, and like it enough to recommend it liberally

Piper

Roadwarrior,
Found these suggestions on some Expat newsletter. The woman who wrote the article said that she used these when she was moving to BLR & was looking for housing.

http://www.expatriates.com/classifie...singavailable/

http://bangalore.click.in/manage_pos...=3&cmd=vie w_
posts&cat_id=41&parent_cat_id= 41&opt=&age=

http://www.moveandstay.com/property_...eyword=In dia (for corporate housing)

http://www.bangalorelocal.com/action.php

http://bangalore.craigslist.org/apa/...=printFriendly

chagu

I have not taken the time to read through all of the links suggested in the the previous post by Piper, however a suggestion re the a/c problem may be to rent the a/c on an annual basis.
When I lived in Delhi few years back , I used to rent a window a/c of 1.5 ton for about INR 6000 a year.
Included in the charge was installation, annual check up, any repairs ( labour and parts) and removal at the end of the rental.

Indjun

If you are from the US then defintiely get AC.

I also was told that Koramangala was a happening place, but I don't find myself doing much here. I think its mostly happening for locals. I would prefer to move closer to MG Road where most of the bars and lounges are. I may end up doing just that.

BTW, I ended up paying the 10 months deposit, but I only pay month-to-month.

RoadWarrior

My opinion is that the practice is absurd, and I'm entitled to that opinion. I'll also tell you that this opinion is shared by the majority of Indians with whom I've spoken about it over the past few months.

It's also clear that the practice is not universal. In my search for an apartment I came across a number of landlords whose terms were in the 1-5-month range for a deposit. The place I just chose in Frazer Town requires only a three-month deposit. So, the perception that the 10-month deposit is universal and non-negotiable is false.

My Indian roommate ranted for a good five minutes about 10-month deposits last night, so I'm clearly not the only one who finds it ridiculous. I would also dispute the notion that the current market environment favors the landlord. I've found it to be a fairly competitive rental market that is very renter friendly. My apartment, which is a steal, has been vacant for over a month now.

I'm sorry that you interpreted my comments about paying the deposit as implying that Indians are "sheep." That certainly wasn't intended. In fact, the main reason I'm here (by choice) is because I've always found the educated Indians I've met around the world to be intelligent, engaging people. Now, the rickshaw drivers, on the other hand, I'll refrain from commenting on.

My point about the deposit was that if more renters protested about it instead of going along with it without a peep, the practice would likely slowly change in the renters' favor.

Good day.

RoadWarrior

Anyway, thank you to everyone who gave their assistance in this thread. I really appreciate it!

In summary, I found a great two-bedroom in Frazer Town for Rs. 20,000. Also found a great Indian roommate to share it with.

Features:

- Quiet side street in the heart of Frazer Town
- 2 bedrooms with attached bath
- Washing machine
- Television and DVD player in the living room with two sofas
- Televisions in both bedrooms
- Air conditioning in both bedrooms
- Three balconies
- Microwave, refrigerator and fully-furnished kitchen
- Clean marble floors
- 24-hour security
- A friendly landlord who's offered to cook for me and teach me more about cooking Indian cuisine
- So quiet you could hear a mouse pee on a cotton ball :-)

Overall, I'm very satisfied with the way this turned out.

carlaeb

You may think this is antiquated, but according to my f-i-l the problem of squatters is alive and well in India. Landlords have reason to fear that their tenants will not vacate. I know of many recent cases where this has happened in Delhi.

That said, landlords also know that foreigners are their best bet- they are almost certain to vacate as they don't want to stay in India. Still, the practice exists and it gives the landlord 10 months of rent to earn interest from. There is no shortage of renters in Bangalore, so the ball is in their court, really.

Now if you can find someone who is renting to you without the ten month requirement, please let me know!

RoadWarrior

As I posted earlier in this thread, I found three landlords willing to forgo the 10-month deposit. The owner of apartment I ended up taking asked for a 5-month deposit, which I agreed to, because I had a good feeling about him as far as his ethics and character. I likely could have bargained him down to 3 or 4 months, but I was fine with the 5-month deposit, and he's been a great landlord.

Squatting is a problem everywhere, as there are dishonest people everywhere in this world. Tenant screening is the single most important factor in being a successful landlord. You have to be a good judge of character and engage in proper due diligence regarding the tenant's employment status, rental history, etc.

I'm not saying that good tenant screening is foolproof, but it goes a long way toward ensuring that problems like squatting don't occur. Only unethical people squat. People with a sense of ethics and morals would find that behavior abhorrent.

Additionally, knowing some American landlords, I know that there are measures that can be taken to make life miserable for squatters, and perhaps even as drastic as waiting for them to go to work, entering the apartment, having a locksmith change all of the locks and dumping their stuff outside.

I'm not going to deny that Indian law favors tenants and is conducive to squatting, but it's truly a sad commentary on India if people feel that a 10-month deposit is necessary. A lot of landlords are eager to rent, so they accept tenants with questionable character. Big mistake.

However, as I said, if you really do your homework, you will find a small percentage of landlords willing to take a smaller deposit.