For expats who come to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia for work and bring their families/dependents on permanent visa; one key challenge faced is to find a living place which is good from the perspectives of rental cost, building condition, surroundings, basic amenities etc.
In this post, I will share some useful tips for expatriates who are looking to get a family apartment on rent in Saudi Arabia.
Negotiate the rental efficiently
While dealing with the landlord; don’t just believe on all that he or the agent says and play smartly while deciding the rental to be paid. Some property owners do exaggerate and demand quite higher amounts but do lower it considerably if you play your card wisely.
However your negotiations must be reasonable and you should consider all aspects of the property into consideration during your negotiation including the condition, location etc.
Ensure no water issues
In Saudi Arabia, don’t expect a 24/7 water availability in every locality and every building. Many people suffer from water unavailability in the hot season and end up spending extra money buying water tankers. When choosing a house, do confirm from owner and any other sources (e.g. haris/guard) and try to negotiate with the owner for any such potential costs. In buildings where owners themselves are also living; normally they take care of this but if not; can cause panic for you.
Ensure peaceful surroundings
No one wants to live in a house with noisy atmosphere; be it noise generated by any machinery or by the naughty kids. Do ask/check about population density in the building, make sure that the building is completely a family place with no bachelors and also prefer a place where any other tenants also live with common language/culture as that may help you build good and friendly relationship with them without any language barriers.
Ensure adequate parking
In Saudi Arabia, number of cars in a house often surpass number of people living there because of cheaper fuel, reasonable priced cars and economic stability of the people. Make sure that the building you opt for your living has adequate space for parking if you plan to own a car.
Check basic amenities nearby
If you can find some good restaurants, shops nearby and also any parks for your kids; that place should be ideal for you. Do check for nearby gym, play areas, hospitals, schools as well and any other preferences that you have.
Keep in mind that traffic in Saudi Arabia is always high on roads and if you opt for your accommodation not near to your work place; you will face traffic jams quite often. Prefer some residence which is at minimum possible distance from your office or from your children’s school.
Consider home furnishing
If you are going to rent a vacant apartment; you will have to spend enough time in planning, buying and setting up your home furniture and to turn it into your dream house. Do consider your furnishing preferences and ensure that the rooms are adequate and can be used for required level of furnishing.
For furnishing, make sure that the apartment is easy for moving in/out the furniture and the building has a lift in case of multiple story building.
If you are lazy going for buying the furniture or you don’t have much time to go for it; do, consider buying any furniture that previous tenant wants to sale out from the house. Many apartments for rent do offer option to buy the available furniture as well at quite reasonable prices.