Post: #1

Whenever I've travelled overseas, most recently Manila, I've always used AirBnb and typically was paying around 30-50 AUD p/night which adds up to around $350-400 give or take p/week. Sometimes i could find a cheaper place but if i wanna stay in Gramercy or Knightsbridge etc thats how much it costs.

But for long term staying (1-6 months) I feel like i would be over paying by using AirBnb.

Does anyone have a better way to find a good condo for a cheaper price OR is AirBnb still the best way?

Post: #2

Title is misleading as acquiring suggests you are purchasing.

With that said:

Search in the local language for rentals. I'm sure in just about everywhere there are local real estate rental sites and non foreign sites.

You could also try hiring a local realtor.

airbnb is convenient but not particularly cost effective.

Post: #3

Cheap and good in the same sentence, not happening.

Post: #4

(08-20-2018 12:38 AM)Cattle Rustler Wrote:  Cheap and good in the same sentence, not happening.

Cheap, good, fast triangle!

Post: #5

(08-20-2018 12:36 AM)lavidaloca Wrote:  Title is misleading as acquiring suggests you are purchasing.

With that said:

Search in the local language for rentals. I'm sure in just about everywhere there are local real estate rental sites and non foreign sites.

You could also try hiring a local realtor.

airbnb is convenient but not particularly cost effective.

Yeah sorry about that. I should have said "renting" but thanks. Ive noticed many facebook groups to have a lot of good information. I just think AirBnb is a rip off for month + stays

Post: #6

(08-20-2018 01:26 AM)tezza198 Wrote:  

(08-20-2018 12:36 AM)lavidaloca Wrote:  Title is misleading as acquiring suggests you are purchasing.

With that said:

Search in the local language for rentals. I'm sure in just about everywhere there are local real estate rental sites and non foreign sites.

You could also try hiring a local realtor.

airbnb is convenient but not particularly cost effective.

Yeah sorry about that. I should have said "renting" but thanks. Ive noticed many facebook groups to have a lot of good information. I just think AirBnb is a rip off for month + stays

Well of course, that's the very nature of it. Short term lets, with the additonal overheads (cleaning etc) that come with it.

You'd probably find a lot of landlords would be open to doing a better deal for a longer period.

Post: #7

Just message the Airbnb owner and ask how much they could do for x months

Many already offer a discount on the website for weekly/monthly, but you could definitely get better by offering to rent for several months and also cutting out the Airbnb fees

A couple of times (both in Thailand) a condo owner has offered me a good price on month-to-month, after booking for a week

But I know if I'd seen the same place advertised by an agent they would have told me only 12 month lease available. Cunts

Post: #8

There are tons of Facebook groups where you can get good deals in Manila. An example-

https://web.facebook.com/groups/14186288...?ref=br_rs

Just search 'Makati condo, apt, etc....' or 'Quezon city, apt, rentals...' and many people will be looking for the same things as you and then you can post your requirements. Something like "Looking for 1 bedroom condo in Salcedo, Legaspi, or wherever. Budget 25k-30k" and locals will reach out to you with their overpriced rentals and you can negotiate through messenger. A lot of them are extremely delusional about the prices they can command, so try and drive a hard bargain. Some of these guys would rather keep their units empty than give you a deal.

I've done similar on Rentpad and Lamudi and have gotten month to month rentals for cheap (less than airbnb) no deposit (or low deposit) by just reaching out to the unit owners and working with them.

I tried using a girl, but I've found they are way too shy to negotiate and say stupid things like "It's cheap already, you can pay it!"

Post: #9

Message hosts on airbnb. send em your whatsapp # in code and offer to pay cash upfront for a few months in lump sum for a better rate. Ive gotten as good as $250/month rate on a place listed at $1200

Post: #10

Message hosts on airbnb. send em your whatsapp # in code and offer to pay cash upfront for a few months in lump sum for a better rate. Ive gotten as good as $250/month rate on a place listed at $1200

Post: #11

(08-20-2018 12:38 AM)Cattle Rustler Wrote:  Cheap and good in the same sentence, not happening.

Not necessarily.

I generally rent Airbnbs per month. First strategy I use in getting "cheap" rates on decent apartments is to scan for brand new listings.
In most markets, new listings have two separate discounts factored in.

1. The monthly discount (often 30 - 49%).
2. First renter discount (first person to book it on airbnb - typically an additional 20%).

Last place I rented, for instance, totaled $1200-1300 for the month. After discounts, I only paid about $650.
I've had cases where similar monthly rates ($1k - $1200) dropped as low as $370 after those two discounts.

I also find shorter stays are often more expensive than longer ones.
e.g staying 3 weeks will often cost more than 4 weeks in the same apartment. So, book 4 weeks and leave in 3 weeks (if you want) - simple.

This is because Airbnb has a "weekly discount" which is often a lower percentage than the monthly discount.
Monthly discounts apply to bookings of 28+ days.

Example scenario:
An apartment is $30/day, with a weekly discount of 20% (very common) and a monthly discount of 49% (I've gotten these).

3 week booking = $30 x 21 = $630
20% off $630 = $504

4 week booking = $30 x 28 = $840
49% off $840 = $428.40

So, if you plan to stay over a week but under 28 days, always check the 28-day rate as well, to see what offers more value for your cash.

Post: #12

This advice is for Manila specifically.

- Olx.ph is the best website, followed by Facebook. Airbnb owners can also cut you a good deal sometimes, especially if you've already stayed there.

- Furthermore, many condo buildings rent most of their vacant units directly through their admin office and are not listed online so either go on foot and enquire directly or google "name of condo admin office" and give them a phone call.

- Try and go for the less famous buildings. They are almost as good if not just as good as their more well known counterparts but cheaper and less demand.

- Brand new buildings are the nicest and often cheaper than more established ones as the owners are keen to find their first tenant asap, don't have a grasp of the market yet and there are so many vacant units that they need to price competitively. Likewise, older buildings are also cheaper but some are still in good condition and you can find renovated units too. Buildings that are maybe 3-7 years old are the most expensive so aim for the newer and older ones.

- Many of the listings on Olx and Facebook are by agents who have an ever changing roster of many different units in different buildings, not just the one you see the ad for. If you see a listing you like but isn't perfect, see if they have any others and stay in touch with them and they'll offer you new ones as they become available.

- If you can pay your whole contract in cash upfront, you can likely negotiate a discount.

- The standard deposit is 2 months but try and negotiate that down to 1 month so that there is less potential for them to screw you over when you move out. Also be aware that it is standard practice to pay the deposit back 30 or 60 days after moving out so if you will be leaving the country immediately after moving out, try and negotiate that or make an agreement to be paid by Western Union or something like that.

Post: #13

(08-21-2018 09:37 PM)Prince Charming Wrote:  Message hosts on airbnb. send em your whatsapp # in code and offer to pay cash upfront for a few months in lump sum for a better rate. Ive gotten as good as $250/month rate on a place listed at $1200

This breaks the terms of Airbnb and people have gotten lifetime bans over it. On Airbnb they use your passport to keep track of you so it's very hard to circumvent Airbnb bans.

It's a good strategy but a lot of long term expats need Airbnb. It's better to try this on a competitor to Airbnb like Homeaway or something or messaging the apartment owners on Booking dotcom.

but to be honest a lot of Airbnb hosts now have monthly rates and once you factor in the free utilities this isn't that much more expensive than signing into a 12 month lease (that you can't really break short of fleeing the country).

Post: #14

Just realised just how good some deals can be via AirBnB if you book monthly. Crazy good deals I’d you look hard enough. I’m going to be doing this from now on.

My only concern, if bringing multiple girls back. They now know where you live which could cause seriously problems. How do you guys avoid this?

Post: #15

Psychos have been a problem for me in the past, so it’s something to consider. I’ve had girls trying to get me to meet up again after I ghosted them, first time this happened I had a weird sense that something was off as I hadn’t heard from her in awhile and she just seemed really eager to meet up again, saw her that same day outside my neighborhood with two dudes. I moved to one of the better gated communities because of this type of thing.

Post: #16

(08-21-2018 08:54 PM)Prince Charming Wrote:  Message hosts on airbnb. send em your whatsapp # in code and offer to pay cash upfront for a few months in lump sum for a better rate. Ive gotten as good as $250/month rate on a place listed at $1200

+1 this, I just send my phone # using the number emojis even for short stays and get a much better rate.

Post: #17

Thanks yeah il send the number and negotiate a better rate. Still, monthly trips are so so so much cheaper overall. Some of these place are 50% off by doing the monthly discount. How can you send your # in code though?

Also, any ideas for how to avoid the girls continually coming back? Do you lie and say you've moved condos?

Post: #18

Regarding prices, if it was month to month I'm thinking between 20-30k pesos is that what you'd aim for in places like Makati or Ortigas...?