Will my dream plan work?

Definitely possible - though you would have to be careful to choose the rental apartment, given the property bubble here. Find a trustworthy landlord is key I feel. It wouldn't be difficult to find someone to live there too, as the cost is fairly low. You could even earn some imo, by sub-leasing a room out.

I doubt it is done commonly here though.

Rental cost varies - a one-bedroom usually cost around 300-400USD around city center. The starting rate for local graduates is 6-8million VND/month.

Good luck!

As above, rental prices vary due to proximity to the city centre. I find it better and cheaper to live away from the city centre and the tourist area. If you get a local to help you there are some good properties for rent. Dont rent on a main road, its too damn noisy, find somewhere tucked away in a quiet hem.

Finding someone reliable to look after the place and your cat whilst you are away is not impossible, but you would really need to screen the person first. There are places that you can leave your cat while you are away, maybe that would be a safer bet.

moirawalsh wrote:

Let me describe my dream plan, then please tell me if you think it would be possible in VietNam.
I'd like to find a long term homebase from which I could travel away to work short contracts elsewhere. 
I want to move there, with a cat, most likely to HCM City.  Within 3-6 months, I'd like to locate a house to rent long term.  I'd like to hire someone to live there, so they could watch the place and feed my cat when I'm away for months at a time.   
Would this be feasible in VietNam?  in HoChiMin City? 
Is this something commonly done?
What might it cost for a house?  staff? 

Glad I can ask you this here. 
Thanks.

Hi,

I answered you in the Đà Nẵng forum, where you'd also shown some interest:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 31#4511646

I agree with the comments above.
Doable and affordable.
Last year I had a nice two bedroom in an almost new 15 story high rise.
it was kept very clean and managed well.
I paid 6M vnd because it was in Tan Phu, about 6 km south southwest of airport.
Not furnished.

Language will be an issue. the further you get away from downtown, the lower the prices and less people speak English, very few in fact.
Anything you find on the internet in English will cost much more.

I think you do need to find someone you trust to live in apt.
But once you meet some people, you will find a girlfriend pretty quickly and that can solve a lot of issues, but a little warning, she may not be willing to live with you, but will find someone to stay in your apt when you are gone.
I find good women are very traditional here.

You can easily find a hotel for $9 US per night. Go that route until you figure the rest out.

Best of luck

It's amazing what the power of positivity thinking can do. You will only regret the things that you didn't do, not the things that you did do.
Go for it girl.
Wadey

A standard house will run you from about 2.5 billion to about 14 billion vnd. That's the rate for a single-family dwelling, with the cheaper price probably including a house that is not habitable, where you would have to construct your own structure. Of course, if you get a larger Villa it could run considerably more. The live in housekeeper will cost you about 4 to 5 million vnd per month. As with real estate everywhere location is the biggest factor. Often people here buy property with a neglected house on it and destroy the house, rebuilding one of their own. There's a big shortage of land here. Another thing you should be aware of is that, if you're not a Vietnamese citizen, you cannot own property here. Our property is under the name of my Vietnamese wife with me as a co-owner.

Rick Hayward wrote:

A standard house will run you from about 2.5 billion to about 14 billion vnd. That's the rate for a single-family dwelling, with the cheaper price probably including a house that is not habitable, where you would have to construct your own structure. Of course, if you get a larger Villa it could run considerably more. The live in housekeeper will cost you about 4 to 5 million vnd per month. As with real estate everywhere location is the biggest factor. Often people here buy property with a neglected house on it and destroy the house, rebuilding one of their own. There's a big shortage of land here. Another thing you should be aware of is that, if you're not a Vietnamese citizen, you cannot own property here. Our property is under the name of my Vietnamese wife with me as a co-owner.

The laws changed regarding foreign ownership. You can own a house and apartments but not land. The red tape involved is the biggest problem.

https://www.asiapropertyhq.com/buy-property-vietnam/

That is the reason I said property, not the structure. Property is the land, not the house. And, for me at least, the process was not difficult. Just typical Vietnamese exercises.