Rentals in Kathmandu

Hi there!
I am a Nepalese living abroad. I just saw your post and I decided to reply to it. I know a friend who is working there in Nepal in this sector. I think it solely depends on the length of period of your stay there and the area you choose in Kathmandu. You let me know and I will see what I can do for you.
Regards,
Girish
Chisinau,Moldova

Hi Girish,
  I plan to move to Kathmandu at the end of September, and plan to stay for at least a year, if it works out I will stay indefinitely.  I would like a place with two bedrooms, small, within walking distance of the city amenities, shopping, theatre, culture events.  I am not looking for luxury accommodations, just something comfortable in a safe neighborhood.
  Thank you for responding to my post
Larry

Welcome on Expat.com aegus

I will suggest you to post a customized advert on Nepal Classifieds page>Accommodation. This can help as well.

Regards

I would suggest checking into a guest house and get acclimated to the city for a couple of weeks before you rent anything long term. Do you think you would like to be close to the hustle bustle of Thamel or would you like a quiet neighborhood where the other expats live? There are a lot of posts about apartment shares and I may even have a room for someone to share the apartment. Everyone will be happy to help you when you get here, so don't worry. Just come and fall in love with this beautiful country.

Thanks for the help, I think I need to come to Kathmandu and find a place. After reading the replies, it sounds a lot easier to move there than I thought.
Aegus

ur  right  MadagascarNow

i can definitely help u with this....

what is the loadshedding situation in kathmandu right now? is the situation better in Patan compared to kathmandu?

well right now loadshedding isnt much problem right now due to rainfall.

Many thanks for your reply. I visited the nepal electric authority;s website and saw a schedule of loadshedding, area-wise, and got very worried! it showed loadshedding of neary 14-16 hours a day.

Should I look for a house with a back-up generator?

Is the water supply generally adequate in Patan?

Many thanks in advance for your kind help.

Loadshedding is a seasonal problem. Since most of Nepal its electricity is generated from run-of-the-river hydroplants, they produce less (a lot less) electricity during the dry season, then during the rainy season. Right now the monsoon has arrived, and there is plenty of rain, thus (almost) enough electricity.

During the dry winter season the loadshedding will increase to an expected maximum of 16 hours, although next year the energy demand will have risen, while the supply has not, so we can expect higher loadshedding next winter season.

Loadshedding is about the same everywhere, there are some regional differences, due to logistical issues, but inside Kathmandu Valley loadshedding is about the same everywhere (or at least supposed to be... hey, it's Nepal...)

So... yes, look for a house with a backup generator, or buy one for whereever you settle yourself. For some odd reason generators are quite common in Nepal and can easily be bought. Low capacity, high capacity, all is available... and relative to 'the west' rather inexpensive. Depending on your personal demand you should expect to pay somewhere from 1000 - 2000 euro, although (small) generators can be bought from 500 euro up.

Patan generally has a poor water supply, although it can vary depending on the exact area where you are living. I don't live in Patan, so what I say is just 'general knowledge' and I surely don't have detailed information on this...

is it better to get a house with 3-phase electricity connection? will that mean that at least one phase will always work?

is it advisable to bring a big car? or is it absolutely a "no no", given road and traffic conditions?

Single phase or 3 phase makes no difference. Electricity is switched off per neighborhood, not per phase.
I have a 3 phase connection, and all phases go at the exact same time when loadshedding starts.

Big car / small car is a personal preference, no so much based on road quality or traffic conditions. Yes, the roads are chaotic and busy, but that's the same for a small or a big car. In my idea drivers will be more carefull around a big car, then they would be around a smaller car, so it could also be an advantage...

On the other hand, considering the import tax which you would be paying over the _new_ car value (!) that could be quite restrictive on the size of car you'd want to import...
I'm not a specialist on this though, so better get your information from the inland revenue office or something like that.

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hey i want one room set in kathmandu on rent. i'm frm delhi,india
I am moving to Nepal next june2013, does anyone recommend a rental agent or company that can show me affordable room in the city?

Hello SURJEETSINGH and welcome to Expat.com!

You could post an advert in the housing in Nepal section. It might help you.

Best of luck and Happy New Year 2013!
Christine

hey i want 1BK over there as me and my husband want to shift to Nepal can you suggest me some with lower monthly charges maximum of 3000INR
please help me out..
suggest me something..
please

Do you mean 1bedroom apartment/studio?

For the price that you suggested in my opinion it's absolutely UNREAL to get anything good in KTM nowdays. Modern style so called apartments especially of latest construction and furnished would start for no less than 10000Nrs per month and that would be a lucky deal then! Anything less that that would be actually not an apartment but possibly a just a room in a house with shared facilities (toilet, kitchen). But even then, just the rooms in a popular tourist spots like Lazimpat, Thamel, Boudha etc start from 10000-12000Nrs and real 1bedroom studios/apartments easily go off for anything between 15000Nrs to 100,000Nrs! These are basically options for tourists and expats, you can search more info on net rental websites. One of the popular among expats source - http://www.apartment-kathmandu.com/

Locals manage to get lucky (but maybe simple in furnishing or unfinished at all)deals if they hunt around through contact people, but these are usually are not advertised and require a long-term stay commitment. I guess internet is still not such a popular option to advertise the budget rentals among locals. Human networking is the best option in this case.

Why are Nepali trying to bring the housing prices up by posts like this? The poster said she wants to live in Kathmandu, not Thamel.3,000 Indian rupee outside the valley is possible, very possible. People who haven't been here don't know where they want to live.

You want the rent to be more so you make a few rupees more in commission but you are actually driving the prices up, which drives up the prices of everything else, inflation.

Yes, I know people can get apartments for much less than this guy is saying, otherwise Nepali would be living on the streets. Even college educated Nepali make less than 30,000 NRs. ($400)and doctors still do not earn $1,000 a month. But they are trying to tell everyone that they have to pay more than Nepali earn to live anywhere in Kathmandu. 

Not all expats want to live in Thamel or Patan. When people say KTM usually somewhere in the KTM Valley is what they mean. 3,000 Indian rupees is a bit low for European, but maybe she is Indian. If so, then maybe a local style apartment will be perfect.

Hello, MadagaskarNow!

Let me counteract your last post, if you don't mind:)
I am not guy and not Nepali at all.In fact i am Central Asia-born expat.You could try to look into profile details next time before summing up your sentiments:D

So, it's obvious i do not have any purpose to participate in housing prices inflation of Nepal directly or indirectly;)

Further, i believe the question of previous poster concerned the budget housing availability in NEPAL in general, not the rental opportunities for the local Nepalis VS foreign expats. Am i right? ...

People who haven't been here don't know where they want to live.

That's it - you said it...This is exactly what i thought while posting my thoughts. I just mentioned the OBVIOUS options of staying in Kathmandu, to start with, which most of foreign people use or have used while travelling for the first time to Nepal, including me. Therefore i mentioned, that it is unreal to get anything "good" in 3000INR here. I guess, you know what can an expat generally mean by "good" in relation to housing option? When it comes to Nepal, the 1st priorities are the so-much-wanted nowdays here light back-up, continuous water supply, hopefully solar-heated, quiet surroundings etc etc. If you are NOT physically in Nepal and do not have your network contacts it is quite tough to find such a "good & cheap option" by yourself.
So what remains as the first hand? The advertised market which is easily accessible on net. And it is of course expensive. Be realistic, this is information based on ACTUAL situation for the majority of foreigners, despite our liking or disliking of the prices discrimination oriented to various groups.

Of course these are not the ONLY options. Who said so? That's why i already mentioned, that Nepali operate in their own different way to acquire "local style housing" for much lower prices. However, I believe that whenever people start working their way towards the home/country shifting they've got to know the major tendencies of that market at first.

Lastly, i believe the poster mentioned earlier just "Nepal". And i've talked about KTM=Kathmandu, which is not necessary same as KTM valley and surely not "outside of KTM valley". It is obvious that rentals anywhere out of capital should/might be cheaper.

In regard to the point that the poster could be Indian - hmmm, fairly not much idea:), the way that some people assume me as Nepali here:D.

No offence. Cheers!

hey yangzom and madagascarNow...!!!
really thanx for the concern..
but yangzom if its so costly i cant live in KTM or near by places we dont have that much of budget we cant go this way we need to stay over there..
please it would be really good and helpful if you can tell me other places in nepal in that much amount its not necessary to be that much good satisfactory room or house or apartment will work just need in the starting phase to settle down over there else it would be difficult for us to live until and unless we could find something over there...
please tell me any room or apartment whatever of 3000 indian rupee or less i think that would be something 4800 rupees in nepal..
please help me out its urgent..

Hi, Shivika!

Unfortunately i do not have any direct info at hand for now to suggest you.

I think the very best option would be to come directly to Nepal first, stay in a hotel/guest house for few days, and search around, asking people. That way you will find various options. There are daily local newspapers here that post rentals classifieds in Nepali language.I guess whenever these are budget options, they don't remain vacant for long. The really cheaper options outside of KTM, in other towns and villages do not always advertise them, even in newspapers, but spread information through people.You have to be usually present here to find an option.

Otherwise you could try to post your rental requirement also on few other Nepali websites like chito.com, rentalnepal.com, nepalhomesearch.com. Hopefully someone will contact you, but it is always better to look around physically yourself, while being already in Nepal.

Good luck with relocation!

It is almost impossible to find a single room to rent with a shared bathroom online, but I can assure you that they are all over the Valley.

I would suggest Bhaktapur, but that's just my own preference. I rent a huge, beautiful apartment for 15,000 NRs., but I have my own back-up electric supply and have to pay for internet and water separately.

When you are sure about moving here I will find you something in my area for the price range you are looking for. Feel free to send me a private email with the details and I will see what I can do.

Nepal is really a very inexpensive place to live. The only thing I find extremely expensive is fruit. Most of it comes from India and a papaya can cost 60-90 NRs per Kg.

Or you could come and scout it out yourself. You would just start asking merchants.

I live very well on my retirement. I really believe you can live here for only $500 per month, but long term visas for Westerners can be a bit expensive.

Hi,
Looking for reasonable priced 1 bed flat Lazimpat, Bathbetini, Baluwatar.
HELP me please:-)
Andrea

Please contact me at [email protected]

[Moderated: Please post in Housing section]

[Moderated]

I am looking for a temp place- I just arrived and I will be teaching Yoga in Thamel at Pranamaya. I am at a guesthouse now-600 Rupees per night and its terrible! I want something comfortable and cosy-and of course cheap! Can you help me or guide me in the right direction? I am here for 2 months, but would like to start with something temporary until I get familiar with the city!

Namaste

Rachael

Hello Rachael,

Welcome to Expat.com

I invite you to post an ad in the section housing in Nepal.
Hope you will find what you are looking for.

All the best,
Olivier
Expat.com Team

Are You Great Human,,, Bing

(Moderated: no free ads please )

People have asked me, and I don't know the answer. Maybe you can tell me the answer to this:

Are expat rentals in Pokhara about the same as Ktm or more or less? How do the compare?

Hi,
        How are you?i think same for foreigners but for nepalese pokhara is very expensive compare than kathmandu and it depends on location.Kathmandu is just international airport in kathmandu.Nepa's beauty is pokhara
             If you have not seen pokhara.you don not know about Nepal.Pokhara is called as miniswitzerland.

HI,rentals are alsmost same in kathmandu and pokhara.currently we have apartments from 150$/month with attached toilet and bathroom,free wifi.

from my experience i'd suggest making contact with other expats once in Nepal and ask them for advice - certainly distrust locals on the web claiming to be experts since all they do is look at  the rents section on the daily paper and pocket a chunk of the rent paid; thus putting you in an uncomfortable position with the landlord.

Gulfport, I've had the opposite experience. In Nepal it is about knowing people. Every time I found a flat it was because I knew someone who knew someone. A couple times I offered 1,000 NRs. about $10 and it didn't seem to matter. If they had a relative or friend with a place for rent they were excited to help me out.

You just need to be careful in Thamel, but anywhere else is fine. Thamel and Kathmandu is great for people working there, but if you don't have to be there you surely won't want to be.

But then that means you would need to rely on the roads and transportation. Just traveling by bus will take 1 1/2 hours to go less than 25 KM. My suggestion from my eBook, Nepal: A Tourist's Manual, is to stay at the edge of the valley in one of these villages. Kapan, Farphing, Bhaktapur, Changunarayan are good because they are up above the pollution line and the rent is usually more reasonable. Sometimes the landlord has a car and driver they will rent to you, too. At my guest house we do a flat rate monthly rent that includes a car, driver, meals, a room and even a sitting area with cable TV. It provides a much more relaxing stay for about the same price as living in Thamel. I finally decided you cannot walk to everything no matter where you live. So, why not have clean air and quiet nights?

@ Madgascar: you can't guarantee a person's behavior over time; can you ?

if you were satisfied by someone's services, it don't mean that everyone else will.

and i don't wish to disclose any further details.

my advice is if renting in Nepal better to speak to EXPATS and seek their advice and direction; they know which places are suitable for foreigners & prices.  otherwise you RISK being taken for a ride at your own expense by locals.

:source: first hand experience in Nepal.

@ Madgascar: and plus it's really naive to pass on one's single positive experience as universal to the other expats.

it just shows the lack of traveling experience and knowledge of how things work in an international community and around the world.

its also clear that the sole purpose of your presence here is to advertise your book rather than give advice as we all do for free.

hi,
Rental in Kathmandu is not so hard enough , but depends upon your requirements. your choice of stay and the need you have. if you can work from your stay for longest 7 days and shorts 1 day during Close of city due to political issues than no matter where ever you stay in Kathmandu. day time you may face traffic jam compare to morning and evening time. otherwise its your choice and the pre-demand requirement under which you can get the rents in Kathmandu. from luxury suit to single room facility in the town. commercial area or the peace residential area is the choice of yours stay in beautiful city. if you have any thing to know more as your quarries than please do not hesitate to write me , because I have friend from different country who lived in Nepal in advice of me and my family.