How not to make mistakes when renting housing in Georgia. A detailed checklist for tourists and visitors.

In order not to make mistakes when renting housing in Georgia, you will need a kind of checklist. This article will provide it to you.

1. Find friends on Facebook, indigenous people of Georgia who know their native language perfectly. Georgians are very friendly, open people who communicate well with other nations. They like to invite you to visit, talk, smile, say hello on the street. This is normal, this is typical Georgia, which is why we love it. You can easily find a Georgian friend on Facebook. That's how we met the taxi driver. When we arrived, he drove us, showed us the markets, the city and still drives us. He's our guy. Find yourself a Georgian, start making friends with him, while he does not have to be a real estate agent. Your friend will be able to help negotiate with the owners, who, for example, speak Russian poorly, when you go to see the accommodation.
2. Do not rent an apartment or a house right away for a long time – month or year. Set yourself a minimum program: to live in three districts, for example, in Tbilisi. We lived in one for three days, traveled, lived in another, in the third. In ten days, you will, in principle, be guided by districts, by transport, by taxi, by what is important to you when renting an apartment. For example, a quiet area, a children's courtyard, a fitness center or a shopping center. Live in different places to better understand your expectations from the apartment, and choose the most suitable area.
3. Rent for a year is in a month, that is, you have lived for a month, concluded a preliminary agreement that if you like everything, you will extend it for a year. Why exactly a month? You will learn a lot in a week, an archimage in two, and in a month you will already know everything. You will know your neighbors, talk to them, go to the store, listen to local word of mouth on the eternal theme: what, where, when? You will learn everything about the life of your neighbors, about our smaller brothers outside the window, you will be aware of everything and will be able to make a really balanced decision either on rent, or you will be able to reset the price, because you will already know the nuances that affect this price.
4. The hosts are very important. If Georgia is people, then rental housing is the owners. Imagine how unpleasant it would be if you rented an apartment for a long time, and the owner turned out to be, to put it mildly, inadequate. Life in such conditions will not play with the best colors. Therefore, when you rent an apartment, try to establish friendly or semi-friendly relations with the owners.
5. Consider the additional cost. Very often you think that a house is $1,000 a month and that's it, and then it turns out that a house is $1,000 plus $200 gas, $100 light, Internet and a few more tangible additional costs. And it is already gaining $ 1,500 at best. I advise you to always count the full cost and calculate whether you can pull it off or not.
6. Don't look at household appliances. It is easier to buy household appliances for yourself and then transport them if you do not want to stay in the apartment, and you can also sell the purchased equipment on the secondary market. There are a huge number of flea markets, everything is sold and resold. I suggest we count it. Let's say you decide to buy a refrigerator, a good model with a guarantee. Are you ready to pay, say, $80 a month for a refrigerator? Probably not. However, do not forget that you will be able to sell this refrigerator, provided that it is still under warranty and you have handled it carefully, for half the price. And it already turns out another amount: are you ready to pay about $ 40 a month for a great, roomy refrigerator? Here we can already agree. Here is such a simple calculation, this is if you take a large and expensive equipment. And if you take a microwave oven, then in a year it will cost about $ 8 per month. It is quite possible to afford not to worry about household appliances.
7. When you rent an apartment for a week or two and doubt if you have a decent landlord, then pay for the apartment through the bank. There is a CBC bank in Georgia, the National Bank of Georgia, where there are very good Internet banks. Any citizen of Georgia has a bank account. I do not advise you to be afraid of losing 1-2 GEL on the commission, because you will have a paper stating that you transferred some amount to your landlord. Material confirmation of the fact of payment will calm you down, and discipline the owners. Do not forget that most contracts are kept in mind, and the documented fact of payment gives some guarantees.