Difficulties of renting an apartment for business in Myanmar

This article is about how difficult renting an apartment for business in Myanmar is. Those who want to open/start business, this would be the first wall. If you break it, you would be on a start line.

This experience was so tough for us because we have never have experience to start business even in Japan. But we could feel a sense of accomplishment when we broke the wall. This article is for those who are bored with whose boring job and thinking for new challenge in the life.

１. The existence of the brokers
Our contract will be decided by a mood of brokers on the day. I had thought that the brokers work based on a firm contract. At least, it's not true in Myanmar. Typically, an owner of his/her own apartment hire the brokers so we have to negotiate with them. Basically, a firm contract doesn't exist and they doesn't have any professional mind. If they notice that the customer is foreigner then they will take a disadvantage of it. This means that they seem all foreigners are rich so taking/robbing much money from them is okay, no problem. This is a kind of principle in developing country but we are poor Japanese. So struggled.

This is a good example. This apartment have 2 floors(Grand floor and 1st floor) and conditions are so nice! When we met at first, brokers said that a renting fee is 500USD/month.



Next day, we went to make a contract there. They said it is 1300USD/month suddenly...

２. Foreigner, itself
Myanmar is pro-Japan country thanks to our ancestor. But actually, the owner have to make some documents to verify a room in which foreigners live there and submit it to the city office. I know these tasks are so annoying. Pro-japan and these tasks have no connection. It makes sense. Once, we had almost done a contract (this is another story from the above pictures), then an owner noticed the tasks he has to do, he declined. This was so bitter experience because we were almost there! We had looked for apartments 60~70 so far.

３．Single year contract
Foreigner can't make a contract for multiple years because it is illegal in Myanmar. Some incidents I heard are that Japanese owner who wants to open a restaurant made the interiors elegant (over 100,000USD) for his business in the long run. I think that his mind was made up. It's nice. Next year? He couldn't make a new contract. The reason is why the owner can lend that room for more expensive fee. (Owner never paid the fee of the interiors) THIS IT THE BUSINESS. This story is not only Japanese but also other foreigners.

That's it.
Fortunately, an owner and brokers of our GYM are so nice! Above story is just our personal experience and not all of Myanmar. Thanks to these tough experiences it made us strong, we have been enjoying to live in Myanmar and our business. After the rain, comes the sun!

Come to workout all Steemians living in Yangon!!
Address:No.994,5th Floor, Thu mingalar Street, (16/1)wand,Thingangyun Township
(You can search on Google map "Revolution GYM")