Renting the right condo is not as easy as it seems.
I’ve made some mistakes on the list in the past, and some in the present.
There are a lot little things you need to account for that most guys don’t realize.
When you don’t you end up in a place where you’re not happy.
I’m all for building a budget, living within your means and reinvesting in your business…
But when you do spend money, spend it wisely…
That means on things you’re going to use a lot.
And where you live is one of those things.
In a lot of ways you become your environment and the people you surround yourself with.
So you want that environment to be as positive as possible.
You want to save money on the things that don’t get you the right ROI.
If you’re going to cut, cut the fancy dinners, bar bills and car payments.
You might not be able to afford all of the things on this list, but at least 3 or 4 of them will be applicable to you now.
And if you’re getting your money online and planning to geoarbitrage that income to a cheaper country, your ideal place will be a lot easier to find.
If you’re moving up in the game of life you can start looking now, but if you’re still getting your weight up, you can look at your ideal place as something to motivate you to keep grinding.
Here’s what you need to know to rent the right condo for you:
How To Rent The Right Condo Or Apartment
1) Choose Renting Condos Over Apartments
- Buildings are nicer because more profitable (selling nice units to entice mony)
- Can negotiate discounts – especially by paying in advance to an individual owner
- Less hassle – at least in the west/credit check/co signing all that BS that apartment managers make you go through (does not apply to SEA)
2) Get A Furnished Place If Possible
- So much easier to get it and easier to get out (all places in Asia are furnished)
- Allows you to be a minimalist and be mobile and go to where the opportunities are
3) Get A Place Within Walking Distance Of Your Office (N/A if work from home)
- Cuts travel time and hassle
- Allows you to get rid of the car payments and save a ton of money
4) Live On A High Floor (The Higher The Better)
- Biggest factor is you cut down or eliminate street noise / guy trimming the hedges outside
- Another factor is the view a high floor gives you that Scarface-The-World-Is-Mine View
- My next place will definitely be at least 20 floors up
5) Avoid Facing Highways Or Busy Streets
- You want as much quiet as possible so living away from street noise is key
- I thought I had that down by living off a side street but I was wrong/didn’t do good enough homework
- Also in the middle of my lease they changed the flight plan (hence the planes you hear flying overhead during every other one of my videos)
- That’s why it’s good to be mobile and minimalist (see #2)
6) Rent A Nice Place To Avoid Thin Walls And Young, Noisy Neighbors
- Pricing will get rid of living around people you don’t like
- Degenerates who blast music through thin walls don’t live in nice places
- Make sure to take a look around at the people who live in the building before you sign
7) Avoid Being Close To Nightclubs
- You don’t want to wake up to pounding base at 2 AM three nights a week
- Even if you’re not super close to the club, sound tends to travel
- Make sure you do a walk around on a Friday or Saturday night to make sure you’re far enough away
- Especially important if you’re living downtown
8) Avoid Living Around Construction Or Potential Construction Like The Plague
- If a building is being built next door, avoid that condo like the plague, your life will be noise and jackhammering
- You also might lose that nice view from your high floor
- Also avoid areas where it looks like condos will be developed (you’re in a brand new building and there are a bunch of empty lots next door)
- Ideally you want to live around places that are built, ie. a new condo development and yours was the last empty lot
- *you can avoid this risk entirely by following step 13
9) Avoid A Place Facing Into The Courtyard
- If your condo has multiple building facing each other, avoid that courtyard
- You will have no privacy as people can see into your place and you can see into theirs
- You’ll also get that daily noise of the guy trimming the hedges in the courtyard
10) Live In A Big Building To Preserve Your Anonymity
- Small buildings with lots of security and staff are annoying
- It’s always the same people and they can always see your comings and goings
- You can start to feel boxed in
- A big, new building is much better because you have a rotating staff of people
- And with so many people living there and so much more space, you feel much mor anonymous and free
11) Live In A Place With Central Air
- This applies mostly to Asia where you need AC all year round, but in many places it’s a loud, ugly unit stuck on to the wall
- The transistors will break over time, you’ll need to clean it more often, and it’s loud as f#$C
- You want nice, clean, quiet central air that the building will fix instead of having to call a tech guy
12) Live On A Floor With Keycard Only Access
- Keycard access to the building is great, but only being able to access the floor you live on is better
- Makes you feel much more secure
- Also a lot less noise as people are coming and going less
13) Get A View Facing Water (This Is The Ultimate)
- By far the nicest view is facing the bay or lake even if it’s man made
- Took a vacation to Pattaya a few months ago and stayed in a high rise facing the lake, makes a big positive difference psychologically
- The big selling feature is no chance of development and construction and it’s super quiet
- High rise, high floor, facing the water with a beautiful view is tops