HOUSE OF THE WEEK
An abundance of space at FMI City
CERTAINLY, space is not a problem in this house – once you get there. Over the Hlaing River, 45 minutes from downtown, there is a large one-storey house in a big compound waiting for someone ready to trade time for space. ...moreGame back on
THE disappointment is crushing. A fortnight ago I announced to my immense happiness that through a simple phone call I’d found a place to live in a pleasant apartment in an agreeable township.
Ironically, all it has taken to see that wonderful mirage disintegrate was another phone call. It seems the installed tenants had agreed to match what we were willing to pay and have decided to stay on. That means that we were basically used as bargaining tools to get a higher price for the apartment. Perhaps my next column will be titled My Life as a Pawn, by Stuart Deed.
Of course, I’m not surprised but I am annoyed to once again have wasted my bloody time. Actually, the most annoying aspect of the situation is that we’re back at square one again and looking for a place to live, having wasted the last few weeks lounging about in the knowledge – falsely – that we had somewhere to move into at the end of January.
And so it’s back to the drawing board again and I’ll be picking up copies of the two most popular property journals, with their thousands of listings, and going through the search process again.
This time I’ll be bringing with me a fat stack of kyat to pay a deposit on the spot in the admittedly unlikely event that I find somewhere nice. If I could I’d bring a contract and sign it in blood too, but I believe that’s somewhat out of fashion these days.
My criteria are fairly simple: I need at least one master bedroom with an air-conditioner and hopefully some decent natural ventilation, a single bedroom for my son, a decently sized kitchen and a living room.
Decent flooring is a must since I already spend most days sneezing like an anteater stuck in an immense pepper grinder, but anything beyond those simple requests – including furniture – is just a happy bonus.
My experience with high-rise living means I’m not interested in apartments above the seventh floor, even when there’s an elevator.
Ideally I’m looking for somewhere a little quieter than Sanchaung township, since the incessant requests for money via loudspeaker are getting to me. And I can’t afford to be too far away from downtown because that’s where my work is, and I don’t own a car.
My preferred areas would be somewhere quiet in Sanchaung (although I’m not certain such a place exists), Dagon, Bahan, Golden Valley or Yankin township. Apartments are easier to maintain and secure but a house in the right spot would make for a nice change, and I do love a lawn.
But I can’t, or won’t, pay more than K300,000 a month. The game goes on…
