Look out for private ads – look around on websites (see our Classifieds section), ads in local bars and the bakery in Hadaba. Also, if you’re looking at a residential area like Hadaba or in Dahab then walking the streets and looking for signs in windows of apartments or talking to Bow-abs (the building’s caretaker) can still find you a bargain. Often, they will look for 1 month rent deposit and a month rent up front and will probably ask for a minimum of 3 – 6 months commitment from a tenant. If you need to get out of the agreement it is often not a problem just to give a month’s notice. The contract will inevitably be in Arabic so ask someone to check it for you for anything out of the ordinary.
Use an estate agent – here someone else does the hard work for you. Often the estate agents have a website or magazine where you can browse properties. Alternatively, you can talk to your agent and specify what you are looking for and let them come up with a selection for you to view. Rental property standards in Sinai can vary immensely and often ‘Super Lux Finishing’ or ‘American Kitchen’ is nothing of the sort, so it’s important to be very clear with your agent what it is you’re looking for to save wasting the time of all concerned. Here the agent does all the negotiating for you and the contract should be available in English. Again, it is the norm to pay 1 month deposit and a month up front. These contracts are often more tricky to get out of and may incur a penalty payment if you terminate the agreement prior to the end of the contract.
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