The Phnom Penh Visitors Guide 62nd

REALESTATE 46

Phnom Penh offers an exciting array of properties to rent or buy, with options ranging from bare-bones Khmer-style apartments to airy French colonial villas and newly renovated condominiums with luxury amenities. If you’re looking to stay more than a few nights, long-term hotels and guest houses abound, as do apartments for leasing. Quality and prices run the gamut - from less than $200 a month to over $2,000 - but you generally get what you pay for. Service, location, parking and safety should always be the highest priorities. A 2010 change in ownership laws invigorated the real estate scene by allowing foreigners to buy apartments or condominiums in Cambodia. While they still technically cannot buy land as an individual, foreigners are increasingly purchasing property through land holding companies, or LHCs. “You as a foreigner can own land in a holding company and be 100 percent in control," said Crispian Knowles of South East Asia Property Services (Seaps). Your best bet for owning a piece of Phnom Penh’s booming real estate market, Knowles said, is to work with reputable realtors, always do your due diligence, and to take your time.

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