Inside a Record-Breaking Saigon Apartment Inspection

Welcome to the ULTIMATE 2026 Mover’s Guide to Ho Chi Minh City! 🇻🇳

If you are planning a move to Vietnam, grab a coffee and take NOTES. This is a 2-hour Masterclass on everything you need to know about the Saigon rental market, managing your expectations, and avoiding the biggest traps expats fall into.

Normally, the Saigon Cribs team handles all deep cleaning, repairs, and inspections strictly behind the scenes. But today, our repeat UK client, Kieran, wanted to tag along and inspect his new 3-Bedroom apartment in Saigon himself. Kieran has incredibly high standards. In fact, he gave us the longest, most demanding repair list in our company’s history!

In this video, I am reacting to his inspection footage and dropping massive expert advice along the way. We dive deep into:

• 🛑 Why you need to leave your “Western Demands” at the door.
• 🇻🇳 Understanding Vietnamese rental culture and landlord expectations.
• 🛠️ The “Ugly Truth” of what apartments really look like before we fix them.
• ✨ Exclusive B-Roll of our repair teams and cleaners completely transforming the space.

Stick around until the very end to see the final, fully-repaired, flawless apartment tour, and hear Kieran’s final thoughts on the process! Below is the exact, unedited repair list we executed for this move-in.

The Official Repair Dossier

PART 1: GENERAL REPAIRS & APPLIANCES

• PAINTING & WALL TREATMENT (COMPLETED): Spot painting/repainting (White Paint) on walls with stains/scuff marks in the primary bedroom, kitchen wall, 2nd bedroom, office, and ceiling tiles. Repair small cracks on ceiling with putty, sanded and painted white for smooth finish.
• ELECTRICAL REPAIRS (100%): Fuse box switch labeled “MAY NUOC NONG – H1” repaired. Bathroom lamps installed above mirror cabinets, connected to wall power switch using exposed wires. (Wi-Fi socket repair removed from request).
• WOODWORK & FURNITURE (100%): Sofa lounge inner cushion specialist repair. Replaced 24 broken soft-close kitchen cabinet hinges (scheduled 6-month check). Repaired chipped laminate wood corners, touched up chips on wood wall panels, TV cabinet, and shoe cabinet.
• MISCELLANEOUS (COMPLETED): Secured ceiling access hole at entry. Removed blue/white sticker knobs from TV cabinet. Removed teddy bear stickers from kitchen backsplash and bathrooms. Removed side table from 1st bedroom, undrilled holes, and painted smooth. Moved round mirror to 2nd bedroom.
• APPLIANCE INSTALLATION (100% COMPLETE): Installed Casper brand dryer machine stacked on washer. Delivered dryer stacking rack. Installed Canzy baking oven under cooktop (cabinet doors removed).

PART 2: CLEANING & LINENS

• STEAM CLEANING (100% COMPLETED): 3 sets of curtains professionally cleaned. Sofa steam cleaned to remove dirt, stains, hair, and dander.
• CUSTOM CURTAINS (Pending): Replace one torn sheer curtain. Office rolling blinds quotation pending.
• DEEP CLEANING (100% Completed by Saigon Cribs Team): Scrubbed and restored floor grout to clean white. Restored water leak stain under bathroom cabinet. Deep cleaned kitchen hood air vent, exhaust fans, and shower drains. Cleaned exterior doors, switches, cabinets, and walls.
• BED PREPARATION: Made up 2 bedrooms with new pre-washed and dried bed sets.
• 2ND DEEP CLEANING (June 19): 1 hour touch ups, 2 hours deep floor grout cleaning, plus special focus on shower glass doors using exclusive Saigon Cribs specialty cleaner.

PART 3: OTHER SERVICES

• HOME PREPARATION (100% COMPLETED): Delivered new linens (4 sets brown, 2 sets white). Provided fresh batteries for all remotes (10x AAA, 8x AA). Upgraded 2 shower heads to high-pressure 5-setting models. Upgraded 2 toilet bidets to stainless steel.
• INTERNET INSTALLATION (100% COMPLETED): FPT arranged. Service ticket submitted to correct speed (purchased 1,000 Mbps, currently achieving 200 Mbps).
• MANAGEMENT OFFICE: Resident registration, elevator key cards, and setup new key fob on apartment door. Fixed slow water flow in primary bedroom sink and backyard door closure.