Firstly, organize your budget.
Have a look online, LJ Hooker, Century21 and http://www.skerah.com all have listings
Ring the agents and tell them your wish list and budget
Be very clear about where you want to live
Be very clear if you want a family friendly place
Get someone from work (local) to go with you – cause their advise on location is priceless
Get appointments and meet the agent there, or follow them in your car. Don’t do what I did in putting my life into the hands of a man in a Toyota starlet – although it was fine 🙂
Take a camera – take photos!
Be prepared to have all your pacific island getaway dreams, with the palm trees by the pool, the pool boi cleaning and piña colatas – shattered.
Revise your thinking about what is important
Check for cockroaches and water stains from the roof leaking.
Look for dodgy wiring and 20 year old air conditioners.
Sit on the bed and wonder how how you can sleep with a spring digging into your back.
Realize the pool, that looked great in the photo – belongs to next door, and yours is way down the other end of the compound, and hasn’t been cleaned in a week.
Make sure you (or the kids) can’t fall off the balcony, or under the balcony…
Remember to check your location – if you aren’t OK living next to Koki Markets, then don’t.
Understand that for the next 3 days, appointments will be cancelled, agents won’t turn up, and you will see some
really crappy apartments getting charged out at penthouse prices.
Then, you will find your palace – don’t dither, another expat is on day 2 looking at crap apartments and very soon they are going to see your PNG escape.

Thankfully it’s not really the agents fault – they have, what they have.

And remember – it’s not called “The land of the Unexpected” for nothing!