Just to add to the recent comments about rental prices.
Anyone paying 800 rats for a three-bedroomed villa is out of their mind.
The local landlords will prey on newbies in Oman who are desperate to get a roof over their heads because they are on a time-limit to find a place.
Are they still putting new hires up in the apartments at Bowsher?
Remember that all of these prices you see on the boards at Al Fair and Sultan Centre are negotiable. DO NOT go through a management company. They will shaft you.
Get in the car, drive around and look for the RENT signs. Do not tell them that you have just arrived for God's sake. Just that you are thinking about moving. That gives you the option of balking at the asking price and driving it down.
There are three and four bedroomed villas now available in Al Mawaleh, Al Hail and Al Khoud - all a ten minute drive from the airport for about 500 rials max.
You just have to go out there, find a private landlord, act like you have been here a while, knock at least 30% off the asking price and be willing to walk away.
And just to add......landlords will usually try and sort stuff out if there is a problem, but remember, the pace of life is a lot slower here and you will have to badger. Quote: "If he doesn't phone me at least once a day, then it cannot be that much of an issue for him."
The glory days of the last two years have ground to a halt. Rental prices have plummeted on the local market and the only way of making even a small profit is to rent to expats. There is no way that they will get the asking price from a local who would just tell them to go and stuff it for that money.
There are lots of houses available now, lots of folks have moved on to AUH and DXB and DOH etc, leaving villas empty and landlords scrambling to fill them, while at the same time trying to catch the new hires as early as possible before word spreads that last year's 1000 rat villa is now only worth 500 - talk to your local colleagues - they will tell you what the real going rates are.
Right....I'm off to get samosas.