Expat 555

Real photos don't make a listing real. If the advertiser can't prove they control the property, that's the red flag, not the price. Reverse-search the photos, compare the address, verify who you're paying.

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Where is my deposit?

Your lease quietly renews for another 6 months unless you cancel before a deadline you were never shown, and the landlord alone decides what to keep from your deposit.

Auto-renewal is not automatically illegal. The real warning signs are unclear cancellation terms, deductions that are never defined, and no signed move-in record of the condition.

Read the renewal and deduction terms before you sign. Send the lease clause to VerifyFirst first.

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Found a place you like in Phnom Penh? Do these 3 checks before you send any deposit.

1. See it live. View it in person, or on a live video call showing the real door and the street outside.
2. Verify the owner. Confirm ownership and the agent's identity independently, not just from documents they send you.
3. Terms in writing. Get the deposit, the deductions and the lease terms in writing before any money moves.

Verify the place, the owner and the terms first. Real listings survive a second look.

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$300 a month, utilities included.
Then the first electricity bill lands: $120.
The problem is not the bill. It is that "included" was only ever said out loud, never written into the lease, no per-unit rate was defined, and there was no meter reading at move-in to check the bill against.
Before you sign: make them list exactly what "included" covers, get the rate in writing, and photograph the meter on day one.

Follow before your next Cambodia deal.
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A landlord wants a $400 deposit today, but he is "always away" and you can never actually see the place. That is the trap.

Before you pay: get a live video tour or an independently verified agent, and confirm the unit, the owner and the price yourself. Real listings survive a second look. Pressure to pay first does not. Do not trust documents sent only by the seller.

Follow before your next Cambodia deal.
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Someone wants $2,500 for a standard 30-day Cambodia Type E entry visa. No company setup, no work permit, no extension included.

Here is the number that matters: the official 30-day Type E entry visa fee is $35. If a seller cannot justify why the rest costs so much, will not itemize what you are paying for, and wants payment to a private account with no invoice, that is your answer.

Ask exactly what the price includes, and check the official fee first.

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At checkout, a hotel took $32 out of a $100 deposit for a faint mark on a sheet. Is that even allowed?

The real problem is not the stain. It is that there were no written deposit terms, the "damage" was raised only as you were leaving, and there were no check-in photos to prove it was already there.

Film the room at check-in and ask upfront how deposits are deducted. That one habit ends most disputes.

Follow before your next Cambodia deal.
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A "visa agent" wanted $500 to do your Cambodia e-visa. 3 red flags 👇

The official tourist e-visa is $30 (business $35). You can do it yourself in minutes at evisa.gov.kh. Only the official site is real.

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"One-year business visa, guaranteed, no interview. Just $400 upfront." 3 red flags 👇

No agent can guarantee a visa. Skipping the interview means it's fake or never filed. Paying first protects only them.

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"Trust me, I'm the official agent, just send a passport copy now, contract later." 3 red flags 👇

Anyone who says trust me usually isn't. A passport copy before a signed contract can be used for fraud. No contract = no protection.

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