Find an Apartment in China: Learn From My Lessons Before You Begin Your Search tagged: , , , , ,

Find an Apartment in China: Learn From My Lessons Before You Begin Your Search

Posted by Mike in China Living

For those of us without corporate support in our housing search, finding an apartment in China can be a daunting task. Using myself as an example, I had various concerns that you will likely share with me as you go through this process.

First, I was concerned about getting ripped off. It’s no secret that foreigners are perceived as richer than locals in China. $1,000 USD in America can only rent out small studio apartments in the most inconvenient of areas in New York City, but 6,700 RMB can get a rather upscale multiple-bedroom apartment in every major city of China. It is important to realize that your dollar will go much further in China and, what would cost you $1,000 USD in New York City would likely cost you about $300 USD in Shanghai and even lower in other cities.

Second, I didn’t know Mandarin. This wasn’t a major issue since I met with real estate agents with my girlfriend, who is Mandarin speaking. The only problem was that I wasn’t able to help out with the negotiations and couldn’t follow the conversations to pick up on clues to problems in the apartments or potential wiggle room in pricing.

Finally, you will soon realize that real estate agents aren’t necessarily the most trustworthy people you will meet in China. Thankfully for me, my former roommate is currently a real estate agent in Shanghai, however she deals with upscale apartments for expats so I didn’t work directly with her. Through my conversations with her, I was able to pick up on how real estate agents work. You can read about the tricks of real estate agents in Shanghai here. In short, there is very little differentiating one real estate agent from the next, so they have various tricks to get your commission (and the commission from the landlord).

A few recommendations as you navigate through your apartment search in China:

  • You can negotiate everything. Don’t always take the offer given to you if you like the apartment. You can negotiate with the real estate agent and the real estate agent can negotiate with the landlord. This is business. Treat it as such.
  • Don’t settle for something that is adequate. There are multiple real estate agents. Some have more apartments to show you than others. Where I live, there are literally about 2 real estate agent shops on each block. I ended up talking to about 10 of them.
  • Make sure that everything in your apartment works when you check it out. Find out what is included and what isn’t. You don’t want to find out that you get no hot water in the shower (I only get about 10 minutes even though I was told that it was infinite) or that the flat screen TVs you see when you visit will be replaced by a radio.
  • Ask about construction — especially in Shanghai. There is a lot of construction going on due to the World Expo. The apartment above me is being worked on and the construction workers begin at 7 AM. This is the downside of moving into a new apartment.
  • Find out where the nearest metro is. Find out where the nearest bus stop is. Take these forms of transportation to the locations you are interested in. Also walk to these areas.
  • Try to get clues about your neighbors. Do you hear noise? Dogs? Children? Partiers? What type of people live in the apartment complex?
  • What happens if you need to break the lease? Usually you will need to give up your deposit. If this is the case, negotiate what the deposit is. You don’t want to be stuck with a 4-month deposit if you can’t deal with a rat infestation that the landlord forgot to tell you about.

I ended up getting a 1 bedroom, 660 sq. meter apartment with enclosed balcony that is 15 minutes away from my school and right next to the metro. The apartment is nicely furnished and is roughly 1 years old. It was previously occupied by a clean Japanese girl. I am paying 4,500 RMB / month for it and got to work a deal directly with the agent that saved me agency fees. While I am happy with the apartment, I originally expected to get a similar apartment for around 3,000 RMB / month, but was sadly mistaken when I found out about the Shanghai Real Estate Agent online advertisement scam listed in this blog post.

Need some help with your apartment search in China or have a question about my experience finding an apartment in Shanghai? Leave a comment and I will do my best to help.