Your Accommodation in China

[zozzen]

did anyone have the experience of renting a room in rural china? i got an unbelievably cheap offer today in dengfeng via a local i met in henan.

it was an old house next to a beautiful farmland. without tv, carbinet and even a bed, the 100ft room is around rmb100 a month. 80ft seems very small, but the common space is big improve to play arobrics with more than 20 people at the same time. there is also a huge gazebo that can have at least 15 people playing kungfu there. the worst is no private toilet which is enough to drive me away. (oh just cant stand chinese public toilet)

[venture160]

Roddy: In Dalian now huh? I would love to get out there, only if I could find a job that isn't in Beijing or Shanghai. I love Beijing for what it is.... but I have this burning desire to get away from it all. Any advice?

[roddy]

Nope

I'm loving the city, I have to admit. Beijing's great, but Dalian is scoring high on livability factors like 'traffic that moves' and 'air you can breathe'. There are plenty of foreign companies here - Dell, IBM are setting up and you can't move for Korean and Japanese firms. The two main expat sites seem to be Dalianxpat and Daliandalian.com, they should have job listings if you want to have a look.

[roddy]

Attaching photos of my current place, as promised (see original post a few floors above). Not great quality as they're mobile pics, but should give you an idea. In order:

Second bedroom, currently office / study / empty space.

Bathroom. Not really at a 90 degree angle.

Main bedroom, complete with Osh-Kosh B'Gosh bedware courtesy of Carrefour (99Y the set)

Dining area, kitchen

Lounge and balcony beyond.

Also, View from the balcony.

Must be a few people out there with new apartments now the new academic year is underway. Add your info!

[cdn_in_bj]

Hey Roddy, didn't notice you were back. I was quite impressed with Dalian as well and agree with your observations.

I noticed you have a bathtub - nice! The slanted ceiling does add a lot of character to the place. And it's nice to see a semi-open kitchen for a change.

[Nathan]

Roddy, it looks like you have a kickass place. Nice skyline view, open kitchen, slanted ceiling, bathtub. Good find!

[lilongyue]

Type of accommodation: Rented apartment

Description:  don't know how many square meters (I'm American, am metric system impaired), but small.  1 room that is bedroom and living room, an even smaller dining room, bathroom/kitchen combo (only in China). 3rd floor, relatively new building, would be triple the price in another area, am the only foreigner in the immediate vicinity.

Rent:  540 RMB per month

Location:  Hangzhou, a bit far from any place with action, but near my school.

Found via:  my wife found it through her co-worker's recommendation.

Lease:  lease?

Came with:  two tables, that's it!

Notes:  cheap! which is my main concern at the moment, being a struggling student and all . . .  fringe benefits of knowing first-hand how Chinese really live.

[roddy]

Bathroom / kitchen combination? I think we need a photo of that . . .

Roddy, it looks like you have a kickass place. Nice skyline view, open kitchen, slanted ceiling, bathtub. Good find!

Got to admit I'm really enjoying it. There are niggles - the place is badly in need of a lick of paint as there are dirty fingermarks all over the walls (apparently a family with kids lived here previously, though some of the marks are mighty high for kids) and the quality of the fixtures and fittings isn't great - but generally it's a pretty nice apartment, and is an absolutely perfect location for me.

[venture160]

its amazing how cheap things get as soon as you leave the coastal cities. My friend who lives in Chengdu has a new, 2 floor, 4 bedroom penthouse apartment in Chengdu complete with roof deck, all for a whopping 5K a month! That would be close to 20K a month here in Beijing!

[muyongshi]

My friend who lives in Chengdu has a new, 2 floor, 4 bedroom penthouse apartment in Chengdu complete with roof deck, all for a whopping 5K a month! That would be close to 20K a month here in Beijing!

If you move 1 hour outside of Chengdu you could get the same for only 1.5K a month. So if you want to save money on your housing just move to a small city!

[venture160]

Sure, but its not that realistic if you work in chengdu to commute an hour everyday....

[magores]

Type of accomodation: Rented apartment.

City/Area: Beijing, on Xidawang Lu, near Shuangjing Carrefour

Description:

-1 bedroom, good sized bathroom, smallish kitchen

-living room is big enough for a dining area near the balcony

-windows face East, so I get morning sun

-26th floor of 26

-new apt complex, gated, security, etc

Rent: 3300/mo paid quarterly. Utilities (except for heating) are extra. 1-year lease.

Found via: Agent (long story I described in this post: http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/14826-how-much-trouble-would-i-be-in-if)

Came with: All new matching furniture sets, appliances except microwave (was a wedding gift, landlords want to take with them.)

Landlord / Building management: Landlords are a couple that recently had a baby. They are moving to new place for a couple/few years, will want to move back eventually. The wife is very nice. Speaks excellent English, as does her Physics professor father.

When found: October 2007

(I added the "when found" because I think that might be helpful for people considering that the current rental/property market in Beijing is crazy compared to previously.)

[muyongshi]

I moved back in December and absolutely love my new place:

110 sq. meters+balcony; 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath, 1 Gigantic Living room, and a dining room (kitchen's a given)

Price: 400 RMB a month

Simply finished and pretty bare, no furniture just the sinks, toilets, a few counters, stove and water heater

Rented initially for a year but will probably give 2 years next time (landlord doesn't want to be renting for short periods of time and I don't mind longer contracts, good bargaining chip)

Found it by walking into the complex and looking at a piece of paper stuck on the wall

The money though that I saved on rent allowed me to buy all the furniture I need and in the next year will allow me to buy some NICE stuff.

Also it is roomier than my old place and after I slapped a fresh coat of paint on the main areas, fixed up those things, good cleaning, put pictures up it was good to go!

[roddy]

Anyone else moved into a new place for the new semester? Must be a few out there . . .

[mr.stinky]

ok, i'll bite....

moved into a new place last november, in a recent (15 years?) non-high rise complex.

300m to bus stop, with four lines running to school. bus ride is 4 stops or ~10 minutes.

otherwise 8 minutes by bicycle door-to-door.

loads of small restaurants and food stalls nearby, 5-minute walk to carrefour.

apartment is about 70 meters, huge living room with attached very clean kitchen.

two bedrooms with wood floors, small sunroom off the bedroom.

loads of cabinets in kitchen and bedrooms.

bathroom has tub and toilet, although i had to install a water heater.

4th floor (52 steps), away from traffic noise in center of complex.

rent is 700/month unfurnished, utilities extra. paid nine months in advance (as i

think i'll be moving someplace warmer then).

found via local agent's signboard.

[skylee]

I've just moved to another apartment in the same development. The place is of the same size and layout of my previous one but the rent is almost doubled.

City - Hong Kong

Type of accommodation - Rented apartment

Description - 556 sq ft, unfurnished, well-maintained 20 year old building in a private housing estate of 50 multi-storey buildings, some of which are on the waterfront (mine faces the hills). 2 bedrooms, 1 living room, 1 bathroom, 1 kitchen.

Rent - HKD13,000 for 1st year, HKD14,000 for 2nd year, paid in cheques monthly (I gave 12 pre-dated cheques to the landlord one year in advance). Rent exclusive of utility charges. 2-month security deposit. Two-year lease.

Location - Heng Fa Chuen, with a metro station just downstairs, very convenient yet quiet.

Found via - real estate agency.

Came with - 3 air-conditioners, many cupboards/wardrobes, curtains, gas stoves.

Here are some photos. You can see I am still unpacking (actually I've stopped unpacking and have no idea how to deal with those six solidly packed boxes of books .......)

[cdn_in_bj]

I've just moved to another apartment in the same development. The place is of the same size and layout of my previous one but the rent is almost doubled.

Why is the rent double that of your previous place? Is there currently a shortage of housing in HK?

Description - 556 sq ft, unfurnished, well-maintained 20 year old building in a private housing estate of 50 multi-storey buildings, some of which are on the waterfront (mine faces the hills). 2 bedrooms, 1 living room, 1 bathroom, 1 kitchen.

I take it that 556 sq ft (~55 sq m) is the actual sq footage, given that there's 2 bedrooms...

Rent - HKD13,000 for 1st year, HKD14,000 for 2nd year, paid in cheques monthly (I gave 12 pre-dated cheques to the landlord one year in advance). Rent exclusive of utility charges. 2-month security deposit. Two-year lease.

Is that HKD 14k for the entire year, or per month? I'm guessing it's per month, as it would seem to be too low the entire year, but still if it's monthly then that is a lot higher than I was expecting even for HK! Also, I find it interesting that a rent increase has already been included in the lease - it seems rather unfair to the tenant. Though it's nice that you can use pre-dated cheques - this is one area where the mainland is still really behind.

Location - Heng Fa Chuen, with a metro station just downstairs, very convenient yet quiet.

For those of us that aren't too familiar with HK, is this considered to be a good middle-class type of area?

I'm just curious - do you have any idea what this apartment would cost to purchase?

Here are some photos. You can see I am still unpacking (actually I've stopped unpacking and have no idea how to deal with those six solidly packed boxes of books .......)

Thanks for sharing those. I see what appears to be a patterend ceiling in the first photo of your living room - did they wallpaper the ceiling?? Also, your fridge looks really short - is that the standard size over there?

As for your books, I suggest you find a corner to stack those boxes.

[skylee]

Hi, cdn_in_bj. Re your questions, the rent is doubled because the property prices in HK are rising. I started the lease of my previous apartment in 2003 when the economy was pretty bad so actually the rent back then was very low.

556 sq. ft is the gross area, not actual. But the place is pretty big for me. Don't judge the size of a HK apartment on a mainland scale ...

The rent is monthly rent. I don't think the rent increase is unfair, as the landlord has to commit to a two-year lease. Considering that the whole lease is only worth $330K, I think it is a good bargain to secure a two-year lease (assuming rising property prices). Otherwise (more flexible, cheaper rent) the landlord might kick me out after say 12 months and I would have to move again.

Heng Fa Chuen is on HK island with its own metro station. I think it is a good choice for the middle-class. And I like it as I am a HK islander and the place is quiet with very few outsiders (if you don't live here there are not many reasons to come). Some people who need to travel after midnight, however, find it inconvenient as the metro closes at about 1:00 am. There are many such big private developments throughout HK. Tai Koo Shing, for example, which is closer to Central and also has its own metro station, is like 40 years old but is still very expensive.

To buy a flat like this here you will need to spend about HKD 3.3 million (transaction date 3 April 2008 ) (source).

And yes the ceilings are wallpapered. The fridge is the smallest and cheapest (but with a freezer) that I could find. I used to have a bigger one. But since the fridge is just for water and beer I got a smaller one.

As for the books, I've managed to push the boxes to a corner in the spare room (too heavy for me to stack them up though).

[cdn_in_bj]

556 sq. ft is the gross area, not actual. But the place is pretty big for me. Don't judge the size of a HK apartment on a mainland scale ...

Ok, I won't compare HK to the mainland; I've already stopped comparing the mainland to North America

To buy a flat like this here you will need to spend about HKD 3.3 million (transaction date 3 April 2008 ) (source).

That works out to be HKD 5924/sq ft or HKD 65k/sq m. Wow.

It seems that HK real estate is on a tear and so are rents!

Anyways, thanks for answering my questions!

[cdn_in_bj]

Here's my way-overdue contribution to this thread:

Accomodation 1:

Date: Feb 07 - Nov 07

Type of accomodation: Rented apartment

Description: 1 bedroom (separate, not studio), 55m2, new building (I was the first tenant of this unit). Had both north and south facing windows, which was a bit unusual for a small unit.

Rent: 1800Y a month, paid quarterly. Public heating and property management fee included, electricity and gas extra.

Location: Outside of west 4th ring, just west of Yuquan Rd and Chang An. 15 minutes walk from subway.

Found via: Local housing agent - I had pretty much settled on the apartment complex, and went to the various agencies in the area to find units for rent. I paid their fee of 75% of one month's rent (was originally 100%, but I negotiated down).

Lease: Signed for 1 year, but my landlords terminated the lease early as they decided to sell the unit. As per our contract, they paid me an early-termination penalty of one month's rent and returned my initial deposit.

Came with: Not much - new sofa (low-quality), second-hand TV, fridge, and washer. 2 AC units but both without heating function. Bed came with dirty Chinese-style "mattress" (1" padded board) - I bought my own mattress. I also installed curtains over the bedroom windows and a shower curtain in the bathroom. Later on I also eventually purchased a microwave oven, and a coffee table and floor lamp from Ikea.

Landlord / Building management: Landlords lived in the same complex, a couple of buildings over. It was obvious that this was their first time renting, but they were nice. The building management was responsive the few times I needed to call them. All gates to the complex had tight security (a good thing), and I felt safe living here.

Notes: My landlords knew from the start they'd be renting this unit out, so they spent the least amount of money possible renovating and furnishing it. But I was somewhat in a hurry to find a place and the price was right (other better-furnished units in the same complex were going for around 2200Y).

Accomodation 2:

Date: Nov 07 - present

Type of accomodation: Rented apartment

Description: 1 bedroom (separate, not studio), 57m2, east facing unit. Building is 5 or 6 years old but this was and still is considered to be one of the better complexes in the area.

Rent: 2500Y a month, paid quarterly. Property management fee included, electricity and gas extra. No public heating in this building - units have gas furnaces for the heating and hot water. So I'm paying for heat, but the good thing is that I can have heat whenever I want.

Location: XuanWu district, near GuangAnMen bridge. Not sure how far of a walk it is to the nearest subway.

Found via: Local housing agent - again, I had settled on the apartment complex, and went to the various agencies in the area to find units for rent. I paid their fee of 100% of one month's rent. This time I didn't directly negotiate the agency fee - instead, I was able to negotiate the monthly rent with my landlord, which had the effect of reducing the fee.

Lease: Signed for 6 months.

Came with: Everything I need, even an extra mattress (so a total of 3 mattresses, including the one I had purchased while staying at the 1st apartment!), plenty of built-in shelving and storage space. This is quite a contrast to the 1st place. The only downside is that the TV is tiny, but I don't watch a lot of TV/movies these days so no biggie.

Landlord / Building management: Landlord lives out east, but is very easy to get a hold of and was responsive to issues relating to my initial move-in. No complaints with the building management and again security is very good, which is especially important as this complex isn't in the best area like I mentioned above.

Notes: This is the type of place that I could see myself living in long-term. Well, maybe if it were a bit bigger. The complex is well-managed and strictly guarded. The building, while not that old by western standards, has actually held-up pretty well by Chinese standards. The main giveaway that this isn't a newer building is that I can sometimes hear noise from the units above and beside me in the mornings.

I had looked at a few units in another complex nearby which weren't as strictly with the security - there were lots of written and posted ads in the hallways of the buildings, they didn't leave a safe impression at all.