Apartment search using Chinese-language websites

[eion_padraig]

So I'll be moving to Guangzhou in July, and I've decided to try to use Chinese-language websites to do the search with the hope of avoiding some of the extra 'foreigner tax' that comes with using English-speaking real estate agents. So far I've been using soufun.com, which seems to be relatively understandable given my Chinese level.

Has anyone had success doing this from overseas before? I used this method when I was living in Shanghai, but I was able to meet with landlords and real estate agents. I'm thinking I can have one of my future colleagues do a check on one or two places prior to actually signing a lease. I figure with digital pictures over the internet, I can get a decent sense of a place without actually being there. The HR people at my work will be looking over the actual lease before I sign for anything strange, but anything I should look out for?

Specifically, I'm wondering about the following things, and I don't know if there are regional norms that differ consistently.

- If I start looking now (mid-February), how likely will there be people willing to have a lease start in July? In the US, it would be quite early to be looking for 5 months in the future.

- How long are leases usually? I had 1 year-long leases in Shanghai, but that was about 10 years ago.

- Does anyone know where I can find a map of proposed metro stations for the new subway line going into Luogang (罗岗）? I heard there are going the new metro line will be finished in the next 2 years. I've seen names, but no map.

Thanks.

[abcdefg]

I've used 58同城 in Kunming, but find it clumsy to use. Some of my Chinese friends swear by it, however. Here's the main Guangzhou page: http://gz.58.com/zufang/

Looking on the internet ahead of time may be useful in getting and idea of average rents in the areas of your interest, but I would be extremely hesitant to lease something sight unseen. In fact, I just plain would not do it.

I don't live in Guangzhou, and will let someone else address the other parts of your question.

[icebear]

Looking on the internet ahead of time may be useful in getting and idea of average rents in the areas of your interest, but I would be extremely hesitant to lease something sight unseen. In fact, I just plain would not do it.

In Beijing the services are essentially worthless. Ads are almost exclusively posted by agents (repeatedly to flood independent ads out), prices are understated and pictures rarely match. Many Chinese use such services with some degree of success - the problem is that one you call are identified as a foreigner the foreign tax will kick in right away. You'd might as well just arrive and plan on searching with a few agents for a week or so. The sites can be useful to get an idea of general prices and potential developments you want to target once on the ground.

[roddy]

Waaaaaaaaaaaay too early to be even seriously looking, let along thinking about leases, At this point the useful things you can do are

a) look into a short-term serviced-apartment type arrangement for the first week / month, to give you a decent base while you're actually looking

b) scout around to see what's available. What you see online you can probably take as a ball-park idea of what places will roughly cost and look like, but the apartments you see online posted by agents rarely actually exist. Even the ones listed in the windows might not exist. It's all about getting people through the door, THEN they'll tell you what they can actually take you to see. Of course, it's entirely possible they haven't actually gone there, so don't be surprised if they don't have much info beyond the landlord's name and a rough guide as to the number of rooms. They generally don't have photos of the apartments, because, for some strange reason, nobody trusts the photos to be real. It's a mystery as to why.

But it's way too early to be getting in touch with agents or landlords.

You could maybe get colleagues to sort something out before you arrive, but do they actually know what they are doing? If their main job is dealing with relocating expat employees, fair enough. But if they just tell some newly arrived lad in HR who's spent his entire life living at home or in college or company dorms to sort it out, there's no telling what'll happen.

Actually, wanting to have a place ready for you when you arrive is perhaps the best time to use one of the English-speaking estate agencies - they've probably dealt with similar situations, and what you think of as a 'foreigner tax', they may think of as a higher cost due to delivering a better service in a foreign language. Of course, they tend to service the higher end of the market, and if that's not what you're looking for, it probably won't work.

[xuefang]

I live in Guangzhou and have rented few apartments here during these three years.

1. Searching for an apartment online from Chinese sites life soufun is useless. 99% of the ads aren't true, informationg is wrong, pictures doesn't match or the place have been rented ages ago. When you make the call they will always tell you that they just rented it out few minutes ago/today/yesterday.
   
2. Stay in a hostel/hotel or somewhere else the first week and go looking apartments your self. Finding an apartment can take something between one day to two weeks depending on what you are looking and where
   
3. Go to the area you wish to live and start going to the agency offices, there are plenty on almost every street.
   
4. Deposit is often two month's rent and agent fee half of one month's rent Leases are almost always for one year, but you might get it down to 6 months if you pay more.
   

[eion_padraig]

Thanks for the general feedback. I hadn't realized the listing on the websites were so suspect, though it isn't terribly surprising given the way other things work in China. Unfortunately, due to my circumstances I will need a long-term place right as I arrive, so the temporary housing won't work. Our HR department actively discouraged us from looking for an apartment once we arrived and indicated any costs we incurred would be our reponsibility. This is one of the things that has me thinking about the issue so early. I have been able to target some likely developments with the websites, so that is a start.

I'll probably talk more with the HR department. They deal with a lot of foreigners coming to work in the city, so I'm not so concerned there. However, almost no one lives in Luogang district, which is where I'll be working, though I've spoken with one couple who live there and really like the area. They were discouraged from living in the area for reasons that didn't seem to correspond to the actual reality of living in the area.

I'll have to think about this some more and talk with people in Guangzhou.

[roddy]

Actually, if you have a decent HR department handling things for you, and you can speak to current employees for advice, I'd say go with their advice rather than ours - it sounds like they know what they're doing, they'll have established contacts, and hopefully an idea of what you will and won't find acceptable.

[imron]

I'd say go with their advice rather than ours

And then come back and write a post all about it

[eion_padraig]

My only concern with the HR people is they're used to employees living in Tianhe district and Panyu district rather than Luogang district. Anyway, I'll give an update once I figure this all out and find a place. We'll probably be living in Guangzhou for several years, so we can always move after our first year if we're not thrilled with our first place.

I'll probably be lurking on the boards more once I move and try to be a resource for questions about Guangzhou like I did when I lived in Shanghai.