Apartments in China

[Brian Mc]

Greetings Brothers,

As most of you know I am packing up my life and moving to China to be with Zhen on October 26th 2009.  However we seem to have run into a bit of a problem.

I have asked her to find an apartment since long term hotel rooms will get very expensive.  It seems though that the ones she is looking at only rent for a minimum of 6 months at a time, and if we move before then there is no refund of unused time.

Now since I have not yet found a teaching position which will of course provide an apartment we obvioulsy do not want to rent for six months and then move again shortly after we move in.  To me it seems there must be apartments somewhere that rent for less than six months at a time.  Perhaps she is being too selective and looking at higher end places .  She mentioned paying about 1000rmb per month I think.  Is that hi, low, or average.  

I could really use some help and advice here guys.  I am definitely going on the 26th job or no job, but I hate to waste 6 months rent if I dont have to.  Zhen lives in Handan but we are considering Tianjin, Beijing, or anywhere else fairly close to Handan.  At least to start.  If I end up with a teaching positon further away thats fine but we would like to stay within reasonable travel distance of Handan in Hebei if possible.

So please brothers any help or advice would be appreciated.  Also what is an average price for a two bedroom apartment or condo or whatever?

Regards,

Zhen and Brian

[Scottish_Rob]

Brian...My council house in the Uk is £260. a month.  that price works in at £100.00 a month mate...

I will ask Ke Ren later today when I send my letter..

[Vince G]

Brian I know there are places to rent a month at a time (well in Shenyang). My girl rented a home for visiting relatives who stayed just one month.

[David5o]

Brian,

Ask Zhen to look for or ask about short term rental, say 1 month renewable. You will pay a small premium for short term rental, but it's better than being hooked on a contract for 6 months, and cheaper to if you have to relocate before the 6 months are up.....

Can't give you ideas about rentals costs, i'm over 2 years out of date. Perhaps Willy, Chong, or Jimb can give you an idea about the going rates. But it will all depend on the square meterage of the apartment, condition, location, facilities, What i can remember most will be around 60 to 70 sq mt. Which is fine for two people...

David....

[Willy The Londoner]

Greetings Brothers,


  She mentioned paying about 1000rmb per month I think.  Is that hi, low, or average.  

Zhen and Brian

Hi Brian

In Zhuhai I pay 2200 rmb for my 2 bedroom apartment in a great garden setting.  But Zhuhai is an expensive area.

In Zhongshan I pay 1300 rmb for a slightly larger 2 bedroom apartment but also set in nice gardens but unlike Zhuhai it has no swimming pool.
Both are furnished.

Minimum six months is about the norm.


Willy

[Chong]

You can always go through a real estate broker who'll rent you a place for a short-term but it'll cost you one month's rent for their commission fee. Here in Kaiping, 1,000 RMB will get you a three bedroom condo UNFURNISHED ... just a bed, stove & fridge.

Send a PM to my 'white' Dad ... JimB in Beijing.

[JimB]

Brian, It is very difficult to find an apartment for less than 6 months rental.  Here 1000 rmb is very low.  Average is 3500 to 4000.  Ours is 4000 per month for a really nice furnished large 2 bedroom 1 bath.  I did have a link in an early part of my thread about short term rental apartments, that are furnished. They are quite high if you are looking for something in the 1000's though.  Good luck.  I will have my wife look also.  She did look for a good 4 months before finding this place.  We initially rented it for 3 months.  I paid everything up front though to get him to even consider it.  But we needed something close to her work.  This way she could walk.  it is also close to the supermarkets, shopping malls, etc.  the further out you go the cheaper they may get.  I have a friend in Tianjin that may help. I will give you her e mail address.
It is very expensive here in Beijing like I said.  her dorm room costs 2200 rmb per month.  She is subsidized for that by the hospital.

[David5o]

Brian,


As others are telling you, 6 months is the norm when renting an apartment through an agent, and from what I've been reading, it seems, that has been the route that has been taken by those advising you here.

I would if possible, look outside of the agency route, get Zhen to look at the classifieds in the local rag's and also on the internet to check out what's on offer there. You may have to temporally rent a serviced apartment, while your going thru your searching. One things for sure, your going to have to rely on Zhen to do all the donkey work here, and any negotiation too. The monthly ongoing apartment rentals are available, but they are going to be a lot more difficult to find.
Also ask Zhen, what she is actually looking for in the way of apartment size and facilities for this 1000RMB, as what might suit her, might not suit you. I am not joking here Brian, so be warned!! ...haha!!

David.....

[Brian Mc]

Greetings Brothers,

Thanks as always for the help and advice.  So once again as with all things Chinese its not as easy as it looks heheh.  I will have to ask Zhen again what she is looking at and probably give her a more detailed idea of what I think we need.

As for the advice on looking in the classifieds and such great idea I will pass those along to her also.  For me I dont care which city we are in or how fancy or not (within reason of course) the place is as long as we can live in it until I find work.  Since the teaching positions usually provide accomodation or housing subsidy then that will be the deciding factor ultimately.  However we must survive until then and hotels are way too expensive.

Thanks again for the help guys and please pass along any other insights etc.

Regards,

Zhen and Brian

[Willy The Londoner]

It is really good to see you so positive Brian - It was not so long ago when you were right down in the dumps.   But see how far you have gone since then.

Best of luck.

Willy

[Brian Mc]

It is really good to see you so positive Brian - It was not so long ago when you were right down in the dumps.   But see how far you have gone since then.

Best of luck.

Willy

Ahh Willy that is the effect of finding the love of your life finally.  I have every reason in the world to be a happy positive excited man when I have the most wonderful beautiful loving caring wife a man could possibly ask for.  Besides I am doing as you have done and moving my life to China to be with her.  What more could I possibly ask for?  Well ok a place to stay and a job would be nice too hehe.

Take care Brothers,

Zhen and Brian

[Vince G]

Brian (and others) I had asked my lady about the rentals. Since she does this all the time she owns a few places and rents them out. I'll put in what she wrote I don't have to translate it.

Of course, you can rent an apartment which to rent for at least one month! You can find it from the agency, which is the best way or on the internet by yourself. Both are ok! You can go to the agencies where you want to rent the apartment, and they will give you the information, if you are not satisfied, you don't have to pay ,and go to another one until you find the suitable one for you, then she/he will lead you to see the house, which you have to pay for that, and then if you decide to rent it, she/he will contact the house owner for you, and then you can talk about it with the loaner.

And if you find the apartment on the internet, there will be the contact ways for the loaners, and you can contact with him/her directly. But you know, many loaners don't put their information on the internet, so there maybe more sources in the agencies!

[Irishman]

Brian, if you end up in Beijing or Tianjin, let me know, i'll be in Tianjin from November 5th - 22nd so can meet up with you in Beijing or Tianjin for beers if you like then.
My Ling is from Tianjin and I'm certain she would be delighted to give any assistance or local advice she can to you or Zhen if you decide to move there.

[Brian Mc]

Brian, if you end up in Beijing or Tianjin, let me know, i'll be in Tianjin from November 5th - 22nd so can meet up with you in Beijing or Tianjin for beers if you like then.
My Ling is from Tianjin and I'm certain she would be delighted to give any assistance or local advice she can to you or Zhen if you decide to move there.

Greetings Brothers,

Vince, thanks for that, great information.

Irishman, Sounds like a plan to me if we are in the area for sure.  It seems I have a good shot at a position in Guiyang, which is a full day from Beijing but Zhen would prefer to stay in the Handan, Beijing, Tianjin area so I dont know if we will take the Guiyang job or not.  It all depends if something else comes along in time.  The advantage of the job is it also provides accomodation, but the drawback is its a fair travel back to Handan and our family and friends.

So at this point I am torn, I need a job and the Z visa but at the same time I want to make Zhen happy.I really do not want to go to China without a job and have to use my savings to live.  Also I do not know how often I could extend my visitor visa before they made me leave and get another one.  So at this point the Guiyang job if I get it is looking to be my best option.

Oh well I still have 16 days before I leave Canada and who knows what can turn up in that time.  If it comes about that I come to China with no job it seems that either Handan or Tianjin will be the cities of choice, so I may take you and Ling up on your offer Irish.  I will keep you updated here and let you know.  If we can meet we will exchange contact info before I go so I can contact you direct when I reach china, and avoid the same dissapointment I had with Jimb last trip.

Regards,

Zhen and Brian

[Irishman]

Brian, I really think you should stick to Beijing or Tianjin, you will not have problems finding work in either city, and they are far more convenient than Handan to get to.
Tianjin is a mere 30 minutes on the bullet train from Beijing and it only costs 58RMB, Handan takes about 6 hours from Beijing - that's not a pleasant jaunt, more like an ordeal!