House Hunting

Going Local
Nowhere is this truer than in the realm of housing. If you are on a tight budget than it is best to go local when looking for a place to live.

• The Search:
Finding a local apartment takes a lot of legwork. It is essential to scout out the areas in which you want to live. Walk the streets. Venture into laneways. Look for buildings that seem appealing and ask around. Compound security guards are often good sources of information. Once you have settled on an area, look for the closest real estate agent. These small offices are dotted all around the city. One (or more) can be found every few blocks. Once inside state your specifications, target size (in square meters), price range and any other requirements you may have. If there is a specific building you are interested in, ask about it.

A good real estate agent will find out about any vacancies in the area. Be patient. Quality, layout and price vary considerably. If you are not satisfied keep looking.

Once you settle on a place, the real estate agent will help you negotiate with the landlord.
If you agree to sign a rental agreement, you will be expected to pay the real estate fee.

• Advantages:

The main advantage of local property is the price. In downtown Shanghai a fair sized 3-bedroom apartment in a well-kept community can be found for around RMB 6,000 per month. Another advantage with going local is that there is a wide range of choices. If you are set on a particular neighborhood, especially one in the downtown core, it is a god idea to try the local route.

• Disadvantages:

Your search will for the most part occur in Chinese. If you don’t know the language enlist the help of a friend or colleague. Most local apartments are relatively small. It can be quite difficult to find something over 150 sqm. If you need more space, however, keep looking: bigger apartments are rare but they do
exist.

If you are interested in living in an older place with some vintage character but want to pay local prices, your apartment or house will likely be unrenovated. If this is the case, think carefully about heating, plumbing, electricity and other essential amenities and be sure you have a good connection with either your landlord or the community’s management committee to deal with issues as they arise.

• Tips:

Everything is up for negotiation. If you don’t like the furniture, want some new appliances installed, need a table, TV or bed, or feel more secure with a multiyear contract, then try to include these ingredients from the start of your contract.

As with renting any apartment try to have a clear sense of the bills, and who to call when you need something repaired.

There is usually an extra fee for a fapio (or receipt). If your work requires a receipt for tax purposes, mention this from the start. Local apar tments of ten have ex tremely complex light fixtures. Rooms generally have numerous switches leading to a wide variety of different light sources. Each fixture might have numerous bulbs. Sometimes landlords will pay for these to be replaced and management committees will often help you change the bulbs.

— AG