GoKunming Forums

Looking for Apartment Agency

mutigers77 (22 posts) • 0

I'm looking to work with a local apartment agency to help with my search. Anyone have any recommendations or tips on working with the local agencies? We are Americans so we don't want to get completely taken advantage of.... :-)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Ty

AlexKMG (2387 posts) • 0

Recommend you get a Chinese friend to assist. No English spoken. Six months to one year rent up front and one to two months as deposit is common. One month rent is the agent commission paid by you. Bargain 10% off quoted rent. Newer units have an additional monthly management fee. You will need lot's of rmb in hand given all the requirements, or rent from foreigners (see GoK classifieds). Apartments come from unfurnished to fully furnished with all major appliances and everything inbetween. Tell the agent the level you require. Also, make sure you have electric or gas water heater in addition to solar.

Sarah1988 (22 posts) • 0

It depends on in which part of the city you want to live in. If you want to live around Green Lake Park, I can strongly recommend an agent called Danny, he speaks English and was the only agent so far who could really understand my requirements and complaints ^^ If anything is broken in my flat, he will immediately come to fix it or call someone to do it. He also helps negotiate between landlord and you, whithout cheating on you.
His office is opposite Yunnan University south gate, just next to bus stop "yunnan daxue".

Shyam (244 posts) • 0

Mutiger, I recently got my first apartment in Kunming. I went through the big Xinya Dichan Real Estate company that is all over Kunming. (The guys with the orange and green signs. You can't miss them.) They maintain a big computer database and can do meta-searches for the features you want. But, in my opinion, the real issue is less the agency and more the language barrier. In China, real estate agencies operate primarily on the neighborhood level. Unless you are certain you will move to a particular neighborhood, you will need to visit several offices (even if you use the same company). This is where language becomes a problem.

Fortunately, in my case I was able to hire a person who has acted as my translator and teacher. She took me to different parts of town, found different realtors for me, translated my requirements, accompanied me to the apartment viewings, advised me on the options, helped me negotiate a lower price, sat with me during the paperwork, and translated the details. I was picky and the whole process probably took 40 hours over several days. I paid her 50 RMB per hour. To me, this service was well worth the ~$320. She also continues to be there to help me with questions (like where to pay my electric bill). We looked at several apartments, over a wide geographic area. I am thoroughly satisfied with the apartment I got and the price I paid.

Oh...also be aware that these agencies typically take an upfront fee equal to approximately one month of rent, once you find an apartment you like and begin the lease procedure.

Contact me directly, if you would like a reference on a translator.

Good luck!

mutigers77 (22 posts) • 0

This is very helpful...thank you. We are looking in the Chun Yuan Xiao Qu area...but would consider heading North if the right place isn't available. It seems that a 4 Bedroom Furnished apartment is hard to come by right now.

Long-Dragon (390 posts) • 0

Please see my other posts on real estate in Kunming in recent months. I would not recommend XX largest agency in anyway. Use the smaller agencies that usuallyare in the areas you wish to live in. I was cheated, lied to. mislead, and am thoughly digusted by this big XX agency. I speak Chinese, had Chinese help and legal advice. Do not use their contract it favors them and the landlords. Their are lots of empty units every place but many cannot be lived in as they are not "decorated" yet.

Alien (3819 posts) • 0

For Chunyuan, go to Wicker Basket (excellent bakery, good salad bar, food rather US-midwestern but good) ask the obvious foreigners there, Chunyuan is packed with them.

Alien (3819 posts) • 0

PS Don't worry about being ripped off because you are from the US, there's no conspiracy against you here.

blueice (73 posts) • 0

a lot of people who live in the chunyuan area (both local and expat) have used a little agency in kaiyuan farther from wickerbasket and closer to bank of china. it's a few doors down from rasa aroma and next to yunnique.

the lady is really professional and has lots of experience working with foreigners.

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