Beijing house-hunting
How you go about finding accommodation in Beijing is going to depend on where you want to live. If you are going for the top or middle end of the market (see the introduction to apartments in Beijing for more info), then a quick flick through any of the ex-pat mags will give you plenty of phone numbers to call. Agents working in this area tend to charge the landlord for their services, rather than the tenant, so you can pretend you aren't paying any extra - although the rent will almost certainly have been adjusted . . .There are also a few agents specialising in finding cheap apartments in Beijing for foreigners who can be found in the same way.
finding an apartment in Beijing
Websites can be useful. One very good site is wuwoo.com which carries ads from landlords and agents for both mid-market and standard Chinese accommodation in Beijing. The mid-market stuff is available in English, and maps show you where you want to live. The standard Chinese accommodation is only in Chinese. It's free to browse, but if you want to see contact details then you need to pay - 100Y for a month's access. The site also has standard contracts to print out and use. This is the site I used to find my previous flat. In one morning we arranged to see three apartments within walking distance or a short bus-ride of where I work, saw them all, and signed contracts on one the next day.
I haven't personally used the accommodation agency wo ai
wo jia
, but the previous occupant of my current apartment did, and found them efficent and easy to deal with - they may be worth a look. Bear in mind they do not specialise in dealing with foreigners, and if you want to see the cheaper accommodation on their website you shouldn't click on the English links.
All Chinese internet portals will have classified ads to check, and ex-pat mags such as That's Beijing also carry accommodation classifieds.
Bear in mind that agents aren't always up-front about being agents when placing and answering classified ads - one ad I placed that specifically said 'no agents' got a surprising number of replies from email addresses like beijingrealestate@sina.com saying things like 'My friends have 18 apartments in Beijing for rent, would you like to see them, I am not an agent I promise'. Many Chinese people I know seem to have a deep and bitter hatred of agents and avoid them like the plague. However, if you choose your agent carefully then you'll probably save a lot of time, if not money.
helping friends
If there's ever a time it's worth taking a Chinese friend or colleague with you, looking at apartments in Beijing is it. Ask someone to check contracts and look over the apartment. Ask them what their impression of the landlord is. Check everything, even if you feel daft doing it. Does the toilet flush? Does the hot water work? Ok, you established it works in the kitchen, now does it work in the bathroom. Water pressure in the shower? Floor under your feet? Ventilation for the gas water heater . . .
upgrading
Landlords are rarely open to negotiating on rent, unless they were asking for a little too much in the first place. However, it may be possible to get an extra appliance or two (an extra air-conditioner is always useful, or maybe a dvd player), especially if you are signing a longer-term lease. Also remember that you may be able to buy a lot of extra stuff for your flat at a reasonable price, so even if the landlord isn't going to buy you it all, don't give up. Take a trip round IKEA and Carrefour and figure out how much it would cost to get the furnishings and appliances you want. In my previous apartment I spent under 1000Y and turned a somewhat bleak, lino-floored bedroom with some of the ugliest soft-furnishings I've ever seen into a cosy colour-coordinated rug-strewn palace. Almost.
Sometimes landlords are willing to do more substantial work on a flat - I was once shown an entirely bare apartment in a fantastic location near Houhai and asked to say how much I wanted to pay a month, and the landlord would decorate, furnish and equip accordingly. I probably should have taken it, but I wanted to find somewhere quickly so turned it down.
Beijing apartment checklist (random and incomplete)
- Air-conditioning - how many units and in which rooms? Are they simply air-con, or do they heat as well? You want air-con in all rooms you will spend any amount of time in.
- Hot water. How hot? Gas-powered instant hot water? Then check the ventilation. Electric hot-water tank? How long does it take to heat up / run out? Hot water is NOT usually available from all the taps in the house - I have it in the kitchen sink and the shower, but not the bathroom sink (I once had hot water in the toilet cistern, but only at 3pm and 10pm daily)
- Cooking facilities. The minimum would be a gas counter-top hob, you may also get an small oven or microwave. Chinese cooking doesn't involve a lot of baking or roasting, so (or because?) ovens are relatively rare.
- Bathroom. Western toilet? Hot water to the sink? Water pressure in the shower? Does it leak into the flat below?
- Bedroom. Test the bed (I didn't, and have to pretend I like my hard bed).
- Entertainment - you should get a decent-sized colour TV and maybe a VCD/DVD player.
- Phones. If it's not connected already, make sure it's the landlords responsibility to arrange and pay for. Is broadband an option? If it is connected, test it.
- Security. This isn't usually a problem, as you'll be on the nth floor, with a normal flat door, a metal security door (usually with two locks) and a man downstairs whose job it is to ask strangers what they're up to and lock the main door at midnight.
- Extra charges. Chinese flats come with a whole load of small fees - building maintainance is an obvious one, but my landlord also pays for the cable TV (not that there's any decent channels), the rubbish collection fee, the stair-cleaning fee, etc. Note - my landlord pays for them, not me. These are all very cheap, and it's probably not worth worrying too much about. Utility bills are usually yours to worry about.
- The block. Are the stairs / landings clean? Communal lighting is usually sound operated, so stamp your foot and see if it works. Do the lifts work? Do the guards look like they will offer you cigarettes and baijiu, or regard you as another source of spiritual pollution?
- The surroundings. One thing I miss about my old flat is the street of restaurants round the corner and the convenience store at the end of that street. You'll probably eat out a lot (have you seen that kitchen?) so this is important. You can't expect acres of green grass veined with Alpine streams at your front door, but some kind of communal area would be nice - you probably won't use it, but you can take photos of all the cute old people doing Tai Chi and playing chess.
- The landlord - if you don't speak Chinese, then a landlord with even a little English is going to be useful.