Affordable apartment rent in Guangzhou, Sep 2009-Feb 2010?

[leeyah]

I'm going back to Guangzhou in late August and I'm really excited about it The last couple of times there I stayed in the dorms, but I've been thinking of renting a small apartment this time, I really need a bit more breathing space. The problem is I have no experience in this.

I'm looking for approx. 6-month, affordable but safe apartment in Tianhe or areas 'touching' on Tianhe. I've looked at 南粤居短租公寓s. I'm thinking of mailing them to inquire. Anyone here ever done business with them? Or does anyone know of any other reliable agencies?

I've browsed through similar threads in the forums, but it seems there's not much info on Guangzhou I haven't got the faintest idea on monthly apartment rates in GZ, so if anyone has got any information to share, I'd really appreciate it!

[BrandeX]

http://www.mytophome.com/html/interpreter/

If you want to live somewhere nice, you could come out here to Clifford Estates in Panyu. Rent will run around 2000 a month for a good place, and we have direct buses to different locations in tianhe (45 min drive - taking a city bus inside tianhe can sometimes take just as long) leaving every 20 minutes. If you live directly in tianhe it will be pretty expensive unless it's in some ghetto alley, it's the city center, and highest priced district. Anyways mytophome has english service, one of their agents can set you up with a place wherever.

[leeyah]

Thanks for sharing BrandeX. I suppose 2000 stands for Rmb Yes, I've heard of Panyu, sounds nice, but actually I always thought Panyu would be more expensive than Tianhe

I am familiar mostly with 6PM rush hour in Tainhe, but how about morning rush hour from Panyu to Tianhe? It's really important because I'd need to get to class around 9AM or so every morning...

[BrandeX]

There mostly isn't any issue like that, which is why I moved out of downtown and into the suburbs. My one-way commute when I lived in town was usually about 1.5 hours just traveling straight down Guangzhou Dadao, which runs trough the center of town. As I mentioned, moving out to the suburbs out of town actually cut the commute time down, since there is no traffic.

[teaforme]

I don't live in Tianhe but I figured I'd post my rent & apartment hunting experiences for reference purposes.

I live near Zhongda (Sun Yat Sen University) by the northeast gate. I'm pretty close to the Pearl River, and I am literally two minutes away from the university by foot.

I have a studio apartment for which I pay 2000 RMB/month. I rented it last September 2008, right before the market burst. I imagine if I rented my apartment today, I would probably be able to get it for 1800/month. My apartment is basically a large single room with a separate bathroom, separate kitchen, and a balcony. It came with a TV, refrigerator, air conditioning, and basic furniture. I also have reliable Internet access, which I had to pay for separately (but the line was already pre-installed in the apartment).

When I was apartment hunting last September, most of the studio and one-bedroom properties near Zhongda were in the 1600-2000 RMB/month range. Properties near the university's south gate on Xingangxi Lu were mostly around 1800 RMB for a one-bedroom unit. But they were considerably older and a bit more run down. The building I live in now was brand new and I am the first person to live in said apartment. I imagine that also attributed to its higher rents.

[leeyah]

Thank you for posting Teaforme! A small studio apt like the one you got is precisely what I'm looking for. I need some space to relax, save money by cooking my own food, plus I need plenty of daylight & having a balcony would be just perfect. So, it's really good to know I can rent one even under 2000 these days, I just hope it'll last until the end of August when I'm supposed to fly over

[在中国消失]

It seems that an apartment can be had rather easily at $2,000RMB/month.

-Does this include a western-style toilet/separated shower with hot water? What should one expect to pay out for utilities (e.g. electricity/water/gas etc.) - assuming extensive air-con and computer usage?

Thanks.

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[teaforme]

Bathroom facilities:

Western style toilet with shower. Sometimes the shower is in its own cubicle enclosed with a curtain or some glass doors. Most of the time, especially in small apartments, it is a shower head in one corner of the bathroom. Don't expect to get a bathtub.

Bills:

This is what I pay in addition to the the 2000/RMB per month for rent.

1. 100 RMB/month for my apartment's management fees (管理费）. My fees were included in my rent, but other apartment owners prefer to have you pay separately. These fees go towards things like paying the management company, paying the security guards, etc. My fees vary according to the apartment community you live in; my fees are at the high end of the spectrum.

2. 100-200 RMB every 3 months for other apartment fees. I don't have a copy of the bill in front of me, but these include things like waste disposal fees, water fees, elevator maintenance fees, etc. As above, fees vary according to the community you live in and mine are higher because of my location.

3. <100 RMB every 2 months for gas fees (煤气费). Mine usually average around 50-60 kuai. I cook at home about 3 times a week and I keep my water heater off during the day, only turning it on to shower.

4. 100-200 RMB every 2 months for electricity（电费). My computer is on most of the day. I also use a space heater in the winter and aircon in the summer.

5. +/- 1200 RMB for Internet. I paid for 1 year's worth of ADSL internet. It's as reliable as Chinese Internet can be.

6. +/- 300 RMB for TV. I can't remember the exact amount, but it came out to around 300 RMB. It provides me with unlimited CCTV all the time! There are private companies that offer international satellite channels. Not sure how much that costs, but the option's available if you want it.

[在中国消失]

teaforme-

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my inquiries. I really appreciate it.

Up until now, I have had great difficulty in finding foreigners living in GZ to establish correspondence with. Most of the China-related forums are outdated, lacking a user-base/info and/or are region specific (i.e. non-GZ).

5. +/- 1200 RMB for Internet. I paid for 1 year's worth of ADSL internet

-That figure is an annual quote, right? ($1,200 RMB/month for internet should be illegal - especially in the land of censorship).

Thanks again.

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[teaforme]

Yes, 1200 was for one year's worth of Internet. It was cheaper to pay upfront than to go by the month. Actually, I don't even think it was an option to have a monthly subscription. You'll have to check with your apartment owner to see what they have arranged.

And as for finding foreigners, have you checked out gzstuff.com? That's the place to be.

[在中国消失]

have you checked out gzstuff.com?

-No, I haven't.

Will definitely check it out. -Thanks.

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[Christine_GZ]

Hello Leeyah,

I have two apartments available, if you are interested in.

One apartment is in Clifford, 2br appartment, with kitchen, bathroom. Rent at RMB2000M(not including the electricity/management fees).

Another one is an studio in Tianhe Bei Rd, about 46sqm with kitchen and bathroom, very convinient place, 5mins to the subway station, but the rental is higher than your budget, RMB2800/M(not including management fees)

If you are still looking for a place, please feel free to contact me.

MSN:alsk123@hotmail.com

Skype: ALSK123