If I look back over my six years in China, it seems I have lived in at least as many (if not more) apartments. Finding a good home in China, whether you’re in Kunming, Beijing, Shanghai or Xian, is not always an easy task. Chinese people and foreigners generally have different standards when it comes to what we consider acceptable living arrangements. Chinese people are often satisfied with a squat toilet and a couple of buckets for showers, whereas Westerners will want a sit-down commode and a full length bathtub. Then comes furniture – do you rent a place furnished, and run the risk of possibly owing more RMB than you imagine the entire contents of the apartment are worth combined for “damages” either real or imagined? Or do you rent unfurnished and go about procuring furnishings and appliances from various second-hand markets, negotiating with sanlunche (three-wheeled bike) drivers, and having to figure out what to do with all your newly acquired junk when you finally pack up and move on? There are many obstacles facing a would-be renter in China, and it is best to go at them prepared for anything.

Photo: Mr.mt

First, you need to decide where you’re going to find your new palace. Conventional expat logic says to pick a real estate agent, preferably one who speaks English, and be led around looking at places until one strikes your fancy. This is the tried and true method, and generally yields good results. My current apartment is a real-estate agent special, after all. If you’re not in any particular hurry, you can give your agent a specific list of requirements and have her do the legwork. One year in Kunming some Italian friends and I decided we’d like to rent an apartment with a roof garden and I simply called up the agent and told her not to contact me unless she had apartments with roof gardens become available. It took over a month, but eventually she found us a beautiful 2 story pad with not one, but two roof gardens, in a central part of town. However, in many cities, Kunming for one, real estate agents expect the renter to pay a fee (in Beijing, particularly with more expensive apartments, this fee is paid by the owner of the apartment, not the renter), which usually amounts to one month of rent. If you’re renting a more expensive place, like our luxurious two-roof-garden abode, you can often negotiate with the agent and see if she’ll drop the price on the fee a bit.

Photo: Shark Shots

However, if you’re feeling adventuresome and you don’t particularly feel like forking over a hefty wad of Maos to a real estate agent, there are other options. You can scour neighborhoods for ads, sometimes posted in windows or on bulletin boards nearby, you can ask the security guards for tips (offer up a cigarette for their troubles), or, and probably most reliably, you can look on the internet. The internet is only really a viable option if you speak Chinese or have a Chinese friend with a lot of time on their hands to help you out, but if your search-engine skills are good enough you can find apartments being rented out directly by the owner. My favorite apartment, the one I lived in when I got married and later, which I brought my son home to, was found on a local website advertising apartments for rent in Yunnan. Looking for apartments online can be a hassle, as many real estate agents like to pose as individual apartment owners in hopes of tricking unsuspecting potential renters into answering their ads. If you notice multiple ads with the same format or the same contact number, you can be sure a real estate agent is at work.

Individual ads tend to be more personalized, and willcontain less obvious marketing. When my husband (then fiancée) and I were looking for an apartment we simply answered an add that caught our eye and arranged to meet the landlord. Over the years, having had a connection first and foremost with the landlord, and not with some agency, helped us out. If we were late on our rent, or needed repairs done, we knew he would be understanding. When we finally moved to Beijing last year, he refunded us our full deposit, despite the fact that my husband burned a huge hole in the entertainment console by leaving a lit mosquito coil on it overnight (we’re lucky we didn’t burn the entire complex down, in fact). I still miss that apartment, even though our current apartment is perfectly adequate, in no small part because the landlord was such an all around decent guy.

Photo: ninjawil

Once you decide on your method and have a plan of attack, it’s time to start looking at apartments. If you’re like most people, you’ll probably have set a budget for yourself. Your agent might try and push your budget a bit, or deliberately show you shabby apartments, trying to convince you that shabby is the best you’re going to do if you’re dead set on remaining a cheapskate. That said, most Chinese people, and especially agents used to dealing with foreigners, have preconceived notions about what our standards are, and most will instinctively steer away from the true “bargains,” that is, the apartments you would consider completely unfit. However, if you have any absolute “must haves” it is important to identify them up front. If you’re not cool with a squat toilet, tell the agent, or, if you’re going solo, ask when you make the first call, before you go to see the apartment. Find out what sort of appliances are included – is there a fridge, or will you need to buy one? A washing machine? Is there an internet hookup, and if not, can you have one installed easily (getting ADSL in any modern Chinese apartment should be a cheap and simple process). The more you ask up front, and the better an idea you have about what you want and don’t want, the fewer wild goose chases you’ll end up going on. Apartment hunting anywhere can be stressful, and in China this is especially true. Preparing yourself ahead of time can make the situation bearable, if not an outright adventure!

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Expat Corner > Home Sweet Home: How to rent an apartment in Beijing
Expat Corner > Leasing a Nanjing Apartment
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