| I suppose as a 'foreigner' looking for an apartment right now, I can let you know some of my concerns and experiences. I'm Chinese American and I've lived in Hong Kong and Guangzhou for 7 years - so I may not have the language difficulties, but I can still see things from an American viewpoint. The first annoyance when looking for an apartment is being taken to apartments which aren't within your requirement standards. I'm not asking for much - this many bedrooms, modern furniture, within 10 minutes of a subway station, within Jing'An and Luwan areas, price within this range. I've seen about 15 apartments so far, and really only 3 have fit even those simple requirements. And I think the number one annoyance I've had so far - is many Shanghainese apartment owner's furniture taste, to be blunt, is not very suited to renting to foreigners. It's all very faux-Roman, guady, gold plated. Obviously there's a much larger market in renting to local Chinese, so I'm not blaming the owners - I'm blaming my real estate agent for not considering my taste - even though I've detailed it. But a much bigger concern - is rent and contractual obligations. While I speak Chinese pretty well, I'm not a very fast reader - so I had my contract explained to me instead of reading itself and I just signed without reading it. And obviously the number one concern of most foreigners is getting the right rental price. . and not being taken advantage of. I know I don't mind paying for quality or location - but I'd be angry if the last tenant was paying 5,000 a month and I'm being charged 10,000 a month. Additionally,there's a lot of things as a foreigner living in Shanghai that you don't know you need - until you've been through an entire year. Examples being insulation in winter, or cooling ability in summer. How good is the landlord at making needed repairs. Obviously you won't be able know all this information (it's not information we get in the US when we rent) - but if you at least show it's something you're thinking about, I believe the foreigner will be more comfortable. |
Advice Needed on Rental for Foreigners