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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: Any advice in choosing a flat?
Moving in a month and want to avoid cockroach problems. Seems to me that choosing somewhere on the ground floor is asking for trouble in that respect. I'm thinking third or fourth floor for our next place. Any other pointers for finding somewhere good, clean and livable, etc? Like maybe Chelsea perhaps? Nope, scratch that, that place is crawling with roaches, all driving Mercs and BM's from wine bar to wine bar, wearing power ties and talking about share prices, I think I prefer the ones here. But what about finding somewhere good / clean / livable in your average Chinese city? Any tips?
I'd recommend finding something newly built. It will cost you a little more but you can play a couple of cards that can help lower the price.
1. Laowei takes better care of his shit, the landlord will not have to completely redecorate after you move out.
2. You can go for a longer running contract, e.g. two years.
3. Most often new communities have poor shopping nearby, when you are a lazy new age Chinese person who can only drive, never walk. Use your power of being able to walk to provide food for your family, but use it as a way of telling the landlord how much it will suck to live in his apartment.
My basic criteria when we looked for apartments was "no squatters" and "is the shower head mounted for tall people to be able to shower"
I've since then added to the list. "hot water in all taps", "heating in at least some rooms"
Regarding bugs in your apartment. The higher up the better. We are twenty floors up, and the oly mosquitoes up here are the ones that ride the lift up.
Scandinavian:
we have two showers and 3 sinks with both hot and cold water. I even carry a hot water tap in my pocket, but it only delivers 37C water
Out hot water comes from one On Demand gas water heater connected to the water pipes where water comes in. I think the cost for a two person household is about 25 per month, slightly more in winter as the cold water is colder.
Higher is better, check where the rubbish gets taken out. One place I lived at we were next to the stairs and that's where the rubbish was, way too many cockroaches because of that. The place I live now is on the 16th floor and there are no mosquitos, there is also a rule that all rubbish get's taken to the bins downstairs so no problem with cockroaches, I think I've seen just one or two and that was when we first moved in so probably hitched a ride in our boxes.
Never accept the first price they offer, there is ALWAYS room for negotiation, at least you'll get 100-200 off the asking price.
Take a look around the apartment and see how much dust there is to gauge how long the apartment has been empty, if it looks like it's been a while then a lower price will probably be accepted as the landlord will want to cut his losses by now. We managed to take a 500rmb discount before just because the apartment had been empty for so long.
If they won't budge on price then ask them to replace certain appliances, if there's an old box TV ask them to upgrade it to a flatscreen.
Lastly, don't be too hasty. There are ton's of apartments out there and it can take a few days of walking around them to find the perfect one. My friend looked at about 25 apartments last year before he came across the perfect one, it was cheaper and more beautiful than all the other's he had seen.
Good luck
Cockroaches are easily able to reach the 3rd floor.
Avoid a place on the outside of the estate. I can't open the kitchen window without letting in the eternal traffic noise. The bedroom on that side is definitely second choice.
If you're in a cold climate, check if the windows close firmly, I've seen some that could just as well have been left out.
There is a lot of choice out there, remember that. You don't have to spring on the first one that you see for fear of not finding anything else. Chinese people are really quite averse to renting so, it's a large market that most people choose not to use.Play up the foreigner card and, in that thought, remember because you are one, they will ask for more in the first instance.
Yes. Don't get one on the ground floor. be at least four stories up. Too many mosquitoes and roaches on the ground floor.