Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
or cash only? You can get some owners that seem to bomb with each of these ques-
tions but who are still good people, but you should try to size up their trustworthiness
regardless.
You can usually assume that the rent advertised will not be the final price, and there is
almost always room for bargaining. Again, the amount you can talk it down will vary from
place to place. For properties for around RMB3,000-10,000 per month, you might try to
bargain them down by RMB100-500 per month, and more for more expensive properties.
Things to soften the landlord with are that you're clean and quiet, and most importantly,
that you always pay your rent on time. When a landlord refuses to come down in price, you
can try to have other things altered or added to the apartment—new furniture, an air condi-
tioner installed in the bedroom, and so on. Landlords are often more willing to add things
to an apartment than feel the loss of hard cash every month. Point out things that are inad-
equate or bad quality. Factors such as the poor direction of the building can even be worth
raising. This won't work if you're in the prized north building of a
sìhéyuàn,
but generally
eastward- or westward-facing buildings aren't highly desired.
Some apartments can be highly popular, and you'll find several people turning up at the
same time to inspect it. One technique to improve your likelihood of securing the place is
to always carry a wad of cash on you to inspections. It can be hard for a landlord to resist
instant cash on their investment.
If you feel you might be here for a long time, it might be worth bargaining on the lease
term. Between leases, rent can easily jump by 10-40 percent. By bargaining for a two-year
lease you'll probably not only get a lower rent rate, but you'll avoid the jump in price when
the year end rolls around. I have one friend who found a fantastic apartment in Sanlitun and
was able to secure an impressively low price fixed for five years, with the guarantee that he
would personally renovate the kitchen.
With so many new and old properties in Beijing, the utility systems and how to pay for
them vary from place to place, so this is something to make sure you're clear about with
your landlord or agent right at the start.
In most cases the landlord is responsible for the maintenance fees, the heating, and pos-
sibly the club fees if relevant. The rest is up to you. Setting up broadband and phone lines
will sometimes be covered by the landlord, and sometimes by the tenant. Again it's a case-
