Job Discussion Forums

[Songbird]

I will be moving to Shenzhen pretty soon (5 weeks) but still have numerous questions.

1. Apartment isn't provided by the school, I have to find my own. Any recommendations or where and/or reputable real estate agencies to deal with? Obviously being 'just' an EFL teacher, my budget is limited- to 3-3,500RMB/ month!

2. If I do go through an agency, I've heard the commission to pay is half a month's salary. Is this a one-off payment when you sign the contract? Hope it's not every month!

3. Anyone have any idea when in the process of getting paperwork lined up when the school actually needs the LOR from the previous employer? I have heard from a fellow FT that they wouldn't need it until getting the residence permit. I am having issues trying to get my LOR from my current school, who have so kindly (not) given me a visa this year that expires almost immediately after the contract, so I will need to rush home. I was hoping to arrange the new visa before going home for the holiday in July, guess it won't be happening now!

[waxwing]

Tell us the district. It's important.
The commission in my case (and others that I've heard) can be 1 months' rent. Your salary is none of their business. 1 commission + 1 deposit + 1 in advance = 3 months rent up front. You might get a better deal, but that's what I had to pay the last two times I moved into a new apartment in Shenzhen.
I am now paying 5K for 108 square metres, but it's a very nice place. In Futian, where I live, rent is going up fast. 3K doesn't buy as much as it used to. But like I say, you need to give district if you want good information.

[xjgirl]

Why would u need to waste money on paying commission?

just go around to numerous residential complexes close to your job and check the notice board for any apartments to let

if u can't read chinese, well, learn, it's not that hard

square metres, no. of bedrooms etc most of it will be numbers anyway

[7969]

[time to teach]

[Songbird]

Thanks for the advice, folks.

The bad thing is I can't even give a district, as I will be a 'floating teacher' travelling to various parts of Shenzhen! For this reason, ideally I think Futian would be best being most central, but yeah, from what I've seen prices are pretty exxy. Luohu would be my next choice, I've seen a number of places available in City Square (assuming it's close by the metro) that could be okay. Nanshan would be 3rd choice.

Regarding the commissions, if I DO go through an agency, is this 2-4 weeks'rent commission a once off payment, or every month on top of the rent? It's not really clear to me.

[waxwing]

[waxwing]

[Salvatore]

Dr. Seuss,

In your home country did your employer arrange housing? Why should things be any different here?

Granted, the custom in China is for a traditional school to provide housing. It's not that way in the USA. Perhaps it is wherever you're from.

The message above reeks.

[7969]

it sure does

[xjgirl]

the problem with going through an agency is that after commission you'll
still be overpaying for your apartment monthly, because anyone rich and lazy enough to go through an agency won't mind getting ripped off, at least in the agents eyes,especially a foreigner, especially a foreigner in shenzhen

[time to teach]

Ha ha, really funny xjgirl, just the sort of snide comment this cafe needs to help people make good decisions about their lives here.

To the OP, my wife and I pay 3,000 a month for our apartment, a one bedroom, 45 m2, about 10 minute brisk walk to Coco Park in Futian.

A good friend of ours who speaks Chinese walked around the residential areas near Coco Park with us and we talked to many guards, some could tell us the price of apartments but NONE could tell us about any available apartments.

While walking around we found some rental agencies and started looking for apartments and looked at many before we found one we liked for the right price. The owners wanted 3200K monthly, and we offered 3K.

We were looking for an apartment right before Chinese New year this past February, and we only had a few days to find a place to live before everything shut down for the holiday.

We looked at a few apartments on Shenzhen Party being offered by the owners without agency fees, but they were overpriced studios. Rent in Shenzhen have gone up an average of 500 monthly since 2007.

To xjgirl, you should evaluate and judge the decisions people make about renting apartments in China based on their individual stories and situations, NOT on your silly, grudging opinions.

[Songbird]

TtoT, thanks for the reply. I've now sent a couple of emails to some agencies, yet to hear back from them. I'm going for the weekend in a couple of weeks for about 3 days to go hunt and secure an apartment, hopefully I will get something. Bit anxious doing this all myself!

Xjgirl, I've heard a lot of bad stories in China about going direct to landlords. If real estate agencies are going to provide me with security and an English contract, I'm happy to pay the once-off commission. At home-99% of rentals are through real estate agencies, this is not an unusual situation !

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

[Salvatore]

Perhaps my eyes are deceiving me, but, I think Songbird said they were moving to Shenzhen.

Either way, does the law specifically say "provide housing" or "provide a housing allowance".

I guess it depends on how the government interprets the law - provide an actual apartment or money to rent a place.

My money is on the latter.