Korean Job Discussion Forums

[English Matt]

So I've been with my Public School in Suwon for a little over 6 months. A couple of weeks ago, my handler mentions to me, in an off the cuff way, that the owner of my apartment wants to sell the apartment I'm living in and would like me to move out. She says that the real estate guy for my building will help me to find another similar apartment in the same building, and that the owner will cover the moving costs.

Now, I really like my apartment, but figured that other apartments in the same building would be pretty alike. So I agreed to check out what they had to offer. The first place they showed me was a disgrace, I mean there were holes in the wall, the paper was peeling, plug sockets were damaged, the fake wood laminate was peeling in big chunks from the floor. So I didn't feel too bad about turning it down.

My handler then mentioned to me that if I really insist that I don't want to move, the owner is bound by the contract he has with the school to let me stay in my apartment until the end of my contract. Now I don't know what financial difficulties this dude may be going through and I don't want to see him out on the street so I agreed to see a few more places.

I've now seen 2 more apartments, however neither are as good as my place. I feel like if I accept then I will be coming back to a damaged version of my current apartment every day and I really don't feel good about that. So, I told my handler that I'm willing to see any other apartments the guy has to show me but that I'm not happy about, essentially, downgrading.

Now she is saying that even though I can technically stay in my apartment, that a Korean would not hold an owner to a contract and that I should move. She says if I insist I can stay, but really didn't sound happy about it.

Am I being unreasonable? I mean I'm being made to feel like I'm the one putting somebody out here, when actually it's me who is being asked to do someone else a favour. My handler keeps on saying that it is going to look, to the real estate guy, like I don't want to move....well, hell, no I don't. She also keeps reiterating that the owner is willing to pay the moving costs...but again, if I didn't have to move there would be no moving costs...so that's the least he can do.

I'm worried about how this might effect my relationship with my school and wondering what I should do?

Should I stick to my guns if they don't come up with somewhere comparable to my current place...or will it cause more hassle than it is worth to try and keep my current place for the rest of my contract?

[schwa]

If an alternate place is acceptable in terms of space & layout, it would be perfectly reasonable (& normal) to expect it to be repapered & refloored & have any faulty fixtures mended at your new owner's expense, before you move in.

[Gimpokid]

Nobody knows how much hassle it will be. Think about it this way; the landlord wants to sell your apartment because it's the best one he has. This is some kind of bait and switch stuff and I wouldn't stand for it. Tell the school you want to change buildings and cut the landlord out of the equation, I bet they become more supportive.

[esetters21]

[esetters21]

double post

[English Matt]

I don't think the landlord is in possession of all apartments in my officetel building. It's 12 storeys high with about 18 apartments on each floor. It may be that the guy owns more than just this one apartment and is maybe looking to sell this place before the property bubble bursts....and yes, being in a very good condition, maybe he thinks he can get a quick sell on the place.

I'll mention to my handler about the owner paying to repair any damage to another apartment in the building...however, I suspect he will be reluctant to renovate another landlord's run-down apartment. But I guess we can see.

What makes me angry, is that if I accept one of these run-down officetel apartments, the owner makes money from the sale of my current apartment, the real estate guy will get a commission from the landlord of my new apartment and probably a payoff from the owner of my current apartment as a thankyou for getting rid of me. The only person who loses out there is me. And what really bites is that when I explain this to my handler, she dimisses it out of hand and tries to guilt trip me and make me feel like I'm the one inconveniencing everyone else and doing something terrible.

I mean, the apartment is essentially part of my compensation package....so if you look at it another way, what if the apartment was not an issue and it was my school saying 'Hey, our budget's running sort of low this year, how about we bump your salary down by 100k a month, I mean your salary will still be similar."

It just pisses me off that they seem to expect me to roll over and just accept whatever apartment is offered me, whatever crappy state it's in and, when I raise an objection, treat me like I'm doing something terrible.

[Sleepy in Seoul]

You could always mention to your handler that it would be fine to move out of your apartment if your handler moves into the new one and you move into hers.

[Xuanzang]

Get another place of equal stature. If they tried to pull the no money routine then no English. Koreans love the guilt trip routine but you have to keep to your guns.

[English Matt]

[esetters21]

[Typhoon]

If an apartment is shitty it is pretty standard for a landlord to pay between 500 000 and 1 000 000 to fix it up when a new tennant moves in. I have moved 5 times now and 4 times the landlord has paid to fix up the apt. One time it was floors and another wallpaper, another both. The last time the house was ok as is so there was no need.

As for you being told Koreans would move, I know this is not the case. My wife spends a lot of time a local real estate office and there is always stories of tenant being asked to move and holding their landlord up for moving costs, plus a months rent or some other monetary compensation. Money talks and if they want you to walk they will pay up. It all depends on how much the landlord stands to make from selling the apt.

[English Matt]

[R-Seoul]

[orosee]

I don't quite undeerstand. Now you rent from landlord A. Landlord B has an empty yet ugly apartment, not making any money from it. So any repairs should be paid by landlord B, not A. Or perhaps you can negotiate with B the fixing and A throws in a new fridge or TV? Both stand to win from the transaction, you should not be the one to lose.

Since you know that A is selling, do you have the cash to buy from him? There's one way to avoid the shitty exchange losses.

[English Matt]