|
Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
babtangee
Joined: 18 Dec 2004
Location: OMG! Charlie has me surrounded!
|
 Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2005 9:29 pm Post subject: Leasing an apartment?? |
 |
|
Experienced renters?
How hard is it to get an apartment?
How long might one have to wait?
What's the approximate cost (key money - monthly rent)?
In whatever area you've rented (I'm not fussy about location); I'd really apreciate some details.
I have a Korean wife. Is that going to help me? (I really need something more than the usual studio dwelling offered by hagwons - she and Korean TV will drive me nuts if I ain't got a second room to work/study/get away for a while...  so I'm hoping for a two bedroom.)
The below link, Korea Times, says as low as 500,000 Won per month for a 25-pyong apartment (rented by a Korean)... which just seems inconceivable to me: 25 pyong is really big... I haven't even seen a house that big, and I live in Aus.
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200308/kt2003082818233111970.htm
Apreciate any info, links... thanks guys/gals.
Last edited by babtangee on Sun Jan 02, 2005 5:01 am; edited 2 times in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
|
| Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2005 10:02 pm Post subject: |
|
|
It's simple if you pay an estate agent to show you around various apts for a couple of weekends. Pick one you like and then cough up an awful lot of money!!!
I got an apt with my g/f in Gangnam a month ago.
Costs for a modern 15 pyeong (1 bedroom) Gangnam apt.
10mill key money
Months rent in advance...760,000
Estate agents fee..........360,000
It's all about if you want to live in central Seoul or not. And if the building is older or newer. Koreans won't pay much if the building is more than 5 years old!!!
I heard a 23 pyeong apt, in a high-rise complex (very desirable) in the 'burbs can be the same price or cheaper than my 15 pyeong Gangnam villa apt.
If you want to live in an area like Suji at the bottom of the Bundang line you can pay 50-60 million key money and pay NO rent!!! That's for a new, 33 pyeong high-rise. If your job is near then great. If you have to commute to Seoul everyday it can make your life hell!
Paying a lot of key money can bring the rent down but you have to chuck 50mill plus at the landlord to get anything like a small rent.
Last edited by eamo on Sat Jan 01, 2005 10:08 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Daechidong Waygookin
Joined: 22 Nov 2004
Location: No Longer on Dave's. Ive quit.
|
| Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2005 10:05 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| eamo wrote: |
It's simple if you pay an estate agent to show you around various apts for a couple of weekends. Pick one you like and then cough up an awful lot of money!!!
I got an apt with my g/f in Gangnam a month ago.
Costs for a modern 15 pyeong (1 bedroom) Gangnam apt.
10mill key money
Months rent in advance...760,000
Estate agents fee..........360,000
It's all about if you want to live in central Seoul or not. And if the building is older or newer. Koreans won't pay much if the building is more than 5 years old!!!
I heard a 23 pyeong apt, in a high-rise complex (very desirable) in the 'burbs can be the same price or cheaper than my 15 pyeong Gangnam villa apt.
Paying a lot of key money can bring the rent down but you have to chuck 50mill plus at the landlord to get anything like a small rent. |
Thats in a villa. If you live in a highriose it will be even more expensive.
Im lucky I got mine free. The gov't is paying 1 mill a month on top of 30+mill in key money to set me up in a 17pyeong apt in the same dong as eamo.
Its expensive business to be living in Seoul. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
|
| Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2005 10:23 pm Post subject: |
|
|
DW and eamo, what are you two paying in the way of utilities and "basic utilities" (management fee -- the one that stays constant) per month on your places? And I know you've told us before, but would you include the pyongage of your apartments too?
thnx |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
|
| Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2005 10:26 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| My base rent is 700,000. "Management fee" is 60,000. That includes internet, basic cable and whatever. I'm in 15 pyeong. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Daechidong Waygookin
Joined: 22 Nov 2004
Location: No Longer on Dave's. Ive quit.
|
| Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2005 10:35 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| JongnoGuru wrote: |
DW and eamo, what are you two paying in the way of utilities and "basic utilities" (management fee -- the one that stays constant) per month on your places? And I know you've told us before, but would you include the pyongage of your apartments too?
thnx |
Utilities? No clue, ask my wife:) Management fee though is about 110 thousand a month. 17 pyeong. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
|
| Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2005 10:46 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| eamo wrote: |
| My base rent is 700,000. "Management fee" is 60,000. That includes internet, basic cable and whatever. I'm in 15 pyeong. |
That's just a little lower than my own guesstimate for a villa of that size, eamo. As DW notes, the management fee on an apartment of similar size will be considerably more. And a two-bedroom place would almost have to be in the 25-pyong range, so figure (I'm guessing again) 150,000 won -- that's before you turn on the lights, run the water, or heat the place. My friends living in (generally larger) apartments around Seoul think nothing of dropping 250,000 won & up --on top of rent and before gas, electric, water, etc. -- in management fees every month. A sobering thought, I find that, and definitely something that babtangee needs to bear in mind when making rent comparisons.
*EDIT* -- Oh yeah, although I've never been to Australia, I can't believe even a small house there wouldn't dwarf a 25-pyong apartment. And that's even before we get into the subject of "pyong-inflation"  ... Babtangee, are you sure your measurements are correct? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
|
| Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2005 11:09 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Actually JG our original management fee was 100,000 but some turkey-talking got it down to 60,000.
I know management fees go up in relation to how much the rent is but I've never heard of anyone paying over 150,000. Your friends must live in some seriously expensive apts! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
babtangee
Joined: 18 Dec 2004
Location: OMG! Charlie has me surrounded!
|
| Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2005 4:46 am Post subject: |
|
|
| JongnoGuru wrote: |
*EDIT* -- Oh yeah, although I've never been to Australia, I can't believe even a small house there wouldn't dwarf a 25-pyong apartment. And that's even before we get into the subject of "pyong-inflation" ... Babtangee, are you sure your measurements are correct? |
Yeah... well my wife now explains to me that "pyong-inflation" goes to include balcony and garage space... but my understanding is that 1 pyong equals 3.3 metres square, which just seems somewhere between improbable to ridiculious. I'm in a fairly large house in Melb., Aus. central-eastern suburb and it's maybe 25 metres square (not including yard space). I can't believe Korean apartments are very often bigger!?!?!? So I assume the news article I read was way off or exaggerating for dramatic purposed (The Korean Times).
But what i really want is just two bedrooms, a living space and a bathroom...I don't need a 'mansion'. I would like to know what am I looking at paying for that in YOUR area (not necessarily Kangnam - I ain't particularly concerned where I live; as long as I have 'some' space, I'd be happy with Incheon, or even the boon-docks!).
Thanks for your shared knowledge guys/ladies... I really need it: yes, my wife is one of those Korean gongju-nims who wouldn't have a clue what she's talking about - though she'd certainly tell you differently (but don't tell her I said that!  !!!!!) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
|
| Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2005 4:55 am Post subject: |
|
|
| eamo wrote: |
| Actually JG our original management fee was 100,000 but some turkey-talking got it down to 60,000. |
I'm assuming you were able to negotiate the discount because where you live isn't an apartment. Am I correct? As far as I've seen, there is no such thing as negotiating with apartment management companies, which are big bureaucracies responsible for every maintenance- & security-related thing for hundreds of units in multi-building complexes. (keeping elevators running, changing lightbulbs in landings, painting fresh lines in garages, arranging trash removal, negotiating annual salaries with TV-watching, soju-swilling grandpas & grandmas in the "security guard" box, etc.)
| Quote: |
| I know management fees go up in relation to how much the rent is |
Well, management fees for apartments (and probably villas, though I can't personally confirm this) have nothing to do with the rent, which of course is negotiated between tenant and landlord, but rather by size of the unit -- it is calculated per-pyong (or by sq.m in this globalised era).
Actually, I'm sure that villas operate the same way as apartments, because let's say you owned a villa and thus paid zero rent -- What basis for calculating management fees then?
| Quote: |
| but I've never heard of anyone paying over 150,000. Your friends must live in some seriously expensive apts! |
Oh, quite a few pay more than that, and it can ironically be higher the older, more decrepit (read: closer to demolition/redevelopment date) the apartment complex. Yeah, many people pay well over 150,000 won/month.
Whether apartment or villa, it's important to understand that management fees can exceed what one spends on actual utilities each month, and in the case of my officetel (a 2nd office) they nearly always do. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
|
| Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2005 5:54 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
Yeah... well my wife now explains to me that "pyong-inflation" goes to include balcony and garage space... but my understanding is that 1 pyong equals 3.3 metres square, which just seems somewhere between improbable to ridiculious. I'm in a fairly large house in Melb., Aus. central-eastern suburb and it's maybe 25 metres square (not including yard space). I can't believe Korean apartments are very often bigger!?!?!? So I assume the news article I read was way off or exaggerating for dramatic purposed (The Korean Times).
But what i really want is just two bedrooms, a living space and a bathroom...I don't need a 'mansion'. I would like to know what am I looking at paying for that in YOUR area (not necessarily Kangnam - I ain't particularly concerned where I live; as long as I have 'some' space, I'd be happy with Incheon, or even the boon-docks |
You floor area is 25 m square? That's 7.5 pyeong!! Some studios in Seoul do get that small but were talking about the minimum one person could live in. Definitely not a place you and your wife would ever consider.
I really think you're mis-calculating the size of your Australian house.
Think of an average-sized bedroom. Maybe 4m by 5m. That's about the size of my bedroom here. Well, that's 20 m square right there! Add living room, hall, bathroom and balconies.
My Mom's house in Ireland is an average 3 bedroom family home. It's around 100 M sq. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Cedar
Joined: 11 Mar 2003
Location: In front of my computer, again.
|
| Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2005 6:10 am Post subject: |
|
|
| I live with a roommate in a 3 bedroom apt. (huge bedroom, small bedroom, really small bedroom), in a small building on the slopes of Namsan. We pay utilities according to use, no apt. management fee as the building is too small. The living room/kitchen is large, the bathroom is large enough, too. There is also a storage/laundry/balcony-esque thin room. The apt. is in my guess about 25 pyong, and we pay 650,000 a month (combined for the two of us). That's with 8 million won deposit. That is pretty standard for the whole sort of larger-Itaewon-neighborhood. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
babtangee
Joined: 18 Dec 2004
Location: OMG! Charlie has me surrounded!
|
| Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2005 9:25 am Post subject: |
|
|
| eamo wrote: |
You floor area is 25 m square? That's 7.5 pyeong!! Some studios in Seoul do get that small but were talking about the minimum one person could live in. Definitely not a place you and your wife would ever consider.
I really think you're mis-calculating the size of your Australian house.
|
I really think your right... is there a difference between a metre square and a square metre  ?
Anyway, now I get it an know what I'm looking at (naturally the seeming absudity of my calculations is on account of me being absurdly stupid ).
Thanks for the heads up, Eamo. Free laughs on me. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
babtangee
Joined: 18 Dec 2004
Location: OMG! Charlie has me surrounded!
|
| Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2005 9:29 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Cedar wrote: |
| I live with a roommate in a 3 bedroom apt. (huge bedroom, small bedroom, really small bedroom), in a small building on the slopes of Namsan. We pay utilities according to use, no apt. management fee as the building is too small. The living room/kitchen is large, the bathroom is large enough, too. There is also a storage/laundry/balcony-esque thin room. The apt. is in my guess about 25 pyong, and we pay 650,000 a month (combined for the two of us). That's with 8 million won deposit. That is pretty standard for the whole sort of larger-Itaewon-neighborhood. |
Thanks Cedar. Sounds alright... now if I can just find someone to kill for the deposit...  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
korian
Joined: 26 Feb 2004
|
| Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2005 11:44 am Post subject: |
|
|
just to add, i would say look with an estate agent first. when i was living in seoul with my g/f we had a small apartment. but it did have two bedrooms in a small block. it was an old block but all the other blocks were similar layout i.e 2 bedrooms.
so you don't need something huge or overly new to get your 2 bedrooms. just shop around.
we were living in wae dae. i haven't got korean on this keyboard. think of HUFS (hankuk universiity of foreign studies) that station. it was small and sometimes crowded but having that extra room was all either of us needed. the comp. was set up in there and it was sweet. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
