Korean Job Discussion Forums

[War Eagle]

I am sure the relator is going to be on the up and up with me, but being a foreigner and handing someone 1000 man won is still something I am kinda nervous about. My question is, what is the process exactly to ensure everything has been documented correctly?

I know there will be paperwork on the apartment and I am sure it will show how much key money I deposited, but is this the only place my deposit is documented? I want to ensure theres nothing left out so I get a full refund when i move out.

EDIT: I know the transfer will appear on my bank statement as well.

[taobenli]

I was nervous just like you were, and I too just have the paper saying how much I paid and that I am entitled to get it back. I keep feeling like there should be some official other step I should do but can't figure it out. (I signed the lease 7 months ago and it's a 2 year lease).

If they give me any funny business when I try to get it back at least I know my department at the university I'm affiliated with will stand up for me...

[mm]

Make sure the Realtor does a credit check on your landlord. I also made sure that my landlord owns the building (there are no loans on it and it can't be repossessed). And that if there is redevelopment in the area I am fairly compensated, I didn't think of this last one, but my Korean friend insisted.

[War Eagle]

[mm]

I'm not sure either, but my Korean friend asked about it. I live in a villa and I guess if they decide to demolish the villas (highly unlikely) and build apartment buildings before my contract is over I will get my key money back early plus extra money for moving costs.

[War Eagle]

[schwa]

There is one more step.

After you sign your lease agreement, there is a govt office where you take the docs & they register your deposit. Its called dong sa mu so (동사무소, town office). Tell them you want a hwak jeong il ja (확정일자) stamp on your signed lease. Your real estate agent should walk you through this at no cost.

Its a kind of govt insurance that bumps you near the top among any creditors should your landlord go belly-up. Probably a smart idea.

[taobenli]

Cool. Do you think I can take this to get stamped even though I signed the lease almost 8 months ago now?

[War Eagle]

[Jane]

My husband got a paper from a lawyer when we first did jeonsae, and it guarantees that we have higher priority in the event of a default or bankrupcy by the owner. I wish I could remember the name of the paper but I do remember it cost around 500,000won.

And FYI, I'm in the process of starting a second jeonsae lease, and the jitters are the same.

If you follow the advice above, make sure the landperson is financially well-off according to their records and everything is documented; then you should be fine. I've recently come to realize that jeonsae leases are signed everyday and are more common than we probably expect. Doesn't mean the risk of losing money is any less, but that at least people in Korea are accustomed to sending and receiving large sums of cash.

[Jake_Kim]