Korean Job Discussion Forums

[proudman]

Aside from the very limited options that are advertised on Craigslist, Hiexpat, and Nearsubway.com, I have been struggling to find a decent variety of housing options.

Can any of you veterans of Seoul offer up any suggestions of the best way to do a thorough search? Is going to any 부동산 with a fluent speaking Korean the best way to find out what's on the market?

I don't even know how the process works when working with the Korean equivalent of a Realtor. Are they happy to physically take you and show you the insides of different officetels/apartments in different areas? Or is it necessary to visit real estate offices that are located in each area that you are considering living in?

I still have at least a month or so before I need to sign on any dotted line, but I'd really like to get the ball rolling now. I appreicate any insight.

[Guiness on Tap]

From my personal experience, getting a Korean friend to help you out with the 부동산s was the best option.
There are a couple of realtors but your best bet would be to check out the 부동산s located within the area that you would like to live in.
Be sure to get your Korean friend to make a search of the ownership of the place you are looking to rent as well since rental scams seem to be on the rise these days.
The best "season" for apartment hunting is from Nov ~ Jan, that's when most Korean families move to facilitate their children's enrollment in schools.
Just keep visiting the real estate people and once something nice comes up, they'll contact you or hook you up with some other options.

[eliross]

I've done the apartment search a couple times without a Korean to help. It's intimidating but most Boo-dang-sans (Sorry no korean on this laptop) will help you even with the language barrier. Be prepared with some words (officetel, one-room, Wool-Sae (Monthly rent), Pyeong, etc) and write down how much you want to pay each month (Sometimes its difficult to get them to show you cheaper older places and some landlords prefer not to rent to foreigners because we scare people). Smile a lot and be patient and they'll take you right out the door to show you some places. When you've found a good place and everything is ready to be signed then you'll need someone to translate (I had the Realtor bring someone once, i brought a friend the second time, and the tourist help line will work if you're in a real bind). Anyway the Realtor charges one or two hundred bucks (Its a percentage of yearly rent I believe) but they also should register all the paperwork with the local housing authority. This means that if the building is sold or the owner goes bust you get your deposit before the owner takes off with any money.

[nathanrutledge]

http://cafe.naver.com/kig

There is the exact same one through Daum as well. People want to buy, sell, trade apartments, this is the place they do it. Craigslist and all the others are by foreigners, for foreigners, so they suck. This is the place the Koreans use.

That being said, there are still plenty of scams and bait 'n switch things going on with it, so it's still best to go to the local real estate office and use them, but this will give you an idea of what you can get where for how much.

[proudman]

So things have taken a turn for the worse with my girlfriend, and we officially broke it off. We both knew this day was coming. It was just a matter of whether or not we would continuing dealing with our unnatural situation of staying together when knowing full well that the relationship was coming to an end by the end of July regardless of how good or how bad things turned out.

Make a long story short, I need to find my own place a lot sooner than I had expected. She's not forcing me out, but I don't want to make this anymore awkward or uncomfortable than it needs to be. I work in the Myeong-dong/Namdaemun area, and would like to stay somewhat close to work. I've always been against living in the Itaewon area(although it is very convenient to my work location). For some reason, I keep thinking that Apgujeong would be a great place. It's not too far from work, and would give me the ability to get north or south in decent time. I'm just wondering if there is going to be that much of a premium paid for living there. Without visiting a local rental office, I really don't know if there is much in Apgujeong that caters to the officetel market.I looked at an officetel about two weeks ago that was a five minute walk from Apgujeong station. It was and still is being offered for 500,000 KRW/month. The biggest downfall is that it is located in the basement. That 500,000 includes the monthly building maintence as well as the monthly water bill. The lack of any natural light, musky smell, and potential exposure to radon gas is what prevented me from pulling the trigger on the place.

I'm wondering what you guys think of not only the cost of the area, but also what other areas you'd consider. I think the most I'd like to spend, including monthly maintenence, is around 750,000 KRW/month. Because of my personal situation, I would like to get out much sooner than later. I'd love to hear from anyone that's recently went through the rental process or is a seasoned vet. THANKS!

P.S., some coworkers suggested the Isu area(number 4 line) today at lunch. I've never heard of or been there, so if anyone has any insight or suggestions regarding this area too, I'd really appreciate it!

[red_devil]

^Sinsa or Daechi or Nonhyeon area.

For those looking for real estate agencies that speak English check out this list:
http://english.seoul.go.kr/lh/residence/housing.php?pidx=5

[Draz]