Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kraggy]

Hi,

I'm taking a new apartment in Seoul. They're letting me rent shorterm so the landlady won't pay the realtor's fee. I have to pay it myself.

Does that sound ok? And if so, how does 150,000 sound? Is that on the lower end or a bit high?

Thanks.

[highstreet]

150,000 is pretty low. The fee depends on the deposit amount + monthly rent

[kraggy]

Key money is 2 million, rent is 500,000 per month.

Is there any way of guaranteeing protection of key money? Do many people get ripped off in Korea?

[Ave, L�cifer]

my last place key money was 10 million, rent was 400k and the fee was also 400k

[kraggy]

Ok thanks guys.

Good to know.

[jamesy]

I believe the government will cover your deposit up to about 20 million won, so you have no worries about getting it back your landlord tries to rip you off. The only problem with this is that most dealings with government bodies are very time consuming, and you might not want to wait around. Fortunately it doesn't seem to happen that often. In my 7 years in Korea, I have only heard of one case where a landlord withheld (stole) the deposit.