Korean Job Discussion Forums

[julian_w]

Ah yeah gidday Trev!

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I'm looking for others' experiences/ stories of sub-letting apartments via Daves or Busanweb or elsewhere, particularly with regard to the central Busn area. Has it been hard to find people to take over leases in the middle of summer or winter or whenever?

Whether it was difficult or not, do you think the location of your place make a difference to attracting new tennants?

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My story:

I found the sweetest place, near Seomyeon (in Gaya), but away from the traffic, near the trees and with a view, two rooms, brand new and clean.

I wander into the budongsan office with my K.mate (buddy/pal) and a bundle of cash, and I'm about to stick my thumb in the ink and sign it up and seal the deal, and then they say:

"It's a two year contract."

I want one year. They say I can leave whenever I like, but won't get the bochimgum (key money/bond) (Kw5 mill.) until a new tennant is found - by the budongsan or me - and that it shouldn't be any problem for the budongsan anyway.

So I could pay w50,000 more a month for a one year contract. Or keep the money and take the risk.

The reason I'm hesitating is cos the place is off the main road; it doesn't have its own parking space, or even a place on the road outside for parking - it's about a 2 minute stroll down the hill to the nearest real road, and I figure that's a big downer to Koreans and their beloved cars - which is probably why it's still available to start with.

So, I'm wondering what the market is/has been like at various times of year amongst the foreigner scene around Busan. I'm wondering where you may have found it most useful to advertise - Dave's, Busanweb or elsewhere, or a combination thereof. And I'm wondering what else there is to be aware of going into this kind of risk.

And what do you think? Do I take the two-year deal at the cheaper rate with the higher risk, or pay the premium-rate walsae (w350,000) for a one-year contract?

[kat2]

Can you work out a deal where you put the whole year's rent down now and don't pay any more rent? That would mean you wouldn't need to worry about getting your key money back, and the owner would still giet the lump of cash they like.