[ltauronl]

I'm looking for a flat (apartment) somewhere in the $5000 to $8000 dollar range. I would really like a 2 bedroom flat. I have found a couple of good ones through realty companies, but you have to pay them half of the first months rent. I'm trying to find something directly through the owners. Is that possible in Hong Kong or is a good idea just to go through the Realty companies? I work in Kowloon Tong, but I don't necessarily have to live real close by where I work, but I would prefer not to commute more than half-an-hour if I can avoid it.

[wtbhotia]

it is the normal practice to give the agents 1/2 months rent as commission. You can find owners who do post ad directly but not that many.

if you have found some good ones already i would stick with them as they might not last long, one day you see something good, then in a few days it will have been taken already by someone. flats do go fast if they are good.

[jimbo]

So assume we're sticking to the NT's then try and get one floor of a village house in the following areas for example.

Tai Po, Tai Wo, Sha Tin, University

To avoid having to pay half a months rent to an agent then you're going to have to deal direct with the landlord and a lot of the time they won't speak english. To find the places you're going to need to do a lot of groundwork and have a wander around the villages in the areas I've mentioned and look for notices advertising places to rent. The problem is that they will usually be in Chinese but look for things such as the monthly rent and phone numbers which will usually be spelt numerically.

Also take a look at the noticeboard of the local Wellcome and Park N Shop as they're also advertised there.

The Landlord may not want to deal with you direct due to lack of English speaking skills etc and insist on an agent to be the middle man and of course to help draw up any tenancy agreement.

Overall it might well be easier just to use an agent for the sake of a few thousand dollars if you're not willing to do all the necessary groundwork.

[thursday]

you do not give half the first month's rent to the agent.

Your first month's rent and thereafter goes to the landlord.

You pay half a month's rent as commission.

And if you've found something right for yourself in that price range, go for it. They are rare indeed.

[ltauronl]

I can actually read a fairly decent amount of Chinese (about half) and I can speak fluent Mandarin. I'm not afraid to shop around and do some ground work, so thanx for the advise. My wife actually started going to Chinese web sites and found a lot of advertised properties (she's native Chinese). Some nice Chinese person should come up with a website that lists all these properties in English so us "foreigners" don't always have to be treated like stupid tourists or businessmen with too much money in our pockets. Maybe I can convince my wife to do something like that.