[henry123]

Hi all, I have a question regarding to the rental commission.
I am from Toronto and I decide to move back to HK for good. I am just wondering should I find a real estate agency or I should find an unit by myself? I notice that there are lots of real estate agency in HK, such as Savills, Midland, etc... Normally, how much are they charging? Or I should just find the owner directly such as the serviced apartment owner

[Mat]

They normally charge half month rent.

[larac]

The landlord pays the other half. I thought it was kind of a rip off seeing as our guy didn't exactly have to work for his money so I got him to arrange all the installation of the gas, electricity and water seeing as I don't speak Chinese and that worked out well saving me hassle and making him actually do something for the big dollars he was getting from me.

[KnowItAll]

You'll often see "rent by owner" ads in places like park 'n shop, SCMP classifieds and gohome.com.hk

[Dick_In_Peak]

But most landlords hesitate to rent themselves .They instead prefer agents because if any disputes arise between landlord and tenant ,agents will take care of it .

[henry123]

Thanks all. Btw, which real estate agency will you recommend me to use. Is there any commission discount real estate agency in HK now?

[Katanga]

The commission is negotiable. You can get away pretty well.