Moving into apartment

[sunniefaith]

Hi people,

I'm moving to HK in Aug and am getting excited. Have a question about renting an apartment. How long does it take from seeing an apartment to actually moving in? I mean if the agent brings me to the apartment that I like, how fast and soon can I move in?

Thanks!

[larac]

Assuming it is empty and you have the deposit and agents fee ready you should be able to do the paper work and move in within a few days but if you need to arrange furniture you probably want about a weeks grace otherwise you will be sleeping on the floor with no power, water etc.

[sunniefaith]

Thanks larac,

Well, I'm arriving on 8th Aug and then starting work on 16th. So i guess, I'm giving myself kinda short time. How long does it take for power and phone to be up at running? What about furniture to arrive? I'm prob going to buy all my stuff from Ikea, do they take a long time to deliver? Thanks

[larac]

I got my estate agent to organise the power, gas and water connections - figured he should do something for his fee - and it was all done in just a couple of days - he made the appointments, I was there to meet them and of course paid all the bills but having him do it made it easier as I don't speak the language and had no idea who the suppliers were or how to contact them. For the phone, internet and broadband tv I walked into a PCCW shop and they arranged it all and the guy came about 2 days later but then I realised I didn't actually have a phone or tv for them to connect so quickly bought those. All the tradespeople turned up exactly when they said they would, usually a window of 2 hours or so, and they all called before they came so if I was out I could get back in time.
Pricerite delivers faster than Ikea and doesn't charge for delivery if you spend more than $500 and so I had the bed within a few days in time to move in. We sat on the floor for 2 weeks while our couch was custom made and several trips to WingOn, Japan Home Store and Ikea sorted the rest of the essential stuff.

[sunniefaith]

larac,

Thanks so much. Feel lots better now. Did your agent grumled when you asked him to do those stuff? At least the tradesmen come on time, waited the whole morning once while living in Sydney for the carpet guy to come and he turned up like at 2 in the afternoon! Does PCCW have a bundle with cable, phone, broadband and mobile phone?

[larac]

Hi
The agent didn't seem to mind and really for a half months rent that was the least he could do - we were such an easy sell.
Yes PCCW bundle it all in together but you do have to sign your life away for 18months and pay a $800 deposit if you don't have an HK credit card. The money gets deducted from future bills. They always have new deals though so it could be different now or something better suited to what you need. Very cheap though - less for all 3 than I paid for just one at home.
We just had a guy come and quote for blinds - like all service people so far he was available any time, was on time and really speedy. You have to be good at charades because the installers never speak English but so far I have had no bad experiences and have been reallly impressed with service here.

[larac]

Sorry just noticed you asked if mobile was in the bundle. I have a prepay so don't know if you can get mobile inc. but PCCW do have mobile services so maybe. Calls from your home phone to mobiles are free though so that is cool. Setting up is a challenge but there is so much info on this forum you'll be fine. I also just read Susie's amusing blog and it seems everyone has a similar experience here.

[sunniefaith]

Thanks larac for everything! I can speak some cantonese but I can't read it for nuts! So maybe the transistion won't that bad...hopefully! Are you with PCCW for your prepaid? Is that better than going on a postpaid plan?

[larac]

I hardly use my personal mobile so I'm not really the one to ask. CSL or One Two Free is the name of the company I'm with but Vodafone and 3 are also here and maybe your work will set you up anyway. I think it makes a difference what company the people you call most often are with too as I think it is cheaper for calls within the same providers network.

[sunniefaith]

larac,

Thanks so much for all the info! I'll be heading to HK in June before I do the big move in Aug. Hopefully my visit there will clear my doubts.