Definition of terms

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  1. #1

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    Definition of terms

    Discovering a new lexicon shopping for a house.

    an apartment / flat is self-explanatory
    house is harder - a house in HK is apparently not an independent unattached unit on it's own erf - seems a 'house' is what I'd call a townhouse ie a unit with or without a garden in a complex with communal areas.
    a village house is what I'd call a house but is located in the NT & is subject to special conditions

    so what do you call a house NOT in the NT?


  2. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by l_steyn:
    so what do you call a house NOT in the NT?
    F**king expensive!

    (And if you have to ask how expensive then you can't afford it)

  3. #3

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    ROFLMAO oh THANK YOU! that is the laugh of the day. BTW I don't need to ask how much - I'm just trying very hard to gather info before I feed myself to the sharks -oops estate agents - sorry - next year - it's proving to be challenging - I've just about decided that you have to go down the alley, knock 3 x and say Al sent you to find those houses - but I never gave up on a challenge yet.


  4. #4

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    The number of people willing and able to spend US$20M+ on a property is sufficiently limited that I guess the agents don't feel it worth advertising in the papers. I would have thought you would have an assistant to sort all this out for you if you're in that league? (Or maybe you are the assistant?)


  5. #5

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    still don't know what your average free-standing house is in 'agent-speak' in HK. You know that language where,
    for example, 'derelict' becomes 'needs some renovating'


  6. #6

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    A house is a house. Agents know exactly what you mean and if they don't .. move on and find another agent to deal with.

    If your budget is high enough, you should be able to find an agent who will work on a fixed fee for you... just have to negotiate hard.


  7. #7

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    I'm not sure there is such a thing as an "average" free-standing house on HK Island or Kowloon of the type you seem to be after. I guess the total market only numbers a few hundred properties so each one is likely to be individual.


  8. #8

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    SIGH the point is that I don't want to approach any agents yet - what I'm trying to do is quietly (hahaha) just surf the sites and WATCH the listings over a few months - I have found this to be an extremely effective way of learning the market, learning the areas, and most important assessing the agents - then next year - when I'm ready - I'll do the rest - only it just hasn't been so easy to do - the HK market is certainly unique.