COMMUTE TIMES

[Football16]

I agree, thanks for all the advice. I'll def do some checking but while I'm here on the forum... since some of you guys may already be there..have you seen any good flats up for grabs I might be interested in...2 people, 1 dog?! JUST ASKING!! <3

You really need to be here in HK to finalize any sort of flat deal. The photos don't do any place justice. You need to get to know the neighborhoods and travel as well as the feel for a building and flat. At least that is how I'd do it.

Stay in a serviced apartment and find the area you want to live in and then get an agent in that area to fit your budget.

Have you progressed on finding out if this flat you spoke of is a scam? If so, report it to the HK Police and do it fast. It certainly seems to be the cheapest flat I've ever heard of in Midlevels!

[dma]

I agree, thanks for all the advice. I'll def do some checking but while I'm here on the forum... since some of you guys may already be there..have you seen any good flats up for grabs I might be interested in...2 people, 1 dog?! JUST ASKING!! <3

You should take a look at Hong Kong Property, Apartments, Homes, Real Estate for Sale, rent and lease - Square Foot to give you an idea of rental prices. Definitely your deal seems "suspect". Any "Central" area such as Mid levels i'd expect to be paying $18000 HKD for a living "Box" of around 300 sq ft. Away from the central areas but still being convenient via mtr, bus, tram, mini bus transportation you can get much better deals. You definitely need to be in HK to view the place you are going to consider to rent as many places can be misleading and what the "leaser" states to be the Square Foot you get is normally smaller as the actual usable space is less.

Good luck in your search

[Satay Sue]

Sorry dma but I found Square Foot very misleading when I arrived last year, with prices having not been updated and properties no longer available (and long gone in some cases), for several areas.

[hello_there]

I've found that Hong Kong Homes - Hong Kong Property, Apartment for Rent and for Sale - Hong Kong Realty - tends to be a better site for browsing property online, but the site is also aimed at more expensive properties/ areas to some extent, although they do cover some lower priced properties and may help you identify areas or buildings that you are interested in. Still, the prices are pretty realistic, perhaps minus 7-15% following negotiations with the landlord.

There are very few serviced apartments that will accommodate a dog, and they often book up months in advance, so if you have not secured housing before moving with your pet, you will need to make accommodation arrangements for it as well. Also, online sites typically don't indicate which buildings/ landlords are pet friendly. Once you identify possible areas to live in, make sure to tell the estate agent(s) you are working with that you have a dog and only want to see apartments in buildings that allow dogs AND that are owned by landlords who will rent to pet owners (make sure they call the landlord and confirm that pets are okay before you bother viewing) - will save you a lot of time. We had estate agents showing us all sorts of places that were totally unsuitable for dogs initially and I still don't know what they were thinking - that we would get rid of our dog after moving it from another country to HK?!

[dma]

Sorry dma but I found Square Foot very misleading when I arrived last year, with prices having not been updated and properties no longer available (and long gone in some cases), for several areas.

I totally agree with this Sue, just useful as i idea of average pricing as those are a good indication to how much you should expect to be paying in different areas etc.

On the other hand the 1 thing the link is useful for is getting property agency details so u can contact them directly.