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Questions on moving to HK (Dutch)

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Dec 2018
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    21

    Questions on moving to HK (Dutch)

    We are currently preparing to move to HK. We have been there a few times, so we think we have a good idea what we are getting into :P Now we have a few practical questions on the move itself. Appreciate if you all can help clarifying some of them

    1. for renting an apartment, seems like in HK it is more common to only involve 1 agent? Or should we find our own agent to avoid conflict of interest?

    Also, seems like it is normal that landlord and us split the agent fee i.e. it is not common that the landlord pays all if you rent for x years + above $x rent?

    2. read that most property search websites are not very reliable because of old/fake advertisement. So wanted to check if it is reasonable to expect about HK$30-35K rental for 2 bdr 700-800 sqf apartment on HK Island near a MTR station?

    3. how reliable is the trip planner from the MTR website especially during peak time? Was just checking Tseung Kwan O to Central is 26 min. We try to keep the daily commute to around max 45 min, so this seems like a good alternative. Although we understand location is largely driven by the availability of the school....

    4. are enrichment classes widely available in HK e.g. like in almost every mall?

    5. anyone knows if there are certain neighborhoods with some more Dutch speaking kids/people? We hope our son can continue to learn some Dutch


    Thanks in advance for your help!


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Posts
    21

    Thanks deleteduser.

    I see, so in HK you generally don't get an agent that act on your behalf. In some other countries where we were before it is quite common to get an agent that shows us around, contact other agent for viewing etc. and we and the landlord would split our agent's fee while the landlord pays their own agent too. Good to know about these differences.

    lol at your experience with one of those agents :P but yea we experienced visiting the same flat before...

    So how much time do does it usually take to settle all the paperwork and get the keys?


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Hong Kong
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    6,317

    How much time depends on you and whether you have the cash needed in HK. You'll need roughly 3.5 months to start a lease and some landlords may be hesitant to rent to a foreigner without a HKID card. Your results may vary.

    Boer likes this.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Dec 2018
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    21

    Thanks MandM and jrkob! Never actually considered nego for rent free periods, good tip.

    Yea I was wondering how much times goes in between finding the right flat until getting the keys. Just to be able to budget for a hotel/serviced apartment.

    Is it also common to have a x days guarantee period in the agreement in case we find some major defects after getting the keys?


  5. #5

    Join Date
    Dec 2018
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    Original Post Deleted
    You got any apartment left for rental? jk :P

    Yea ofc we will view it first. Just things like electricity, pipe leaks etc are hard to check before we actually move in.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Apr 2003
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    Original Post Deleted
    reasonable and landlord are rarely found in the same sentence. a further complication if the unit is located in a building with building management or equal, the building management is typically responsible for the building shell, so leakage from above would be passed to building management

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Dec 2018
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    Guess we usually only hear about the issues with landlords while we don't hear about the many more good cases.

    Anyway, seems like not a lot of Dutch people (with kids) here?


  8. #8

    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Posts
    4,188
    Quote Originally Posted by Boer:
    Guess we usually only hear about the issues with landlords while we don't hear about the many more good cases.

    Anyway, seems like not a lot of Dutch people (with kids) here?
    Not enough that they are concentrated in any area. I don’t believe there is any Dutch school which is normally a factor in where expats live. I’ve met some Dutch here but far fewer compared to British, American, French, etc.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Posts
    800
    Quote Originally Posted by Boer:
    Guess we usually only hear about the issues with landlords while we don't hear about the many more good cases.

    Anyway, seems like not a lot of Dutch people (with kids) here?
    Het barst van de Hollanders hier in Hong Kong. :-)

  10. #10

    Zeker. Genoeg Nederlanders maar niet in een bepaald gebied voorzover ik weet.
    ”Enough Dutch folks around but not concentrated in a specific area/estate. At least not as far as I know”


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