Thanks for the advice everyone, it has been really useful.
Think I’ll be hanging fire until I arrive in HK and then take up the search! I did also look on the 28hse website earlier (which was new to me) which seems to have apartments listed at more competitive rates than Midland Realty... but as mentioned above, will take that with a pinch of salt.
Use the first month's rent provided by the employer to stay in a serviced apartment. Get to know neighborhoods and look for a specific building that looks like it might meet your requirements (e.g. off of a main road), as with the high rises there will be multiple units available at any given time. You can even figure out if flat A, B, C, etc. is the "best" one of a building then ask agents for any available. Like others say, look for agencies around the area you want to go. Every other shop is an agent, so no problem finding them. The advice to say a lower price range is very good. Agents are terrible about showing you things that are higher than your stated budget, which will of course be nice! And, yes, be pushy with them and very clear about what you want (e.g. high floor, bright light, modern kitchen), because in the end you are paying a pretty high price for a service and they do sometimes waste your time!
As some other threads mentioned, be careful about seeing the same apartment with different agents. Agents will want you to sign that if you see an apartment you see with them, you're expected to get it through them (and not another agent). Usually they will print out a list of all the apartments they will show you, and so you should keep track if you already saw one with another agent.
I think it can really pay off to look in classified ads for apartments directly from the landlord. In my experience you get a better price and don't have to pay the agency fee. Agents do inflate the prices (duh), so definitely try to negotiate and expect to have to agree for something higher than your offer.
Also, it's helpful if you view a flat at two different times of the day.
hi there,
u can try 28hse and rent.591.com
i think 591 is more reliable than 28hse, as 28hse has many fake ads, so many ads i have inquired a month ago and replied as rent out, but i search yesterday, the ads was still there.
but for 591.com, i hv inquired for 4-5 apartment, all are available to view. so you can try
also can try homates.com/ easyroomates.com
for the good apartment/ good deal, you need to spend some times to catch, as good deal (with reasonable price) gone very fast.
only the ridiculous price property always hanging there.
Very true. I had this experience when looking for our first flat in HKG. In the end I got really cranky and told the agent that I would drop him and find another who will show me flats that my husband's company budgeted for. The agent was showing me flats for sale, telling me, " oh, you could have this" when we were only looking to rent. Look for somewhere not necessarily 'close' to your workplace but from where access of transport is easy or doable. If you are working in Central, there is nothing wrong with looking for a place on the outer islands where the rent is cheaper and more negotiable. Ours was and we found the rent almost half for a quiet village house than what we paid for a mid levels flat that was noisy from all of the construction going on.