a friend and i are moving to shanghai in a few weeks. we did the apartment search wrong this year and have had numerous annoyances as a result.

anyway, we want to do things differently this time. ex-pat/actual english speaking real estate agents seem so much more convenient, but also much more expensive. does anyone know of a good english speaking real estate agent that won't get us a ridiculously overpriced apartment? i don't mind paying for the convenience, but not so far as paying a thousand or so kuai extra every month.

we're looking to pay 5,000-7,000/month and live in xuhui (although we're open to anywhere downtown near a metro) if that helps. any recommendations would be appreciated, but especially if you have experience/know someone who does in this price range. while i greatly envy those who can throw down 20,000+ a month on an apartment, i doubt we'll be using the same agent :)

You will get a decent place for your budget. Presume you are looking at 2 bedrooms.

By the way the agents fees are set by Shanghai Govt, and for your budget, the commission would be 70% of a months rental, shared 35/35 with the landlord.
This is a once only payment, and with a good agent, they can often help with negotiation, and save you far more than their commission.

Have sent you a p.m.

It is very important to use the right Real Estate Agency here in Shanghai, if you just walk in to random Real Estate company you will receive hundreds of call each day, most of them can't speak much English, that’s what we experienced when we first moved to China. I recommend you to talk to a Chinese-English Lady whom runs a Real Estate company, she helped us find the home we wanted and charged only 70% of a month rental, shared with landlord. Many of my friends also find their accommodation through her. Her number is 189 307 39471, her name is Elvia.

All the best for your house hunting.

prEttyNDistress wrote:I'll go with chinese agent who speaks English....

Some of my friends have a very bad experience most especially with ridiculous charges with the whites...

Hmmmm. Very interesting quote there. Can you elaborate on this please? Do you mean that western agents will charge more than a Chinese agent for the lease of exactly the same property or that Chinese agents will have cheaper apartments than the western agents?

In my many years here as a Western Expat Agent I know of few landlords that would give different prices to different agents but they would favour one agent over another generally due to the professionalism of the agent and not just on how good a deal the landlord feels he/she is going to get.

Anyway tdicks15, you will be in safe hands with Monalisa's agent Betty. She also follow the standard Shanghai Government rules of 70% commission - 35% landlord and 35% tenant. Any decent agent does.

There are some agents that will try and get all from the unsuspecting new arrival so just be careful. Aslo, if you were paying 20k (which companies generally cover and not many of the expats) then the landlord would be paying all of the commission and you would not pay. Properties that are over 7-8k is generally where the landlord will pay all the commission BUT there are loads of exceptions and am sure there will be plenty of other fellow posters voicing their experience. It is good to know all the different scenarios though so you know the general lie of the land.

Bottom line is to use an experienced and recommended agent as there are way too many cowboy agents around and it's getting worse out there. UGH!!

For some tips on leasing please have a look at our Advice on Leasing at http://www.shanghaiprops.com

Happy Home Hunting.

Adrienne

We have to use Merryhome due to company policy. We know that our flat is about 2000rmb/month more than with other agencies, but the company has a specified budget and pays, so we're not bothered. I'm not sure whether the landlord gives some back to the agency.
Our Agent is however very nice, speaks excellent english, and will do anything for us throughout our tenancies at very short notice.

Great. Yep there will be some backhanders.

Nice, you are "not bothered". That puts the price up for everybody else NOT with a company.

Really cool. Thank you. Look after yourself, fxxk everybody else.

prEttyNDistress wrote: defensive much? *rolleyes*

Not really. Just after some clarification of the comment about whities.

Adrienne

monalisalee wrote:Great. Yep there will be some backhanders.

Nice, you are "not bothered". That puts the price up for everybody else NOT with a company.

Really cool. Thank you. Look after yourself, fxxk everybody else.

Don't worry monalisalee. Their days are numbered. I have been talking to some big movers and shakers and they are slowly weeding out this practice with many of the MNCs. HR Manager will be loosing more and more of their power and employees given incentives to keep their rental budgets low. I think the top end is starting to wake up and this will have some flow on effect all the way down.

I will keep ya posted on progress.

Adrienne

Great.
Thanks dudess.
Sorry, but this attitude pees me off a bit.
I like the (rare) cases where some Co's will return a rental saving in cash to the employee.

Little off topic up there...

If you want to live in Xuhui check out Xuhui Garden. It is a international property. Check it out on the internet. I am not make an ad but I can tell you that I work for it's owner company.(means no agency fee). If you need more information... Let me know.

I will be in town this Wednesday and I could also use a referral. I have 30 days to find a place starting this wednesday. Budget between 6-10k, prefer the French concession or thereabouts, but work north of there and I am open to any suggestions.

Thanks!

your budget is quite easy to get at xuhuiqu. no worry

your budget is quite easy to get at xuhuiqu. no worry

If you need any help, please contact me. Wish can apply good service for you

Undo wrote:I will be in town this Wednesday and I could also use a referral. I have 30 days to find a place starting this wednesday. Budget between 6-10k, prefer the French concession or thereabouts, but work north of there and I am open to any suggestions.

Thanks!

There are a multichoices for you within your budget, and you need to specify your ideal bedrooms and areas, better specify your requirement. for budget below 8k rmb, you will have to pay 35% of the first month rental to the agent, but above 8k rmb, the landlords pay the agency fee.

Hello there!

I would like to please kindly add my "two cents" to this topic based on your subject of "recommending a good real estate agent" (in case people search for this):

Since March of this year I have worked twice with Shanghai Properties (to find a long-stay serviced apartment and later permanent housing), and I thought they were fantastic to work with. I found their staff to be very professional, honest, helpful, kind, organized and understanding of our needs. I would highly recommend working with them -- their website it shanghaiprops.com.

Best of luck to all who are searching for housing!

HappyMommy wrote:Hello there!

I would like to please kindly add my "two cents" to this topic based on your subject of "recommending a good real estate agent" (in case people search for this):

Since March of this year I have worked twice with Shanghai Properties (to find a long-stay serviced apartment and later permanent housing), and I thought they were fantastic to work with. I found their staff to be very professional, honest, helpful, kind, organized and understanding of our needs. I would highly recommend working with them -- their website it shanghaiprops.com.

Best of luck to all who are searching for housing!

WOW... good marketing Shanghaiprops..... New account?

Nope! I wrote that of my own free will! I was just really grateful for their efforts!

to anyone interested, we found an apartment and i have both a recommendation for an agent and and an agency to avoid!

good news first: Just at Citic Realty is AWESOME. he has good english, he's very friendly, he's efficient and helpful, and best of all, he doesn't show you a bunch of s*it apartments. most of our agents took us to complete crap holes in the beginning, but he only took us to nice apartments that fit our requirements and budget. a few were not decorated how we would like, but they were really nice. he ended up finding us a great apartment and i HIGHLY recommend him.

next up: AVOID BIG PANDA. SERIOUSLY, THEY ARE SHADY. they showed us this one apartment that was a nice apartment, but wasn't quite what we were looking for. after that they did the above mentioned practice of taking us to two s*itholes. then they informed us that the first apartment was sold. we later found an apartment they liked and they said the price was 8000 and they could get it down to 7600. after we made an offer, they told us they were wrong and the price was 8100 (seriously? who prices an apartment at 8100?) and non-negotiable. while this is going on, Justin (the awesome agent from above) took us to the same apartment they told us was sold. he called in front of us from downstairs and was told the apartment was still for rent. when we went up to double check it was actually the exact same apartment, the Big Panda agent WAS IN THE APARTMENT WITH THE LANDLORDS. shady. also, not a fluke. a friend of ours who is also looking for an apartment had the exact same experience of being told an apartment was rented only to find out it was actually still available. as all these agents seem to have all the same apartments, i don't think it is worth it AT ALL to work with them. a better agent will find the same apartments and clearly be able to negotiate better than to get the price RAISED.

good luck to anyone still looking!

expat_lifestyle wrote:

HappyMommy wrote:Hello there!

I would like to please kindly add my "two cents" to this topic based on your subject of "recommending a good real estate agent" (in case people search for this):

Since March of this year I have worked twice with Shanghai Properties (to find a long-stay serviced apartment and later permanent housing), and I thought they were fantastic to work with. I found their staff to be very professional, honest, helpful, kind, organized and understanding of our needs. I would highly recommend working with them -- their website it shanghaiprops.com.

Best of luck to all who are searching for housing!

WOW... good marketing Shanghaiprops..... New account?

Very proud to say we have never had to stoop that low, but thanks for asking anyway.

All our very kind testimonials are 100% legit written by satisfied clients and we are very grateful for their recommendations

Adrienne wrote:

prEttyNDistress wrote: defensive much? *rolleyes*

Not really. Just after some clarification of the comment about whities.

Adrienne

Your White?.....Have you always been white......

I do think local Shanghai people will get a better deal then Foreigners on rentals. I also believe that some landlords will only rent to foreigners...
I AM POSITIVE THAT YOUR ARE THE BEST PERSON FOR A FOREIGNER TO DEAL WITH...YOU WILL GET THE BEST DEAL OUT THERE......

Now how about a little after dinner drink....

BTW I have a friend , who has a great a condo in GZ...New Modern and very large.....Everyone in the entire complex is Chinese......Whenever I'm in GZ she insists i stay there....Sge tells me when people think a Foreigner is living there, they get very excited, because the value of their property will go up...
(I always thought she just wanted me .....however I think she wants me to be her shill....

SnappySammy wrote:

Adrienne wrote:

prEttyNDistress wrote: defensive much? *rolleyes*

Not really. Just after some clarification of the comment about whities.

Adrienne

Your White?.....Have you always been white......

No. In my last life I was a gorgeous slim Chinese girl and had a fabulous time with fighting off the western guy's advances.

As always Mr Snap, thank you for your kind support.

SnappySammy wrote: Now how about a little after dinner drink....

If that is directed at me then you know my number baby.......and we are neighbours you know. French Concession girl here.

BTW, what on earth is a shill???

Adrienne

Yeah, I'm curious too. Could shill be like Gigilo?
S/S has a few keys stuck, which makes it harder. (Sge) h key stuck.

Well John, just hit two birds with one stone here.......

Wikipedia a shill is a person who is paid to help another person or organization to sell goods or services.

So, looks like our new friend from JRE could be one too.

Mr. Snap isn't a shill......maybe a dill but definitely not a shill. (only joking sammy )

Adrienne

Ha bluddy Ha.
Well done!

So Mr. Snap isn't a shill... maybe a dill ...and ocassionally a THRILL! Yipee!

Yep, JRE seem to be pretty bluddy devious.

Adrienne wrote:

SnappySammy wrote:

Adrienne wrote:

prEttyNDistress wrote: defensive much? *rolleyes*

Not really. Just after some clarification of the comment about whities.

Adrienne

Your White?.....Have you always been white......

No. In my last life I was a gorgeous slim Chinese girl and had a fabulous time with fighting off the western guy's advances.

As always Mr Snap, thank you for your kind support.

SnappySammy wrote: Now how about a little after dinner drink....

If that is directed at me then you know my number baby.......and we are neighbours you know. French Concession girl here.

BTW, what on earth is a shill???

Adrienne

My two favorite woman...Blond Aussies and Slim Chinese Girls....That was directed at you... You will be my first call when I get back.....I may be moving, to the Bund....I really like the FC....I may have to do a friend a favor....

Shill.....Is That an American Word..... A shill is a person who is put somewhere to make something look good....I'm not explaining this very well....A shill would be someone who bids at an auction simply to drive the price up.....A shill is a plant.....Better google it....It's hard to explain....

My agents do the right thing by people they are Bruce and Annie at Vip real estate and both are chinese but speak english very well. Bruce lived in america so understands the quality of service expats want. They can be reached on 15102188961.

I go out of my way to suggest them because when I moved here I was not rich and they went out of their way to find me a sublet and then a nice two bedroom place for 6500 a month. They give good service and know that word of mouth helps their business grow.