Hello All,

I am new to the forum and about to move to Shanghai from the Australia. I've trawled through this website and have found loads of useful tips here and would like to say a big thank Q to the contributors -- who have all collectively helped to make lives of newcomers like me a lot easier!

I've got quite a unique situation here and I was hoping to get some advice. I'll be arriving in Shanghai on Sept 20 and will be home hunting through the mid-autumn festival. As I'll start reporting to work on the week of Sept 27, I fear I'll probably end up house searching during the week-long Nat Day holiday as well.

Here are a few questions I have and any tips or advice would be most welcome!

-- Do real estate agents work through public holidays? Is it possible to arrange viewings during these two long holidays with agents? Are there any tips on how I can go about doing this efficiently?

-- How much time do you guys spend on average on house hunting before finding the right one? Should I expect mine to take a super long time given the holiday season? [I'm hoping not so I wont end up spending a fortume on short-term hotel stay!!]

-- I'm looking to stay in either Pudong or Jing An (with close proximity i.e 10 mins walking dist to Line 2 metro being key priority) and have set aside a budget of RMB 6000-7000. Is that a reasonable budget?

-- I've engaged 2 realtors so far -- Luna Property, Alanda Property (alandaproperty.com) and plan on contacting Citic realty + Homeland. I'm hoping that'll give me more than enough apts to view & choose from. But also wonder if I'm running the risk of getting too many agents...any thoughts?

Thanks a bunch in advance! Would really appreciate some help!

Hi Desmoulin,

Congrats on the job and welcome to Shanghai. Will do my best to answer these questions given that I am an Australian expat agent here in Shanghai. Unfortunately we only have properties of a slightly higher budget but can still give you my two bob's worth.

desmoulin wrote:-- Do real estate agents work through public holidays? Is it possible to arrange viewings during these two long holidays with agents? Are there any tips on how I can go about doing this efficiently?!

Yes, as a rule they can/do but the main problem is that many of the landlords are either away or don't want to be troubled. Chinese New Year is probably the worst of the holidays because it is similar to our Chrissy and most people don't want to be showing homes during that time. Also, loads of agents here are from the countryside and return home during this period so that time is the worst. Contact all the agents well in advance and try and fit in viewing times outside of the public holiday time.

desmoulin wrote:-- How much time do you guys spend on average on house hunting before finding the right one? Should I expect mine to take a super long time given the holiday season? [I'm hoping not so I wont end up spending a fortume on short-term hotel stay!!] !

If you have a good agent that GETS IT then two/three days would be maximum. If they have sent you some good prospects with photos that are on the mark then use them. If they don't and show you dumps then drop them. You have enough time to do due dilligence. Having said that, some good agents aren't able to send pics cause many landlords won't allow them inside unless they have a prospective tenant with them. So, you can't always judge an agent by their lack of pics. Also, beware that probably 50% of pics online are made up properties with pics from other compounds. I can tell it is a totally different compound and or/price description. (welcome to China the land of NO-IP rights)

desmoulin wrote:-- I'm looking to stay in either Pudong or Jing An (with close proximity i.e 10 mins walking dist to Line 2 metro being key priority) and have set aside a budget of RMB 6000-7000. Is that a reasonable budget?!

Yep, you will be fine with this in both areas but you would have more choices in Pudong, around century park.

desmoulin wrote:-- I've engaged 2 realtors so far -- Luna Property, Alanda Property (alandaproperty.com) and plan on contacting Citic realty + Homeland. I'm hoping that'll give me more than enough apts to view & choose from. But also wonder if I'm running the risk of getting too many agents...any thoughts?!

Vet the agents before you come so you hit the ground running. One or maximum of two good ones is enough. You end up being shown the same places all the time if you use too many and they loose interest as well if they feel there are too many competitors. Make sure you let them know the units you have seen so you aren't shown again.

Hope this helps a little with your questions.

Don't forget to join Aussie Drinks on Friday nights at Kakadu. Check out the Austcham webbsite for details.

Oh, and have a peek at our Advice on Leasing so you know what is standard in an offer and contract.

All the best!

Adrienne

Thanks a bunch Adrienne! Very, very helpful tips! I'll set up meetings on 20th and 21st...and cross my fingers on the rest.

Look forward to social drinks when I arrive. You wont be hard to spot!