Hello All:

I know this topic has probably been beaten to death but I'll give it a try and risk any backlash

I am coming to Shanghai after living in Beijing for 3 years. I will initially come for a house hunting trip in a few weeks. The agent my company hooked me up with created a basic view list as follows:

Shimao Rivera Garden
Yanlord Garden
Skyline Mansion
Sha Ma Century Park
Yanlord Town
Star River

The agent listed all of these as more than 35k RMB/mo, is this right? All are 3-4 BR/ >220sqm

I have found some others:

Jiahua Riverside Garden
Summit Panorama
Oriental Grand Garden
Xiangmei Garden

I have a budget of 40k RMB/mo but would like to keep it at around 30k RMB/mo as there is some benfit to me with the savings.

My criteria Basically is:

1) Newer compound
2) Quality Modern Furniture (not something that looks like Beethoven picked it out)
2) Close to Metro (I will be working near the West side of Century Park)
3) Close to Shopping/Supermarket
4) Quiet - Read: good quality construction
5) 3+study or 4BR
6) min 200sqm

My questions Are:

1) For the first set given to me by the agent, are these prices reasonable?
2) Of the 2 sets, which ones are worth seeing - meaning should I strike some off because they are known issues with them?
3) Are there others that I should be aware of?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Oh boy/ girl...

2) Quality Modern Furniture (not something that looks like Beethoven picked it out)

You sure deserve some backlash But I will leave that part of fun to other posters.

Although I also prefer more modern furniture, you can easily regret that wish once you have seen local ppl. understanding of modern furniture.

Anyway, check with the following forum members Adrienne and Monalisa and also this site http://www.ark-shanghai.com/

Thanks for sparing me

I took a look at the Ark site, good stuff in there,thank you!

New2PVG wrote:Shimao Rivera Garden
Yanlord Garden
Skyline Mansion
Sha Ma Century Park
Yanlord Town
Star River

The agent listed all of these as more than 35k RMB/mo, is this right? All are 3-4 BR/ >220sqm

I am not familiar with Star River. The rest I can say are all very good compounds with excellent amenities. Price wise, they vary - I live in Yanlord Garden and we pay significantly less than half of 35k! But, we do have a 2 bedroom+, and is is in one of the slightly older buildings. There are some really snazzy places here that can go for as much as 60K. And everything in between. So is 35k 'right'? Yeah, maybe, it depends on the apartment. I recently saw a couple that supposedly were on at 35k and whilst they were OK, they were nothing special and I thought that was a ridiculously high price for what they were. But the first thing you have to understand about house hunting here is that there is no such thing as reasonable. What you think your money (well, somebody's money, anyway) should get you at a particular price based on what you know from 'back home' or in Beijing - throw that right our of your head and get on board with the idea that here is here and whilst it might be China, the market here is nothing like Beijing. I have known quite a few people now who have moved her from BJ and been on the house hunt, and what one of them said that has stuck with me is "it's like comparing apples to potatoes."

New2PVG wrote:I have found some others:

Jiahua Riverside Garden
Summit Panorama
Oriental Grand Garden
Xiangmei Garden

1 - never heard of it
2 - some apts are OK, some are a nightmare, common areas are dumpy, minimal amenities
3 - heard of it but don't really know anything about it
4 - same as 2; had a friend living there, she said management can be difficult at times

Thanks Klick, good advice indeed. I certainly was going in with the mindset of what has worked for me in BJ and will need to clear an open mind for this. It seems it is really hard to get a gauge on what things cost considering the wide range possible (given your example 15k to 60k). I of course want to make the best possible decision as whatever I choose we have to live with for a year (and from past experiences here in BJ, it can be a long year).

I would add, you need to think too of what kind of lifestyle you want to have. Are you a homebody, do you like to go out, are you happy to use public trans (I'm guessing so since you say you want to be near a metro), how much are you used to walking to get to places (supermarket etc), what sorts of amenities are important to you, etc etc. In my experience these things will matter as much as the apartment itself. There are heaps of differences in all of those things in all the compounds you have listed.

Just wanted to remind that you should add `a decent heating system` to your list

New2PVG wrote:
My criteria Basically is:

1) Newer compound
2) Quality Modern Furniture (not something that looks like Beethoven picked it out)
2) Close to Metro (I will be working near the West side of Century Park)
3) Close to Shopping/Supermarket
4) Quiet - Read: good quality construction
5) 3+study or 4BR
6) min 200sqm

^ indeed add the floor or radiator heating to that list... we tend to forget this, since it is so rare.
you will be thankful to the previous poster.

Thanks all, I forget from living in Beijing (Dong Bei) so long that I take heating for granted. Are the heating systems specific to each landlord (how they chose to decorate their flats) or are entire compounds equipped because of the builder?

As for amenities, I used to be a lot more socially active and then along came my 4mo old which of course forced me into the "homebody" category. What's important to me at this time would be walking distance (within 10 or so min) to a major supermarket, shopping mall and park. All other things I could drive or take the metro.

You will not find a building that entirely fitted with a decent heating system.

a) try to find one with floor heating
or
b) ask your landlord to invest about 40-50K for a radiator heating system
(price depends on origin of boiler and radiators etc.) this price range is
for locally made.

if they say the AC is enough...just fart loudly turn around and walk away