I'm trying to move out from Minhang soon to be closer to where I work. I am looking to move into a place between January 23 and February 1. I want to live by myself. I don't smoke, and I prefer my home to be quiet and private. All I need are bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living room. Since I don't have my own transportation, I need to live pretty close to metro line 2, particularly near Zhongshan Park or Dongchang Road. I will likely be in Shanghai for at least 6 more months. Of course, the cheaper I can get this, the better. I tried to do research on my own, but it's proven a bit frustrating since I can't really tell the difference between a legitimate arrangement and one that's blatantly ripping me off. Could someone recommend a place or an agency that could fulfill my needs?

Go to the area where you want to live and take a walk. There is a lot of agencies there and they are pretty honest. Better take some Chinese friend with you. Agents take 35% of one month rent from you and 35% from the landlord, which is OK. You can find what you want for about 1500RMB in old buildings (=paper walls = you can hear your neighbour pee). More your budget = better living it will be.

more your budget= betterl living?!

i dont think so. it depends on what kind of agents you rely on. i only use the agent recommend by my friends. its easier and safer.

yuyu wrote:more your budget= betterl living?!

i dont think so. it depends on what kind of agents you rely on. i only use the agent recommend by my friends. its easier and safer.

So you think low budget better living or what ?

Actually recommended agents are more likely to take advantage of you because you trust'em. There is hundreds of real estate agents in Pudong, huge competition and there is a lot of places to rent because people bought a lot of speculation property and have no tenants. I.e. the new flats near the Pudong stadium which sold for 1.5M RMB are offered to rent for 2500RMB or so and we are talking about 100sqm+. They are renting out for ROI like 2% - thats less than one can get in the bank deposit as interest

always consider the source of your information. if referred by someone who you don't really know but you work with, for instance, the chances are probably 50/50. If its family, it may be better. Really depends on how well your reference source knows and trusts this agent too.

I agree that most agents are fairly honest as they are trying to make and honest buck,. In fact, I think going to the more local agencies will get you a betetr deal than those "specializing in Expats" as they charge for alot of comfort and ultimately do charge you more. Survey the area you want to live and take Denny's advise and find a local agency familiar with housuing in that area for best results. Use several to minimuze your risk and keep everyone honest

Apologies to those who have seen me post this before, but one agency to avoid in my opinion is Space Property. I had a bad experience with them a while back where the American guy who runs the place, Scott, deliberately ripped me off for an amount of money.

I think the advice you have been given so far is pretty good. Go around with a few local agents to gauge the prices and then choose a place from what they show you. The only way that the agent could really rip you off is by inflating the rental to earn a higher commission but if you do your research in the area that you want to rent over a weekend then you should be able to avoid this.

Try this link: http://www.XPShanghai.com, which may be of some potential help for you.

You need to remove the comma after the link address otherwise the link does not work properly.

Out of curiosity does that company you link to have a minimum rental that they will deal with? Many of the companies that target foreigners don't deal with the really cheap stuff - what about these guys?

Great to catch you ad. This is Ken from residential services of CBRE. Now we have a leasing project named Merry Apartment on Zhen Ning road close to Zhong Shan Park. 10 mintues walking distance to the JiangSu rd. Station Metro2. And we have plenty of typies of apartments with atrractive price from $1500 to 2500. If you are interested and need more info please contact me via email: ken.shen@cbre.com.cn

No offense but $1500 to $2500 is NOT an attractive price !
People just take a walk in the area you want to live, check some local real estate agent outlets, you save huge money !

It depends on the units, $1500 for a Penthouse apartment in ZhongShan Park with its convenient transprtation may be a steal, but for a basic aprtment? Who knows...maybe it includes full services, conceierge, maid, breakfast in bed, sattelite TV ,etc?

Reputable real estate companies will give you 'reputable prices'.

Agree with yuyu, use the tried and tested agents. My friend recently got into some trouble with an established agency.

Thank you for your help. I'm going to investigate someone a co-worker referred me to as well as the XPShanghai.com site. Hopefully I can get a Chinese co-worker to come along and help. If I can't, do any of you have some negotiation tips for getting the best price?