Since China rapidly developing economy in the 1990’s, more and more foreigners are coming to Beijing to work and live. All of them need to find new houses to live. One usually gets information from one’s friends or real estate agents. We can help you to find good housing quickly and save your time and money. If you are looking for a property in Beijing, then you should need to know some of the basic things. The details are as follows:
Location: As foreigners, you should live in the east or north east part of Beijing. Since the majority of foreigners, embassies and foreign communities are located there. Apart from this, you must take into the considerations traffic and transport. Since the road conditions and public transportation in Beijing is far behind the western countries. If you choose to live outside of the Beijing inner suburbs, you should have a car. If you are a single person or couple without children, it is better for you to consider living in the downtown area. It’s more convenient downtown, otherwise the congested traffic will waste you a lot of time on the road. If you have children, it is better for you to live further outside, since most of the international schools are there, and it is less pollution. Choose a property in a very good managed community. Good community means more foreigners are living there and safer. This is very important to foreigners. It will have complete club facilities and a good management company. It will be easier for your children and family to find international schoolmates and friends.
Agreement and Lease Term: Typically, the Tenancy Agreement is bi-lingual,two original agreement are signed by the landlord and tenant.Usually villas or apartments are not rented for short term. It usually requires at least a one year term,two years lease are more common for villa and apartment. This is often the case for places rented by individual property owners, since each time they change a tenant they have to repaint the property, check all electrical appliances and may have to provide new furniture according to the new tenant’s requests. While short term lease are possible in some of the city's serviced apartment and business centres.
Rental and Deposit: Usually the rental including management fee and club fee (if there is one). The tenants pay the utilities and telephone expenses themselves. When you rent a property in Beijing, you should be prepared for a typical deposit equaling to 2 months’ rent with each month’s rent paid in advance. So at the start of the lease, you should be prepared to pay at least three months’ rent. If your company can arrange the USD payment from overseas directly to the owner’s bank account, especially to those owner from HK, Singapore & Taiwan, then you can get discounts, because the owner can get the rent straight away.
Furniture: In Beijing, most apartments or houses are leased with fully furnitures and electrical appliances, cable-TV and computer lines.If you prefer to bring your own furniture, most owners will cooperate and remove the existing furniture. But it doesn’t mean you can get a better deal from the owner, since they may have to find a storage place for furniture. That means they will have to pay more money. If the property is brand new where no furniture has yet been purchased by the owner, you will get a discount from the asking rent. Furniture will usually include sofa, chairs, coffee tables, end tables, lamps, television and stand, dining table and 4-6 chairs, beds dressers, night stands, refrigerators, washer/dryers (usually stacks units) and air-conditioners.
Pets: If you need to bring a pet into China, you need a health certificate provided by the National Quarantine Department of your pet’s home country and a vaccination certificate that includes hydrophobia (rabies). The certificates should not be more than 30 days old. The health certificate should include the weight, height and length of your pet. You’ll also need your passport, air ticket, work permit documents, close-up photos of your beloved and a letter from your housing complex certifying that pets are allowed. You need to pay quarantine, examination and residence fees at the Department of Plants and Animals of Airport.
Broadband ADSL:Subscriptions are available through CNC in many of the city’s residential and commercial areas. There is a set-up time. Connections speeds reach 512Kbps but vary depending on the quality of lines and distance from the nearest ADSL HUB. A NETWORK INTERFACE CARD IS REQUIRED. Note that the “A” in ADSL stands for asymmetric so upload speeds are slower than download speeds.With ADSL widely available, few are using costlier and slower ISDN.
There is no cost for looking at properties through real estate agents in Beijing. Agents are paid by the owner, not by the tenants. Choose an agency with a long history of proven record of accomplishment, a good reputation and experience and that the company and its agents are licensed by the government. (The government only recently started requiring all real estate companies to obtain a license in order to do business).
