Now, ladies and gentlemen, it is time for a frustration blog. Where to begin…

Monica and I are moving out of our current apartment. We have to because our contract is up the first of October. We want to because our commute is over an hour and a half. We think our list of requirements is reasonable: western toilet, kitchen with stove, 1 bedroom, newer, 4,000. We were told that it would be difficult to find this in the area we wanted, so we expanded. We saw 3 apartments in a place not on our list. Only one of them kinda passed out test.

Before we went out the second time we were warned that sometimes real-estate agents will tell the landlords to jack up the rental price so when then “negotiate it down” they will still be making more money. Armed with this new information, we took one of Monica’s friends (and co-worker) with us. We saw 2 apartments. The first one was quite large and had 2 bedrooms in the are we wanted, but the apartment needed a lot of work and was in a sketchier area. The second had 1 bedroom, was newer, was in a complex with many other foreigners, and still in the area we wanted. It was just farther away than we were hoping. Both apartments were 4,300. Later, after the three of us were done looking for the night Chris, Monica’s co-worker, called the agency that had the 1 bedroom listing. He asked how much this one bedroom was. 3,200!!!!! 1,100 less than what we had been told! They had raised the price when they told us how much it was. We were fuming. Trying to cheat us because they think we are rich and we won’t find out.

Then we were taken by another friend of ours – who is also Cantonese – to see 2 apartments in the area we wanted. Both of them were no goes. The first one was OLD. Chinese toilet, dingy, smelly, the outside walk is not lit, mildew all over the ground on the footpath, UNSANITARY kitchen, completely boxed in by other buildings. Very big NO. The second one was 4,500. It was definitely nicer. 8th floor, elevator, safer area, better view, very clean. As we were walking out of it, it turns out that the cost is actually 5,000! What?! 4,500 is negotiable, we can get it within our budget. 5,000 is way too high. Not Cool.

And that was only the apartments themselves, not all the frustrations that come with trying to get landlords to show their apartments. This one did not call back, this one can only do after 7:00, this one said they can’t come today (15min before we were scheduled to see it.) Craziness. We have seen 7 places and still don’t have one. The ones that seem perfect for us get snapped up before we even look at them. We may go back to the building with the one apartment we really like (where the agent or landlord tried to cheat us) with Monica’s Chinese friend. He should be able to get us the actual price of the unit. Prayers for wisdom and guidance are needed…and prayers for a perfect apartment to fall into our laps would be appreciated.

I think the crazy thing for me is how the real-estate market works here. Coming from a family of real-estate agents, I am use to the American process of buying, selling, and renting houses. Here, nothing is similar. Apartments are gone within 3 hours of being posted and basically if you don’t get it right now then you don’t get it. Plus, the landlords and agents sometime don’t work together so well ( not just our experience but others also) so appointments are actually “maybes”. And agents are not quite as trustworthy as my family. Basically, if you are a foreigner in China and you need anything, HAVE A CHINESE FRIEND! They know actual value and will be able to communicate for you. Even if a person speaks Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese) they could still get ripped off. Careful awareness is key.

There is HOPE! Once we are settled into our new place, picture will follow, for now…this is it. 😛