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I used to be very good with writing these blog articles regularly and then like the rest of the people in Shanghai life and work got in the way. So I kept telling myself I will write again when I have something interesting to say or found a great service that the people using this website could benefit from. Months went by and finally I have something to write about…
The best agent!
If you have lived in Shanghai for any length of time you will have had to deal with the unfortunate ordeal of finding an apartment. Personally I can’t stand having to do this and I have done it five times already! Yep, that works out to be one apartment for each year I have lived in this fun country.
I think the whole process affects me twice as much, because I am an Interior Designer and walking into a dirty, super Chinese ugly apartment feels physically painful! Bad design hurts! I have walked into so many apartments over the years then look at the agent in disgust and just turned back around and told them I would wait for them on the street.
One of the main problems I, and probably the rest of the expats in Shanghai, usually face is getting the agent to actually understand what I want. This equates to me saying “I want a CLEAN, bright, modern apartment that has WESTERN furniture” to which they respond with “yes, yes we have many that will be suitable for you!” Needless to say when I have walked into the tenth apartment in a row that has a sofa that looks like it has been taking steroids and is in some kind of weird orange, brown colour I am starting to get a little angry!
Then we come to the price, ah yes the price! This is by far the worst problem in my book. I think that most of the agents in Shanghai have a hearing problem or they just see money signs when you are talking and choose not to listen. In every apartment I have moved into the price has been 1000-2000 more than what I wanted. And why is that? The agents refuse to show me anything for the original price. I do understand that they are trying to make more money for themselves, but for people who have to pay the rent themselves it is hard paying that extra amount per month. I usually say a lower price these days, because I know that will put me back up to my original budget.
So it is that time again! I needed to find a new place to match the location for the new job and I was cringing about the thought of going through this again. I had heard great things about a Chinese guy named Sheng Hao who wasn’t based at an actual rental agency and is more of a broker and can help you find a place in the location that you need. So I thought why not give him a go, he can’t be any worse than the other people I have tried. Well let’s just say that I am more than happy with his service, hence the article! I told him what I wanted and he did the rest. I signed the contract this morning on a new place and it was the first place I went to! It was exactly what I wanted and he had gone to check places out first, so that I didn’t need to go into any bad apartments. Not only was it the apartment I wanted it was cheaper than my budget!
If you need to find an apartment I can highly recommend you give Sheng a go.
Comments
Two issues:
1. He is no different from the other agencies posting false ads to attract customers.
2. Not professional. (Dont think it is good for an agent to show properties to another client if one has already confirmed. Also considering that he did not helped them out later.)