Coincidences

I'm moving. This Saturday I plan to move the main load and hand over the old keys on Sunday. I have paid the first 6 months' rent, deposit and I've got the keys. But I'll tell you how the moving went after the fact.

I'm just here to share with you that I got a nice deal, partly through luck.

The housing area is said to be the best in Taizhou. It certainly looks the part - all of the 20+ buildings are less than 5 years old, near the city center but off the main road enough to be quiet and peaceful. There's a lush green hill on the other side. I've been there once before, asking about prices. The cheapest was 3300 RMB/month.

This time we decided I wouldn't take part in the apartment hunt at all and that I would only come look at an apartment once my wife had been trough the price negotiation.

So she did. She waded through several agencies, until the she found a nice deal. Trough the surprising Chinese social network. Guangxi. The real estate agent knew a friend of a landlord, whom my wife met when looking through agents. The friend was involved in the price negotiation and agreed to the terms.

2500 /month, 6 months up front, 3000 as a deposit. The average, we found out, is 3300-4000 /month, 12 (!) months up front, 5000 as a deposit. And since the friend had agreed to this, the landlord actually agreed too. When she arrived to the realtor she wasn't too happy. Actually, she had specified a higher rent for the apartment. But my wife had had the presence of mind to make sure and doubly sure that the price was the agreed one. After the landlord saw me, she remarked she should've push for a better price since I was foreign. On the other hand, she was relieved that she wouldn't really need to worry about her getting the rent money.

So, the air conditioners were bought in today while the TV cable was installed. The utilites all work and we'll be the first tenants in the apartment. The Internet will be set up tomorrow. I'll grab a few pictures once I get all my stuff sorted away. It's a short move from one part of the city to another, about 30 minutes in a car, so I expect things to go reasonably well.

OP Out.