Hello, dear friends!

Do you often search for information and apartment listings through the Internet? Are you overwhelmed when you see the amount of ads as a result? Well, worry no longer! Here, I will discuss openly with you by revealing exactly what you should know when trying to rent an apartment in Beijing?

Step One: search information about your favorite apartment with keywords such as CBD, Sanlitun, Lufthansa, World City, Central park, Hopson garden, 3br, 2bathroom. If you are a new comer and do not know where to stay in Beijing, please skip this step, go directly to the second step.

In Beijing, most of house-rental information publishers are intermediary companies or some free agents (freelancers). It's very rare for landlords to publish ads themselves. You needn’t worry about intermediary costs, which are commonly paid by landlords .

A very low price or very beautiful picture may attract you. But don't think that each ad really means there is such a house for rent. In my opinion, only some, not all, are true. It is proper to understand that it may be an apartment with similar price and pattern for rent.

The main task in this stage is to understand the current market price range, the structure, and ancillary facilities, rather than pay attention to attractive ads, because when you want to look at the apartment which the ad describes, you will often be told that it has been rented already.
  
There are some techniques in distinguishing effective ad content. When you select an effective ad, you are selecting an underlying professional team to serve you.

1) Select an affordable price, or slightly lower one. The difference of similar apartment prices is between 500 Yuan and 800 Yuan. If there is no special promotion, the price difference will not exceed CNY1000.

2) True pictures. Whenever possible, Mia will provide true photos of the apartment being rented. But, Mia is also unable to provide photographs of each apartment, so we provide similar apartment photos within the same building. You can see the apartment structure, kitchen and toilet facilities through these photos without the addition of any special effects to make the pictures look more attractive than they should. The only difference between the actual apartment and the photos lies in furniture and electrical appliances.

3)Rich in content.Detailed descriptions about apartment structure/property/supporting facilities, and a brief introduction to the furniture, style, color, floor, and orientation. Transportation options as well as nearby dining, shopping and entertainment options are also important to many prospective renters. If you have the chance and it is on top of your list of rental accommodation priorities, check the accuracy of this particular set of information as some listings will exaggerate how close a subway stop might be or how short of a distance walk it might be to the nearest entertainment area. If you don't have someone you trust to ask, or have the time to investigate yourself, Mia promises to always give you truthful details regarding this or any other issues you might have.

4) A detailed introduction to agencies helps you have a better understanding.

Step Two: Select a few reliable agents. In this stage, you had better contact them through e-mail or MSN rather than the phone, which can avoid unnecessary harassment. Tell them your needs in detail, which is very important. Professional agents are not willing to waste each other's time, they have to go through a feedback survey and assessment process, and only then will they return in case an eligible house is available, or give you their recommendations, and you will have a general assessment of their professional ability.

Step Three: Make an appointment with your reliable agent to visit the house. Remember to make a record so as to avoid repeated visits. At this time you will find how important a broker's ability to communicate and understand, some brokers will waste your valuable time, while others will provide you with increasingly suitable services, help you compare merits and demerits of apartments, and put forward reasonable recommendations.

Step Four: Negotiation

The price depends on market price fluctuations, house status such as towards, illumination, decoration and furniture style, electrical appliances, as well as the duration of its vacancy. Generally, the longer the vacancy, the lower the price will be. Generally speaking, a house with a reasonable price and in good condition will not remain vacant over three weeks. It is recommended that through an initial negotiation, if you find the price is not acceptable, you should not ask different intermediaries to bargain for you at the same time. This will give the owner a false sense of demand for his property and consequently increase his expectation on price. Intermediary negotiation skills won't be a major factor, and therefore it is recommended that you select just the best one who is trusted and on behalf of your position. At the same time, it is recommended you begin to understand the owner, including identity and character so as to avoid any trouble in the future. A warmhearted owner with a good occupation can make it easier to communicate.

Step five:Sign a contract. It should be noted that Chinese owners often ask their relative or friend to sign the contract on their behalf and without legal authorization, which will probably cause some trouble. It's important that you make sure the owner signs the contract personally. The owner should provide copies of property ownership certificate, identity card or passport. If the owner can’t sign the contract personally, the proxy shall submit the power of attorney and identity certificates.

Keep your deposit receipt somewhere safe because in some cases the owner might refuse to refund the deposit if no receipt is provided.

All the following information below is more useful for after you have already found and signed a lease.

There is an electricity card and a natural gas card, which the renter should properly store. In case of any loss, the owner or his authorized personnel have to apply for new ones, which will be very troublesome. Electricity and gas will not be available before payment and it is not paid for monthly as some you might be accustomed to. You prepay for a balance that goes on your card and use the utility until the balance has been depleted. Pay attention to the balance so as to avoid unexpected power cut. Electricity can be bought at Industrial and Commercial bank of China, Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Construction Bank of China and other major banks. If you have a card of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, you can buy electricity on its ATM machine. Natural gas can only be bought at Beijing Bank, a designated bank. A small number of places let you purchase electricity at the property management office.

Most apartments have the water policy of consumption before payment without the use of a prepaid card. The owner will provide a water bill which should be directly paid back to the owner or paid in a bank. Beijing standardized water charges: 3.7 Yuan per ton of cold water, Hot water prices range from 10 Yuan to 14 Yuan according to the standard of the apartment.

In addition, high-grade apartments are centrally air conditioned. Heating costs in winter are undertaken by the owners, while air-conditioning costs in summer are combined with the electricity cost. Some average apartments have their hot water provided with heaters at a lower cost, which is convenient and available 24-hours a day.

The Internet consists of community broadband and telecom adsl. The latter, according to most guests, is faster. Costs include initial installation fee and monthly fees. To apply for adsl, it is necessary to have a phone, and pay it at the bank with the phone number. It is possible to recharge it with a prepaid card. Monthly Internet fees range from 120 Yuan to 200 Yuan. A better price will be available in case of a payment for one year or half a year.

Finally, please allow me to introduce our company. Established three years ago, Mia is a professional, international property rental brokerage company. Of a small size, this company has definite focus, specializing in long-term leasing of international high-grade and hotel-style service apartments in the Chaoyang District of Beijing. All employees have at least a university education or above and a wealth of foreign company working experience. We are trying to build our own brand.

We possess:

1. Excellent foreign language communication skills.

2. Desire to understand specific needs of our guests as well as the discipline to recommend only suitable matches instead of wasting each other's time.

3 High grade and ability to have close or common understanding of the apartment.

4. Fine cultivation and temperament, ability to obtain recognition of the owners so as to help guests gain favorable terms.

5. Ability to provide “personal attention and follow up care”. In the first month after the contract is signed, the guests will have a lot of problems. It is necessary to help the guests in communicating with the owners. Minor problems such as door cards and keys and some minor repairs can often cause inconvenience, and need to be solved in a timely manner. In case of an emergency or special circumstance, it is necessary to coordinate the guests and the owners and transfer information between both parties. Good after-sales services are a priority of ours and sets us apart from other brokerage agencies. 
 
Mobile: 0086-13801263382
MSN: miarealty@live.cn
http://www.miarealestate.com.cn

                            
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