1800What? Beijing Windows

The following article we found on the Internet is a very good instruction for foreigners who want to stay in Beijing for a while. Salute to the anonymous author.

Finding a good apartment in Beijing takes a combination of time, patience, a little bit of luck and common sense. This article is intended as a brief guide for overseas travelers and journalists who are planning to rent an apartment for accommodation.

These are generally the major factors to consider:

Location

The great majority of our clients choose the Olympic area (or called Asian Games Village area) as this is the most convenient to access most of the events. This area is host to the National Stadium (i.e., Bird’s Nest), National Aquatics Center (i.e., Water Cube), National Gymnasium, Olympic Sports Center, Hockey Field, Archery Field and Tennis Center. It is also close to the gymnasiums of China Agricultural University (Weight Lifting) and Beijing University of Science and Technology (Judo and Taekwondo). There are several subway lines, including Subway Lines 5, 8, 10, and 13 connecting this area with other parts of the city.

A small percentage of people choose the Downtown area, stretching from the China World Trade Center (or Guomao, Central Business District) on the East 3rd Ring Road to the Wangfujing area just east of the Forbidden City, where many shopping malls are located. This area includes locations within and around the 2nd Ring Road. Although there are no Olympic venues in this area, it is easy to see tourist sights, do shopping or get around to other parts of the city.

Some people choose the Sanlitun/East 2nd Ring Road area where the Workers’ Stadium (football) and Workers’ Gymnasium (boxing) are located. This area is also well known for its many bars, restaurants and entertainment venues. Many embassies are located in this area as well.

Other areas include Lufthansa, a business area close to the northeast 3rd Ring Road with many shops, restaurants and embassies; Chaoyang Park, home to the largest urban park in Asia and where beach volleyball will be held; Lido/Wangjing, an area close to the Airport Expressway with many expatriates, and famous for its art galleries (798 area); Zhongguancun, in northwest Beijing, is home to China’s technology center and is close to the Capital Stadium (volleyball) and Peking University (table tennis); Shunyi, close to the airport, is home to Rowing/Canoeing and many other water events and is where many villas are located; and west/southwest, where softball, basketball, cycling and shooting will take place.

Many of our clients choose to stay at a property close to subway so that it is easy to get around.

Quality

Quality varies widely among properties and this is the one single most important factor that determines the rental price. On the upscale list are the villas which are generally farther away from the city and are usually expensive. The top-end luxury apartments closer to the Olympic area include Chateau Glory, Shimao Olive Garden and Great House (townhouses). There are a number of medium to upscale properties that are located east and west of the Olympic Green/Park area. Most of the properties on our website (2008.ToRent.cn) fall into the medium category which have been built in the past few years with good quality and decent facilities. There are a number of properties that are considered budget or older properties. These usually have smaller rooms and are cheaper.
Within each category or property, decorations can differ considerably from one apartment to another. Those that use expensive materials or high-quality furnishings usually demand higher rent.

Size

Size matters. Usually the larger the size, the more expensive an apartment is since they can sleep more people. Newer apartments have larger space and are more scientifically designed. If an apartment has more bedrooms or more bathrooms, it usually costs more. Apartment size in China is denominated in square meters with one square meter equaling 10.764 square feet. A studio or a one-bedroom apartment usually has one bathroom, most of which has a shower. A two-bedroom unit mostly has one bathroom, with either a shower or a bathtub; sometimes larger two-bedroom units have two bathrooms. A three- or four-bedroom apartment usually has two bathrooms (a small number has only one bathroom), often one with a bathtub and the other with a shower and sometimes both showers or bathtubs.

Facilities

Chinese apartments almost always have 24-hour hot water and other western style facilities. New buildings higher than 5-6 floors almost always have elevators. Standard facilities in our apartments usually include beds, linens, towels, air conditioners, refrigerator, sofa, TV, washing machine (usually not dryer) and cookware. Many also provide Internet access, DVD player, microwave and coffee maker. A very small minority provide maid cleaning service. Some offer a car with a driver at extra charge.

Many modern properties have a clubhouse, usually with a fitness center, children’s playground, restaurants, sometimes an indoor swimming pool and sauna. However, these facilities are usually not included in the rental fee.

Budget

Your budget determines what kind of apartment you’ll be able to rent. As a rule, the higher the budget, the more luxury and/or larger space and closer to the National Stadium you’ll get. If you have a limited budget, you are better off looking farther away from the Olympic area. But if you choose a property close to subway, it will still be easy to get to the Olympic area and tourist attractions fairly quickly even though you’ll miss the ambience of the Olympics in the Olympic area. If you want to find a good deal with a limited budget, you should be patient, waiting for the right one to come along.

Length of Rental

Many renters are frustrated by landlords’ insistence on one month rentals. This situation is getting better as more landlords are realizing that people do not come to the Olympics to spend a full month. In fact, many of the landlords listing with us have only a 7-day minimum stay. However, if your short stay falls right in the middle of the Olympics, you may find it difficult to find a landlord willing to rent to you. That is because he may find it impossible to rent it to another group. For people who rent only a few days, we usually put two groups in one apartment to make it a longer rental. This makes it more acceptable to landlords.

Potential problems you need to be aware of:

Distance. Many websites and individuals post distances from their apartments to the National Stadium that are vastly shorter than the actual distances. For example, one website has the distance from Namage to the National Stadium as 500 meters while in fact it is 2600 meters. This practice, whether intentional or not, is misleading at best. We use mapping software from several sources to make the distance as accurate as possible.

Photoshopped pictures. Some owners/websites beautify the pictures to make apartments look better than they really are. Wherever possible, we at ToRent.cn try to make a video (in addition to truthful pictures) so that you know exactly what you are renting.

Bait & Switch. As the Olympics draw closer, more unscrupulous ones pop up. Be very cautious of agents who “bait” you with a very low price and then “switch” to a more expensive option. Many of these have worked in the long-term rental area and have successfully baited and switched many expatriates, giving the business a bad name. Most of these are unscrupulous agents/individuals who are not registered with the government, have only a mobile phone number (which they change often) and without even a website. Some rogue agents have pirated our apartment descriptions WORD FOR WORD (including “OLYMPIC RENTAL: Watch Video” even though they have no videos) and then replace the link to our video and our contact information with their phone number and email. Be very afraid of these dishonest baiters.

Contract. Be sure to get a contract with a COMPANY SEAL that spells out the rights and obligations of both parties in detail. You are exposing yourself to unnecessary risks if you don’t do this. Some people ask for a security deposit with the intention of not refunding it. Although I believe that the great majority of landlords out there are honest with whom you would like to deal directly, you need to meet only one bad apple to ruin an otherwise perfect Olympic trip.

Other issues to consider:

Always use common sense. Deal with people that you feel you can trust. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. Don’t be sweet-talked into an obvious trap.
Some people who claim to be landlords may be subletting their apartments without authorization from the landlords. If that’s the case, your rights won’t be protected since the landlord can literally drive you out of the apartment during the Olympics.
To get your visa from the Chinese Consulate, you must have a contract and evidence of payment if you rent an apartment.

Be very protective of your credit card numbers and don’t give them out easily.

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