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serviced apartment vs. renting flat

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ORIGINAL POST
Posted by artec_d 16 yrs ago
i will be staying in hkg for one year. would you recommend staying in a serviced apartment or renting a flat in hkg?

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COMMENTS
Ed 16 yrs ago
Advantages of living in a serviced apartment while in Hong Kong include:

- if you want domestic help no need to find and contract a helper

- no need to purchase furniture and lose big bucks when you sell it

- hassle free in that all bills are rolled into your rent

- flexibility... if you don't like where you live you can move easily

- no need to pay agency commission because no need for an agent as the the most comprehensive hong kong serviced apartment guide in hk is online here 


Please note if you take a lease on a standard flat the period is generally 2 years... often you can get a break clause of 2 months notice after a year... but that would mean you pay two extra months rent...

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funbobby 16 yrs ago
Ed, I'm curious about your first point...I assumed that the maid service is similar to a hotel, not a traditional full time helper...if you had toddlers requiring childcare, you'd still have to hire an amah, no?

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Ed 16 yrs ago
I assumed the person making the enquiry was single... I've lived in a number of serviced apartments in HK and most had daily maid service and a twice a week change of bedding. If you need more help than that the only option would be to hire a part time maid but that is not legal unless the helper has local residency.

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drm888 16 yrs ago
For the same rate, a serviced apartment will likely offer you less space, minimal cooking and refrigeration facilities and likely only a coin operated laundry.

A one year lease will be harder to get (typically 2), but certainly available.

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funbobby 16 yrs ago
my question was more hypothetical than directed at the OP...in any case, assuming you could find a 3Br serviced apt (do these exist?) could you not hire a full-time live in maid if you needed one? (1 br for parents, one for child(ren), 1 for maid)

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axptguy38 16 yrs ago
As cyberience says you can get a two year lease and break it in 13-14 months.


You can certainly hire a live-in maid in a serviced apartment. All Immigration cares about is a) that you make more than 15k/mth and b) that she has her own space (does not technically need to be her own room).

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mayo 16 yrs ago
Pacific Place has good size 3brm apartments. They come at quite a price though. We stayed in one of the 2brm apartments there for a 6 months. It was very comfortable.

From memory maid service was twice a week my only problem was the washer dryer was an all-in-one but thats no biggie in the scheme of things.

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Ed 16 yrs ago
Best way to get info and deals from hong kong serviced apartments is to complete the form at the top of this page - it will fire out your requirements to over 90 apartments in hong kong


http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/property/serviced.asp

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artec_d 16 yrs ago
thank you so much for the useful information Ed. i suppose moving in with just my suitcase and a few essentials would be a lot more practical. at least until i can find an area that i would really to get a flat that i can rent.


it is true. there are benefits in having a flat. i can do my laundry. cook. if i am renting a studio or one bedroom flat, i do not really need to do much cleaning.

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artec_d 16 yrs ago
does anybody know how much commission does a property agent ask for?

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Ed 16 yrs ago
If you deal directly with serviced apartments no need to pay a commission


http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/property/serviced.asp

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axptguy38 16 yrs ago
"last time I paid 2 weeks rent and the landlord pays 2 weeks rent."


Same here. But as Ed says for serviced apartments there is no such.

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artec_d 16 yrs ago
thank you for all the responses. i already sent out the request form from asiaxpat. so, i will be reading through the responses. hopefully i can make a decision.


so that is two weeks for the agent, quite reasonable.

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