Hi everyone,
I'm only renting for now. Since I'm paying 15k, I'd like to pay a lot less. I saw some apartments I liked (the ones I hate have a long list) with sea views in the following:
All apartments are around 500-650 sq.
1) Chi Fu Gardens: older, but well-maintained, asking 9k, but can probably shoot for 7-8k
2) Pokfulam Terrace with facilities incl. in management fees around 11k, brand new
3) Grand Promenade in Sai Wan Ho around 11k, can probably shoot for less than 10k, brand new (of course), yuppie-stylish, MTR and buses, Tai Koo nearby
What do you think of these places? What are your experiences if you've lived there?
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1) Hi efficiency, good value if you can accept somewehere so old.
2) Good value for a brand new building - because of proximity to Wah Fu estate (Chinese don't like living near old public housing estates) and because of the rundown area... (grubby old supermarket, lack of restaurants, transvestite show just outside etc). Pool open only a couple of months each year.
3)Low efficiency, and you will probably end up using taxis if you work in Central as they are so much faster than the buses... the buses are express, but twiddle about at each end. Taxis will add a lot to your monthly costs.
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Hi Burgundy,
Thanks so much for your advice.
Chi Fu is 26 years-old. The ones I saw were old but well-taken care of. That is quite a rarity in HK to see an old apartment which is well-maintained. I don't get the sense that HKers (excuse the generalization) take care of their apartments very well.
Grand Promenade's efficiency wasn't so bad as famed. I've seen never developments with worse efficiency. But since there are 60 something floors, the lighting is somewhat dark even on 29th floor. Sai Wan Ho MTR is very close by.
As for Wah Fu - some of the residents, beneficiaries of public housing, have ironically been famed to benefit from the excellent feng shui (mountains on the back, sea in front). I was told that they became rich living there and then preferred paying high rent instead of moving out.
Have you heard of this?
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If you compare Grand Promenade with "Les Saisons" nearby, you will see a big difference in efficiency. I hate the MTR - standing in a crowded airless refrigerator! - so I had forgotten about that.
Wah Fu's fung shui is excellent... as you will see from the car park nearby, many residents have brand new S-class Mercedes! But not all residents have been so lucky, and the simple fact is that Chinese don't like buildings overlooking public estates. (You can buy units in Pokfulam Terrace for less than their price in 2004... one unit there has been on the market for 18 months, and the asking price goes down every month!)
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Hi Burgundy,
Interestingly enough, at least two feng shui masters have deemed Pok Fu Lam Terrace to be an awful location.
Feng shui technical details aside, Pok Fu Lam Terrace's Mainland developers aren't known to be such smart investors in HK. I heard they aren't as feng shui-savvy as their HK counterparts and hence chose a poor location.
The feng shui dude predicted that Pok Fu Lam Terrace's tenants have a tendency to leave or apartment units are unable to be sold - referring to your info that their prices are going down. What hot property in HK doesn't sell like hot cakes if things are done right (either from a feng shui or just a surveying perspective)?
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1. Chi Fu is good for efficiency. If you prefer buses over MTR, I think it is a good choice.
2. Never been to Pofulam Terrace- so no comments.
3. Grand Promenade has one of the best club house I have seen (second to Bel-air!). Since I think most units are bought by investors and vacancy is not high at all... and the club is like a private club! If you don't mind small bedrooms. I think they are okay.
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