Buying property in Tai Po - advice needed

Hi all,


We are thinking about buying property in Tai Po, but we really need some advice about how it all works here, hidden costs, etc. All the property agents that advertise on AsiaXpat seem to specialise in HK Island (except the occasional mention of Hong Lok Yuen, which is beyond our budget).


The whole thought of dealing with real estate agents makes me hyperventilate - I don't even know where to start! In Australia I would just look on the web, but the estate agents here don't seem to have good online listings. I know nothing about management fees, hidden costs, mortgages in HK, or how real estate agents here operate. Should we get a local colleague to assist us - I don't even know if the local real estate agents speak English.


As you can see, the whole thing is stressing me out, and we haven't even started looking at property yet! Any advice or recommendations would be extremely welcome (send me a private message if you don't want to post here).

Oldhand, I've sent you a pm with my email address.