Lease termination

 Finally, social distancing restrictions have been relaxed. First time since December 8th. Gyms to reopen and dinner available up until 10 pm. In other news, I also received this whatsapp message from my landlord this morning.

"Morning, we regret to terminate the lease agreement as attached because we intend for self use when we purchased the flat. Thanks so much for your continuing support!"

Very annoying. Time to start looking for a new apartment.

Rental

Back in December right before my exams I received a message from Dennis. Dennis is the real estate agent who way back in 2011 helped me find my first apartment in Hong Kong. Since then, I occasionally pass him on the streets of Hong Kong but for the most part he is the person who handles the tenant-landlord relationship.

The message is as follows: "Hope you’re well. The lease will be expired in January, will you renew the contract?". I give a standard holding pattern that I will think about it. As a little bit of background, the dance usually goes as follows. I say that "I'll think about it", Dennis comes back a with a negotiated rental. I wait and then I agree to tenancy extension and life continues for another two years at Grandview Gardens; I've danced this dance 3 times and I have seen my rent increase 18% over 8 years. This time would be different. I politely decline and decide to end the tenancy.

Fast forward one month later. It's January and I have 16 days to find an apartment, and have made no progress. I start the rental viewing process again. The months of protest have not been kind to the rental market. People aren't moving and rental prices are starting to drop. Despite having a larger monthly budget, the problems from last time still exist. Small, over priced apartments. The search continues...

Absolutely Rental (Part 2)

A few months ago I received a message from my real estate agent, it was sent on behalf of my landlord. The message stated that my lease would be ending in October and that the landlord would allow me to extend my contract. The catch being, that a rate rise of 10% would be incurred. I told them I would consider the offer and let them know my decision by the end of September.

My current apartment is great, the location, the finishings for the price was good value. However, there were little things that annoyed me: the en-suite, the lack of storage, the small-ish kitchen and I was starting to get a bit bored of the neighbourhood. I decided that I would explore the market and see 'what else was out there'. I contacted my reliable agents from two years ago and embarked on what would be my second most testing experience with Hong Kong property.

Forty viewings in, I was reminded of the nightmarish Hong Kong rental market. Despite expanding my search to Causeway Bay and Wan Chai the extra districts proved to be fruitless. It was my last viewing that convinced me to stay at my current apartment. I was scheduled to see an apartment after work. The landlord was currently staying in the apartment and an appointment had to be made. I arranged a viewing with the agent at 7 pm.

Having escaped work early we managed to get to the apartment early at 6:50, we proceeded upstairs and found the front door ajar. How odd. The agent knocked on the door, "hello?". No answer, again we knocked and as we pushed the door open the landlord greeted us at the door. She was wearing nothing but a robe (that she was busily tying up) and a sheepish look on her face. "Uh, hi" she said, "welcome, come in". We walked in and immediately down the corridor to the left was the bedroom, I stuck my head in and saw a stark naked guy on the bed, he was frantically putting clothes on. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on here.

Shocked, I pretended to ask questions about the apartment. "So how do you find the size of the kitchen?" (Who shows somebody around an apartment in a satin robe?). "You mentioned that this place is completely furnished? Including the sofa, and erh, the bed?" (The very bed where that naked dude was lying?). "Twenty Two thousand per month?" (I need to get out of here!). "Let me think about it, and get back to you" (Screw this!). Upon leaving I messaged my agent and told him I would accept the new terms and conditions. Looks like I'll be here for at least another 12 months!

Moving day

This apartment hunt has dragged me to all the nooks and crannies of Central Hong Kong. It has been an adventure that has led me down urine spilled alleyways, up the stairwells of nameless walk-up properties and countless journeys on the Mid-levels escalator. The upside is that I now have a familiarity with Hong Kong and the various stairwells, streets, buildings and shortcuts in and around Central.

My conversations have, for the most part followed a typical schematic. It started off with "Have you found a job?", eventually moving to "Have you found an apartment?" to finally "How's your new place?". It's funny, but you would think that after sleeping on a couch for such a long time I would have moved out immediately. This has not been the case. Despite having the keys in my possession for over a week I still haven't moved into my new place. The truth is that I have been waiting for the delivery of my mattress so I have a place to sleep (as opposed to a pile of clothes), but also deep down I know that I'm having stouts of separation anxiety. Anxiety derived from having to say goodbye to my friends and the living room that has been nothing short of hospitable over the last seven months. I take a look at the room that has housed me and say goodbye to the friends that I have seen almost every waking hour. There's a sadness and an appropriate slowness as I collect my belongings and leave.

I quickly snap out of this melancholic daze as it dawns on me that my apartment is not even a 10 minute walk away.  I enter my new apartment block and take the lift up to the eleventh floor. I approach the door which has a lightly brushed oak finish, to be honest, I hardly recognise it, it's been some time since I was last here. I turn the key, there's no click, no chambers moving, I turn it the other way, still nothing. This leads to some frenetic jiggling. My bag slides from my shoulder and I use two hands to work the key into the keyhole. Just as I'm about to prop my leg up against the door frame the door opens. A head sticks out from inside "Can, I, erh, help you?". A reasonable question. Especially considering that I'm bent over with my key in their door. "This isn't Apartment C is it?" I ask. "Nope, C's that one." indicating to the adjacent door. That explains everything, "... Hi, I'm your new neighbour!".

In other news, my housemate this week found out that his company MF Global after 250 years has filed for bankruptcy. It's alarming that a company whose roots date back further than the discovery of Australia can be taken down in the space of a year. The 8th largest Bankruptcy in history and the first US casualty of the European Sovereign Debt Crisis. So as the the Greeks head into referendum and the world slowly falls apart I look forward to nothing more than sleeping in my own bed.

A spanner in the proverbial works

Unimpeded views of one of the most famous skylines in the world. Close to the escalator. Swimming pool, basketball court and onsite Karaoke room. Enough room to swing a cat, a large jungle cat. As you may have guessed I am not talking about my new apartment but the in fact the three bedroom apartment sourced by my two mates. The irony is, they were shown this place 1 week after I signed my contract, it's like a cruel prank played by the Hong Kong Rental Gods. Yet another instance where I am faced with a dilemma, stick with the new one bedroom or go along for ride and live in the Mansion.

So I draw up a table, "Pros" on one side "Cons" on the others. Cheaper rent, pro of a shared household. Complete privacy, pro of living alone. Living with two very close friends, pro of a shared household. Feeling like a recluse, con of living alone. Need to buy furnishings, con of living alone. They won't move out until January, pro of living alone. Not having to worry about how I get home, pro of a shared household. Ability to walk around the house naked, I mean freedom, pro of living alone.

The repercussions of prematurely ejecting from my contract would be to forfeit my two months deposit. Which will probably will offset any savings made by sharing rent/bills. It's a tough decision. However, since they don't have plans to move out until January 2012 I have decided that for the next few months, I'll experience and enjoy my time being that naked recluse.

Leased

Congratulations, they say. It's almost preposterous to think that I have seen over one hundred properties (84 single and 26 triple living arrangements). This isn't the first place that I've made an offer for, but it is the first place that the landlord has come back agreeing to my offer. One bedroom, unfurnished, open kitchen, oven, bright , modern and relatively central. I've met with the landlords, they don't speak much English, I don't speak much Cantonese. The contract, I sign. The deposit, 2 months rent for a two year contract with a one year break clause. Even then I still had hesitations, it's by no means my ideal apartment, I don't think I'll ever find that. But this little shoebox of a property will probably be as close as I can get with my budget and patience threshold. Congratulations, indeed.

First and foremost I need to buy a bed, once that's sorted I'll be looking to move out. I have most definitely overstayed my welcome, but it's been an excellent time living with two very close friends. Plenty of fun times, plenty of TV series and plenty of sport. Still I can't imagine how it feels to come home to me, the guy sleeping in the living room. Since I have started working, I've been helping out with the bills, chipping in for  electricity, water, gas and the helper. Still, how do I even begin to repay these guys?

"Spend a little more on your bed and shoes, because that's what you spend the most time in" - Heng, quoting somebody.

Absolutely Rental

When it comes to the priorities of settling down in a new country I would say occupation or a steady income is probably the most important. Coming in at a close second would be accommodation. This is where I still feel very dishevelled or very uncomfortable.

Waking each morning from a couch and living from a suitcase is no means a settled lifestyle. In fact, I feel about as comfortable as I imagine the UBS Rogue Trader felt the moment he found out about the Swiss Franc ceiling. Not to say that the accommodation hasn't been anything short of first class. I've had a huge living room, a cushy leather couch, broadband internet, a custom-made sheep rug and a massive 55" TV at my disposal. It's just I feel I've over welcomed my stay. Overstayed by six months. I have been here since the beginning of April! April, that was almost 2 seasons ago! That has got to be some record of dossing. I can already see all the chiropractors salivating at the thought of my mangled spine. It's not just my spine, think about the actual people who I'm staying with, I've become apart of the furniture.

Which probably makes you wonder, why haven't I moved out yet? Well, that's a very good question. Which is probably summed up best by describing the current Hong Kong Property Market. Shit. Succinct and deliberate. The market is so inflated it has forced buyers back into the rental market, which of course is saturated with tenants and a huge deficiency of properties. Basic supply and demand suggest that the prices can only do one thing, that is go up. Properties will appear and disappear in the market within a matter of hours. I might receive a call in the morning "I have a place which I think is perfect for you, do you want to view it this evening?" only to receive a follow up call a couple of hours later "Sorry, it was just leased, I'll keep looking for you". I originally had had an idea of what budget and what I could expect in return based on friend's experiences in the last year. However, speaking with property agents it appears prices on rental market have increased in the last 12 months - in some cases more than 25 percent!

With a budget and a will I have engaged the rental scene, viewing apartments in the Central, Mid-Levels and Sheung Wan area. This region of Hong Kong is extremely popular with foreigners, with a huge proportion of expat tenants occupying the high density area. Three weeks in and I've seen a lot of places but nothing that I can comfortably call home. I didn't really experience this in London as I was always flat-sharing, but Hong Kong is a different beast. Price per square foot, space efficiency rating, club facilities and city views are all factors in determining how much you will pay. I've seen Studios, 1 bedders, 2 bedders, walk-ups, tiny kitchens with a 1 stove elements, Hong Kong style wet-kitchens and bedrooms that barely fit a double bed. It makes London look spacious, it makes Australia look wasteful.

It's hard not to feel discouraged after seeing so many incompatible places yet I continue to arrange viewings each night after work. According to agents an average person will see anywhere between 5-10 places before they decide to sign the contract. I have seen at least 40 different places and don't feel like I'm getting close. The agents always try the hard sell saying that my budget and requirements aren't aligned. I give a non-committed answer and tell them that I'll think about it knowing that a decision has already been made. I figured if I'm going to be there for a year I might as well wait.

Am I too picky? Am I looking for something that doesn't exist? Does the thought of commitment cloud my judgement? These are questions I often ask myself, usually directed at relationships as opposed to property - uh, at least I'm consistent. Until then, I continue with the viewings and get comfortable with the idea of sleeping on the couch for a little bit longer ...

August: Week in review

It has been a very interesting last couple of days. My 6 months of unemployment sadly comes to an end with my first week at work. It's nice to have a little routine back in my life and the difficulties of waking up each day slowly returns. Starting a new job is always the most tedious period. Learning about the different functions that each person contributes and the interaction they will eventually have with your role. Making first impressions and gauging personality types and of course just remembering people's names. I'm terrible with people's names and the problem with starting a new job is that you meet so many people in a short period of time. Thankfully I've been given a seating chart with all the names. Then there's the hassle of setting up email/access accounts and just getting used to the system. At the end of the first week I still don't have a computer. An IT professional without a PC, I'm good, but I'm not that good.

Work aside, I have finally opened a Hong Kong bank account and applied for my HKID. Still, there's so many outstanding things that I need to sign up for. This week also marks my very first live performance in Hong Kong, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Surprisingly entertaining gig and almost every single expat in Hong Kong made the journey out to Asia World Expo to see them live.

In other parts of the world, the UK has been hit by a ravaging gang of morons wrecking havoc through London 'burbs. Quite a surreal feeling hearing about areas in London and seeing images on the news. Meanwhile in the United States, America has had its Credit Rating downgraded to AA+, first time since 1941. This has rocked economic confidence which has reflected in the global markets. Quite an interesting start to the new role with a broker.

"Where I go I just don't know, I got to got to gotta take it slow" - Red Hot Chilli Peppers

London Abodes

It's probably safe to say that my time spent in London isn't entirely made up of traveling, partying, exploring, absorbing London. It should then come as no surprise that a large percentage of my time is spent confined in my private quarters. The place where I sleep, laze, pass time, eat, read and ponder the greater issues in this life; more commonly known as my room. My stint in London has had me living out of different accommodations in the various boroughs of London. Here are my lodgings from the past half a year.


Upon arrival in London I dossed (n: Temporary make-shift bedding) for 2 weeks on a friend's couch in Paddington.


After forfeiting his lease, thereby leaving himself and I homeless I found myself short-letting with another friend at a discounted rent of £200/PCM in Highbury and Islington.


Upon completion of that short-let I managed to pick up a 3 month short-let in the suburb of Royal Oak.


Which finally brings me to my current dwelling in Soho, Tottenham Court Road. I can quite confidently say that this will not be the last place of residence in London.