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...
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...
No comments:
Post a Comment