I’ve lived in Taiwan for a few years and had good but extremely overpriced apartment rentals. I am determined to find a rental that is sustainable this year. I’m comparing what I have to friends who have good deals on apartments, and none of them used 591 to find them. We all know 591 is a last resort with overpriced listings with photos that look like they are from the SAW movies.
Too many landlords (outside Taipei) won’t rent to immigrants. Agents have total apathy and just send random listings from 591. Facebook groups that I have tried are a 1:20 ratio of apartment rentals to unwanted land or property sales and spam.
I don’t live in Taipei (or any of the major cities), so services tell me I am outside their area, but this could be done remotely. Is there no one capitalizing on this economy? Is it really such a bad experience that no one will do it even if getting paid? I’m willing to pay a bilingual agent or freelancer to wade through the slop, contact landlords, and help me find something decent.
Does anyone know a person or service that actually does this? Has someone made an AI that can do this? (LOL)
The market of foreigners living outside the major cities who want to pay someone to find their apartment is probably not large enough to make a business out of.
IME the agents were useless. Chances are, you’re better off checking for what you want yourself.
I found 2 apartments in 591. The thing was both times I spent 4 to 6 months checking almost daily and then when I found something I liked I acted quickly and then negotiated wisely. Both times were good deals. The first time was such a good deal that my landlord gave me 6 months notice that he wanted to raise the rent 25%. This was not unfair all things considered, and he told me when I got the full deposit back that the new tenant was paying it. Now I’m paying 40% less than I was for a place that I like a lot more.
I read on here that I should go around areas I wanted to live looking for “for rent” signs in Chinese. Tried that for a few months but it didn’t work for me, has worked for others
591 is the first step. You just have to be constantly checking it and contact as soon as possible. I visited a place with SAW-like pictures and it was one of the nicest apartments I ever visited, but the landlord just didn’t know how to use a camera.
I think the most important thing is, can you speak Chinese? If not, good luck!
I wouldn’t expect someone to focus only on that small niche market. But, the market of foreigners in all of Taiwan who need specific services, most of which can be done online/remotely and mainly require communication skills would be much broader.
Not on the level where I can make a phone call. If they have LINE, easy, but many landlords are old as dirt and have phone call as the only option.
The listings on 591 can seem horrible–I laughed in agreement at the Saw comparison—but if you have the time and persistence it can be done. At least that’s been my experience for the 8 apartments I’ve lived in in Taoyuan and Hualian.
Yeah that is the crux of the issue, it takes time, communication, networking, and lots of dead ends before you find the right place. For someone who works full-time, has a family to take care of, blah blah, that is a lot. Really, hunting for housing in every market or country involves similar efforts, which is why in many places there are people who you can outsource that work to. And if there is a language barrier, there are people who will even charge a premium to do that work because there are people desperate enough to pay (me!).
Well, the next step is to find a realtor that cares. Some of my friends have been lucky to find nice apartments through real estate agents. It also takes time. If one doesn’t work, leave, try another.
