Would anyone be so kind as to comment on seasonal housing availability?
I am coming to Taipei for a year to study Mandarin at NTU or Chengchi. Originally I was going to start in August, but am thinking about delaying until the Decemeber term. I was planning on shacking up at the International House or something until I got my bearings and went apartment/room hunting. I assume waiting until December will make finding housing more difficult, but will it be impossible?
Housing is relatively easy to find throughout the year.
In areas around universities there will be fewer choices than in summer but still won’t be difficult to find a place.
I’m not really a Mandarin native speaker, but hope this helps! I used romanized pinyin and hope my tones are correct! Good luck to you, househunters! 
Hello, I am looking for a place to live in this area --> Ni3 hao3, wo3 xian4 zai4 zai4 zhao3 zhe5 fu4 jin1 de5 fang2 zi5.
I hope to find a ______ to ____ ping apartment/house --> Wo3 xi1 wang4 ke3 yi3 zhao3 dao4 yi1 jia1 ____ ping2 dao4 _____ ping2 de5 fang3 zi5.
Does it come with furniture or not? --> You3 (has) mei3 you3 (or not) jia1 qu4 (furniture)?
The price range I am looking for is _________ to _________ dollars. --> Wo3 xi1 wang4 de5 fang2 chu1 shi4 da4 gai4 _______ dao ______ qian2.
*Btw, don’t think you need to give an approximate amount. Just state a price lowest to your lowest price and bargain from there. Giving a maximum amount will give them the leeway to offer you the maximum price. Just my .02. 
I do/don’t need a parking spot for a car. --> Wo3 xu1 yao4 (need) / bu2 xu1 yao4 (don’t need) ting2 che1 wei4.
How much is the guard fee? --> Guan2 li3 fei4 shi4 duo1 shao3 qian2?
Are pets allowed? --> Ke3 yi3 you3 dong1 wu4 ma5?
How much is the deposit? --> Ding4 jin1 duo1 shao3 qian2 ne5?
Just found my apartment after checking out 19 places in 4 days. I got a good deal and a premium location, all without the help of an agent. My Mandarin speaking skills is intermediate, but adequate when using phone calls, and the time alloted was Friday night, Saturday/Sunday daytime and Monday evening (since I had to work). Here’s how I found mine, hope it helps:
You can also go to the area you prefer and check out posters/flyers to get a cheaper price (usually placed around the area/phone booths), but since I’m working, I have to settle for online ads instead. The sites I used were:
a.) Tealit.com: http://www.tealit.com/ad_categories.php?language=en§ion_id=31
Ads are in English so great for foreigners. Beware, since landlords know they’re targeting non-locals, rent is particularly high. Negotiate, negotiate and negotiate!!!
b.) Forumosa Classifieds: http://forumosafieds.com/index.php?catid=7
Again in English, pictures are often attached so save you the hassle of checking places out before actually realizing it’s a dump. However, user interface not too convenient, and hard to see which areas these places are before clicking on their details.
c.) Yahoo! Rent Ads: http://tw.bid.yahoo.com/tw/2092096168-category.html?.r=1150425616
The best choice for me! The only downside is that it’s in Chinese, but you can ask your Taiwanese friend to help you translate. I just love the interface because it’s very specific with location, comes with pictures and all the details you need (e.g., rental price, address of place so you know area, facilities, etc.).
2) List down apartments that catch your eye and note important details.
Call and set appointment by area (e.g., in my experience, did the Houshanpi area on Friday night, Taipei City Hall/Hsimen area on Saturday, Yongzhun/Taipei City Hall on Sunday and the rest on Monday evening). I had a 40-minute leeway between apartments to give me time to check the place out, ask for details, etc.
3) Check places out. Best if you have scooter. If lost, ask them to pick you up from MRT.
It’s usually better to go straight to landlord than to agent, cause the latter charges you 1/2 to 1 month’s rent for services rendered. Ask important questions such as how much deposit, what the rent includes (usually includes ADSL, water, gas, cable, but not inclusive of electricity), pets, garbage duty, etc.
Tip: I would usually take pictures of each apartment I saw to help me remember, and make a note of my comments for each place. This helps me remember which is which since I checked out 19 places in a weekend.
Don’t lose hope, you can do it! Always better to have someone who can speak sufficient Mandarin since a lot of landlords can’t speak English at all. Good luck!
The cheapest kind of apartment is the studio apartment. A studio apartment usually comes furnished with air conditioning, bed, desk and chair, and clothes cabinet. There’s always a bathroom with shower and toilet. TV and refrigerator would cost extra. Studio apartments usually cost NT$4,000 to NT$7,000 a month. Upon signing the lease, you will need to pay NT$12,000 to NT$21,000 up front.
One bedroom apartments may or may not have a kitchen, and may or may not come furnished. Some come with two bathrooms. One bedroom apartments usually cost NT$8,000 to NT$15,000 per month. Upon signing the lease, you will need to pay NT$24,000 to NT$45,000 up front.
Two and three bedroom apartments usually have at least 2 bathrooms and a kitchen. They may or may not come furnished. Teachers usually pool their money together to rent such an apartment. Two and three bedroom apartments usually cost NT$15,000 to NT$30,000 per month. Upon signing the lease, you will need to pay NT$45,000 to NT$90,000 up front.
Aside from the rent, some apartments also collect a monthly maintenance fee. Depending on the building administrator, the maintenance fee may be collected monthly, semi monthly, or quarterly. Usually, you can get a discount when you pay for a couple of months in advance. The maintenance fee usually includes garbage collection, security, and electricity for the common areas like hallways, lobby and elevators. Maintenance fees range from NT$500 to NT$1,500 a month depending on the size of the apartment and services included.
Hi. So I answered a blind ad posted at my school for a room. Going to see it tomorrow. I’ve been up and down the thread here and picked up some useful info on deposits and the like. Guy who put up the ad is local but speaks English. I speak semi-servicable Mandarin. Key question: how do I know for sure if I am subletting from a tenant or renting a room from a landlord?
Anyone have any new advice? Horror stories? Good stories? Xie xie in advance.
Aww… I see my posts from last year.
If anyone uses a Palm OS device, I have a free app called “Taiwan Househunter” that I used to use myself when I was looking for rooms/taofangs/apartments in Taiwan. Not sure how useful it is but at least you look super-tech-cool while shopping around. PM me with an e-mail if you want a copy.
Great tips, Ironlady, thanks. I’m looking for an apartment in Taipei at the moment and that’s a useful checklist you posted. One thing I’d add is that it can be very nice to have some kind of garbage collection service provided so you don’t have to go out to meet the garbage truck at 7 in the morning or whenever.
I think it’s also worth checking out the mail arrangements, and I have a question about this. Do most people here have individual maiboxes for their own apartments, or do they share mailboxes with other tenants? If the latter, have there been any problems? The place I’m at right now has excellent security in all regards including this, but places I’ve been looking at don’t seem so great.
Excellent hint about the garbage. The last place I lived in did not have garbage service and, well, it did tend to pile up sometimes. Actually I think only one of the places I lived did have garbage service, but it was sure easy to get used to.
I always had an individual mailbox at least for my apartment. You can buy a spiffy green plastic mailbox in the “dongxi store” (you know, those stores that have everything, a lot of it plastic) and hang it up somplace near the other mailboxes with wire, indicating your apartment number on it. We did that in a couple of places where we lived in illegal rooftop places and there was never any problem getting mail.
If there’s furniture, air conditioners, lights or heck, even doors, find out who they belong to and what the deal is with them.
They might get removed before you arrive. Or, especially if they belonged to a previous tenant, you might inherit them and be expected to take them with you when you leave. If there’s stuff you don’t want, try to see it gone before you sign.
I have an entire bedroom upstairs filled with the landlord’s crap which never quite gets moved out, despite promises every month. She’s now been told that at the end of the month we’ll “help” her arrange some people to take it down to the dump and then subtract the cost from our rent … it might even work.
Always had individual mailboxes at then places I stayed.
Thanks everybody. 
FWIW, the place I looked at was in a nice part of Yonghe, a big improvement from my not so great part of Xindian. OTOH, I would be sharing with three adults and three kids. Still thinking about that, but I’ll use your pointers while looking at other places at Taiwanted, of course.
Always had individual mailboxes at then places I stayed.[/quote]Quite a few of the places I’m seeing and hearing about don’t have any provision for individual mailboxes. What do other people think about this?
In the UK, I lived in quote a few shared houses, and mail was never a problem. But it seems different to be sharing a mailbox with people in different apartments, who you may not know very well.
I have a crush on a rooftop place I looked at yesterday. Seems surprisingly sturdy brick and concrete, not the plaster and tin roof I was afraid of. Trolling other posts, I see that heat could be gruesome, though it has A/C and the one of the other tenants, who has been there two years, says the electricity bill per person averages about 700NT a month. Any other concerns I should have?
Bugs, if that bothers you. I was in a rooftop many years ago (in my tender youth) and at the first big rain, a whole Noah’s Ark of loathsome (and quite large) insects rushed into my accomodations. I have never forgotten the word for “bug spray” since.
Possibly, accomodation for folks who can’t climb stairs / that many stairs. Most rooftops have at least one flight of stairs (assuming there’s an elevator for the building) and many have more (like 5 and up) and that might be an issue for some. Of course for others it’s better than a gym membership.
Make sure of exactly what you’re responsible for – I had a friend moving out of an apartment whose landlord claimed that she was responsible for clearing away all the flowerpots on the rooftop (this despite the fact that she lived in the top floor apartment, not the rooftop, and that she had never touched or even had anything to do with the flowerpots, and they weren’t hers). Make sure you know if the landlord plans to pursue any “hobbies” up there (growing plants, having the occasional barbecue under the stars, whatever). The concept of “personal space” can be unique in Taiwan with regard to landlords and tenants at times, especially in grey areas like rooftops.
I got a lease agreement yesterday from a place I was interested in. I signed nothing since the agreement is in Chinese and had my aunt and uncle read it. They raised a couple concerns and I would appreciate other Forumosan’s feedback on these:
Any thoughts would be appreciated. I’m wondering if I should even try bargaining all this stuff out of the lease or just keep looking for another place.
Six months rent plus a deposit seems quite excessive to me. I’ve never had to pay anything like that. Usually one month deposit and that’s it. I’ve never heard of paying your landlord’s tax. Usually people won’t claim rent on their tax return so that the landlord doesn’t have to pay tax on the rental income. This deal should come with a decrease in the rent. I’m not sure if I like the second landlord deal. Who has final say in disputes? Where’s the original landlord and why can’t you just sign a lease with him but have the nephew manage the place.
Conveniently, auntie lives in Taizhong. I’m leaning towards quitting the whole deal.
Like Gilgamesh said, you don’t pay his tax, you just don’t claim the standard deduction for your rent. That way he doesn’t have to report your rent payments as income. Standard trick to save a couple bucks, but yeah, it should mean your rent is lower.