Our family is currently in Beitou and planning to move to Linkou (because of international schools there). We’re wondering if anybody can give advice on the housing situation there.
For background: we are a family of five (three boys ages 7/5/3), and our current apartment experience is a nightmare, with grumpy downstairs neighbors who complain at our boys’ every move, and retaliate by intentionally smoking indoors so that their smoke enters our unit through the vents (we’ve done extensive research, and the vents cannot be blocked because of issues particular to our building’s construction). This has been traumatizing, to the point that I get a physiological fight/flight response (heart thumping, cold sweats, etc) whenever I hear our boys make noise, for fear that the neighbors might retaliate.
I want to ensure that a similar situation will not arise in our next home - that we can let the boys play freely at home without getting stressed, and also that neighbors’ smoking entering our unit will not be a problem. It seems to me that the only way to ensure this would be to rent a first floor unit (or 2nd floor in a big high rise with lobby) so that nobody lives below us. Or, rent a standalone house (but I assume they’re quite expensive).
Are there any other living arrangement options that might fit what I’m looking for? I’ve looked around quite a bit on 591.com, but finding something that seems right hasn’t been easy. I’m wondering if anybody has personal experience living in the Linkou area and can give tips about what things are like there.
Linkou has lots of apartments without basements where the parking is on the first floor. Shouldn’t be hard to find a second floor with parking below. Problem is most will be small for 5 people.
i sympathize, out of 4 apartments i rented in taiwan, 2 had nasty downstairs neighbors. the one that didnt have downstairs neighbors, had upstairs ones that would move furniture at 1 am.
its a risk that can always arise.
my advice:
dont take too much to heart, and keep living your life. as long as you are in your house, you can do what you want within reason, and so can your neighbors (meaning that smoking indoors in their own apartment is totally fine, if they were to burn tires in the street to smoke you out its a different issue)
Thank you for this info. Do you mean that there is an indoor parking lot on the first floor, as part of the apartment building? Would there be a way to tell from looking at the outside of the building whether or not the 2nd floor will be the lowest occupied floor? Or is there a way to discern this info from descriptions on the 591.com website?
Yes, indoor but open at the front, so you can easily see it. If you see one of those makeshift buildings they use to sell future apartments in the area you’re looking at, go in and ask the ladies about nearby rentals. Usually those agents also run rental schemes and will have lots of options for you.
No opinions on that area. But about shitt neighbours. The only option i have found is to move to stand alone houses . I can only live like this now precisely because i need a break from nosy assholes, at least at night
Apartments seem like almost garaunteed eventual stress. People that havent had that are quite lucky
Even row housing is better. At least you eliminate at least 2 out of the 5 possible sides of perpetual inyourshitisms.
In the community I live in there have been a few successful prosecutions of people for smoking in their apartments when the smoke travels through the vents to their neighbors. I don’t know under what grounds they sued but the results were regularly posted on our notice boards with renewed warnings to smokers to not smoke in bathrooms in particular. If you intend to live there for a longer term you could look into it.
Have some sympathy for your neighbors though, 3 and 5 year olds do tend to be very heel thumpy when they walk, or worse run. on tiles. We got a huge number of foam pads and lined everywhere in the apartment that the kids would regularly use when they were younger.
This is a bizarre Taiwanese habit that I will never understand. Our upstairs neighbors are often at it, usually starts after midnight. Our community also put up notices asking residents to restrict furniture moving to day time hours so it seems to be a common issue.
Go to a realtor in Linkou and tell them what you want and what you don’t want. I know they’re mainly selling properties, but they can also help you find rentals. You pay them a commission if you reach a deal with a landlord. It’s worth it considering the time and energy you’ll save.
This sounds like a good option, although I have no idea as to rental availability or price. Linkou seems to have a lot of newer construction so you might be able to find something, especially through an agent.
I think the Chinese word is 透天厝 tòutiāncuò if you want to search yourself.
Thank you all for the helpful housing tips. Regarding realtors, are they generally trustworthy or will they try to scam you if possible? Are there particular things to watch out for? Or any particular realtors or companies that you’d recommend?
It is hard to tell who is going to be a good neighbor or not. Sometimes, the building owner won’t tell you. Sometimes, other people’s experience may not be the same. But, I can advice you to rent those 4 story buildings that don’t have many tenants. Try to rent a place where your neighbors are also family people with children. So, they will understand. You can find an area near the playground. So, your kids can play.
What international schools would you be interested in? Rather than Linkou, may I propose Taoyuan? Newer buildings, more international, stand alone homes also available, at reasonable prices.
Like standalone homes may not be that expensive, say section 6 in Tianmu, hills of Xindian or Nangang, even Linkou. But you will require a car and plan for the kids’ transportation wherever you choose. Most standalones are a bit off the beaten track.
Mostly you need to live close to a park or riverside where the kids can play and spend energy so they can be less energetic at home.
That said I do find the neighbors’ retaliation by smoking quite disgusting.
I would say finding better quality neighbors is part income/education issue, but mostly luck.
It has been my experience that realtors are not trust worthy at all . But thats a broad brush. Surely there are some good ones. Like a mechanic or used car salesman. Expect the same. Go in educated
Do you speak mandarin or have someone close that does? If budget is a oncern you will almost certainly save loads of money avoiding agents and finding them yourself. The money lost each month times however many months you live there isnt small. But maybe some agents just pass on phone numbers and get a lump sum thank you fee. The ones i have seen tend to manage properties and they get a slice each month. In my area normal full house rentals are 4000~8000. Real estate agencies i have yet to see anything under 12000. He figures dont matter each area is different. But the differences in figures are fairly important to some.
I’ve lived in many apartments in Taipei over the years. The one that I’ve been most satisfied with was found through a realtor. It turned out that the landlord didn’t want to actively advertise his place, but wanted the realtor to find someone “respectable” and screen out any “undesirable” tenants. Well I was glad I made the cut, and the place – a well managed, gated community – was nice to live in. So it works both ways. As you choose an apartment, a landlord is choosing a good tenant, and many good places are rented only through realtors.
Our 7 year old is currently homeschooling, but possibly thinking to send them to a school in the next few years. We’re considering Linkou because we heard there’s several international schools there that are cheaper (than, say, TAS) - but no concrete plans yet.
Could you tell me more about Taoyuan? My experience in Taiwan is limited to living in Beitou for two years, and much of what I’ve read on this forum makes Taoyuan sound like a pretty dreary and run down place, so I’d be interested to hear your thoughts. We do plan to buy a car, so being a little bit off the beaten track won’t be a huge issue (though convenience is still nicer).
In terms of language, my wife is fluent in Mandarin. Could you tell me more about realtors charging higher prices? My understanding was that you just pay the middleman a half month’s rent upfront fee, I didn’t know rental prices can cost more through a realtor. Is this particularly for properties where the realtor manages the rental on behalf of the owner?
FYI, for two years we’ve tried everything to appease our neighbors. We’ve spent over $8000 NTD buying 3cm thick foam mats to cover our entire floor in double layers. And we’ve been extremely conscientious about keeping the kids quiet indoors - but if they make noise for even literally 5 minutes (say, when we’re doing dishes or in the bathroom so unable to engage the kids), immediately downstairs neighbors start banging on the ceiling and smoking. We’ve tried telling them we’re already doing our best to keep noise down, but they simply called us liars and that not we’re trying hard enough. We’ve brought them gifts, which they rejected. In the end we’ve concluded that the neighbors simply have unreasonable expectations, which we cannot meet.
All that to say, I’d appreciate any meaningful advice on how to find a better living arrangements in Taiwan that works for our family. But snide remarks are neither necessary nor helpful.
In my experience the realtors take a month’s rent, half from each side. So you’ll basically be unaffected. Give two month’s deposit and a half month’s rent to the realtor and the lessor for the first month.
Same here. For my current place it was money well spent because the agent:
Sided with me to convince the doubtful landlord that an 11-year permanent resident with stable work history was worth “taking a risk” on . (Landlord was a suspicious-of-foreigners 歐巴桑, the agent a young hip Taiwanese dude)
Read through the rental contract, found a newly illegal clause, and made the landlord change it.
Saw that the place didn’t have a mattress and asked if I had my own. I answered no, whereby he told the landlord she needed to buy me one. When she balked at first, he got perturbed and told her she needed to get one, and he even added that it should be a quality imported mattress because that’s what foreigners are used to! Sure enough, a brand new German-made mattress was waiting for me when I moved in.
Totally worth the half-month fee.
@Hkamugae This is an 歐巴桑, in case you didn’t know…
. (Landlord was a suspicious-of-foreigners 歐巴桑, the agent a young hip Taiwanese dude)
