Hello, This Wednesday I’ll travel to Taiwan and stay at Tainan for 6 month.
Since last week I’ve contacted few landlords using FB and a landlord DMed me about his flat for rent. However when I asked for address he didn’t sent the full address but only: it’s on the opposite of TS mall. Is this a shady thing? Most of the landlords just post their rental property with address included. However this landlord never posted his property on the group and have not give me his rental address.
I hope this fella ain’t scamming cus I’m out of option for housing. Also tips and things to do to prevent myself from being scammed will be much appreciated.
oh no, he is the only landlord i contacted, since i only stay for 6 month in Tainan, most other landlord prefer 12 month lease.
I was thinking about meeting him on the premise and then seal the deal there and then. OFC ill ask for the key and rental agreement. Is it still advisable to deal with him?
You can still try to bargain for a shorter lease. Be aware that most landlords will charge more.
If the apartment is up to your standards and a good deal, it could still work out. But be prepared that the deal might fall through and you might need to get a hotel on short notice anyways.
He just said that he will give the address on the day we supposed to meet (Thu).
By the looks of it, seems like he the no.2 of your category (the tax dodge one)
That means I should expect the lease will be contract-less? Dealing with these dodgy landlord/ agent makes me nervous… what if they took my kidneys :o
No, landlords not paying taxes is rather normal. You should still get a contract - and might even be able to pay rent by bank transfer. The contract might include some clause that you’re not allowed to claim the rent for tax purposes, though.
Could also be that the apartment is an illegal addition or something. But these are common, too…
Welcome to Taiwan!
But on a more serious note: The worst thing that can happen is usually that landlords try to rent you shitty places for inflated prices. So be prepared to walk away and don’t allow them to put pressure on you by using any kind of scare tactics (“If you don’t pay a deposit now, I will rent the place to someone else” or similar).
Usually no need to worry about your kindeys
Another reason he might not want to divulge the address is because the building might not allow Airbnb type short term rentals.
I had a friend come from Germany to stay for a month in downtown Taipei. When I went to visit him I saw A4 sized signs plastered all over the lobby walls, elevator doors, inside the elevators and on the floors stating in both English and Chinese that Airbnb was absolutely prohibited.
When I asked him how he managed to get it, he said that the landlord told him that if any neighbors or building management asked that he was to say that his Taiwanese wife was a family member.
You just jogged my memory about an acquaintance who was doing Airbnb until he got busted.
So, this guy I know rented three small 25 ping apartments in a somewhat derelict building near Baishawan. All three had recently been remodeled inside by the owners of their respective units and were clean and comfortable. He was paying about $7,000 NTD per month for each unit. Instead of living in them, he put them up on Airbnb for $1,500 per night on the weekdays and $2,000 per night on the weekends and holidays.
Everything was going great, until one of his neighbors reported him for running illegal/unregistered Airbnb units. The officials showed up and shut his ass down immediately and also fined him 150,000 NTD per unit! Probably hammered him extra hard because he’s a foreigner.
That was the end of his Airbnb cash cow days. He managed to do it for about 2 years before getting caught. Oh, and the fuckwad neighbor that reported him? He was just a renter, too and he moved out of the building two weeks after made his report. So, it looks like he wasn’t being disturbed by the guests, but just felt jealous that a foreigner was making money hand over fist so reported him completely out of spite.
I found out all the details about this because I went to him one fine day to try to get one of his places for another acquaintance of mine who was coming up from Tainan for a week and that’s when he told me what had transpired.
However since I’m renting for 6 month instead of BNB hopping, I shouldn’t get into trouble with the real land lord right? I hope he can give me some contract tho
Way to cheap for an AirBnb type of situation. Maybe it’s a subdivided larger apartment?
If you pay a deposit (which I assume you will have to - 2 months maximum per law), you should definitely demand some sort of contract if not offered.
And definitely some proof you actually paid. If you actually take the place, make sure to take some pictures (especially of potential damages), so you have some proof if the lease ends on bad terms.
I’ll put that in mind, I’ll ask my senior to accompany me for unit checking and deal signing.
3.its a bit hard to find 6 month rent at my price range 5-6k/m. And worse, the time is unpractical to get a unit on short notice too.
no, electricity not included. It’s 4.5 per unit but also shares the cost of public electricity use (I guess washing machine and lights?)
From the pics of the unit he sent me via FB it does have AC
To anyone interested in the price/ unit this is the listing:
●出租：套房
●地點：東區
●坪數：5坪
●租金：5500元
●押金：2個月
●水費：100元／月
●電費：4.5元／度
(分攤公共電費）
●機車位：有
●洗衣機：有（專用）
●對外窗：有
●管理費：無
