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  • 1 Post By olliereid

rental agencies for Discovery Bay

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    24

    rental agencies for Discovery Bay

    Hello,we are planning to move to DB, coming to see it soon, could anyone recommend any estate agents for rental properties in DB. I have looked at hongkonghomes website.

    Thank you,


  2. #2
    Waterloo

    I live in DB. U've been here before? There are two real estate agent branches in the plaza. They are branches from very big names in hk. When you got here, you may also go to ParknShop and grab a DB Magazine, you will find some advertisements. Those you even pay no agency fees.


  3. #3
    Waterloo

    DB magazine is free, by the way, just ask ppl when you can get it when you are here, it's difficult to describe it here.


  4. #4

    Join Date
    May 2005
    Posts
    4,279

    Ring Gloria Suen of Star Property on 2987-2343 - highly recommended.


  5. #5

    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    24

    Thank you!
    I havent been there before but we shall be visiting beginning of October. Are there any agencies who have website details etc? to llok at some properties and get an idea of what phases are good?


  6. #6

    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Posts
    14
    http://www.serenedb.com
    http://www.kaman.com.hk

    that's from the top of my head. There are definitely more.

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Posts
    31

    Thumbs up Kaman

    Big thumbs up and recommendation for Sandra Jones at Kaman. She was a huge help - she has experience - she has excellent contacts - she was great. We found a great place and we have her to thank for it.


  8. #8

    I would highly recommend Charles from Headland Homes, was very helpful and went beyond his duty to help out my husband and i would personally keep going back to him when i need another property. Charles King 61407971 29872088

    Last edited by saffron01; 14-07-2010 at 11:32 AM.

  9. #9

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    26

    After living around Shatin for nearly a year, I am moving to DB this week and used several agencies in my search. Here is my experience:

    1) I started searching online but quickly found out that many online agency websites do not in fact list all the properties that they have on their books. Moreover, some online listing are out of date and were already leased a while ago. So you need to actually go to DB and in to the offices of these places to get a true idea of what is available.

    2) Many things in HK are negotiable, and that includes the lease price. In other words, unlike the UK for example, if you see a property advertised then if you like it the agent may be able to negotiate with the owner a rental price lower than advertised-by between 10-20%. All you need to do is ask them to at least try-I got my property nearly 20% cheaper than the advertised monthly price.

    3) To get a feel of the general variety and prices of property in DB, then visit:

    Hong Kong property & real estate - find Hong Kong apartments, flats, accommodation- Square-Foot

    Click on the Rent tab, then click on Lantau, Discovery Bay. The website pools together various properties from different agents so you get a good repreentative sample size, and an idea of what agents have properties there. You can also sort accroding to size, price, location etc, and it has a locator map for the respective properties so you can see exactly where in DB they are situated.

    4) You will notice that property close to the ferry pier and plaza is higher the priced, so there is a much better selection of value and supply further away. However, if you live beyond a short walking distance to the pier, then you have to rely on the bus service (cheap, regular but not always exactly on time), or use a golf cart which costs around HK$6-8K per month (ie expensive unless you are on a decent expat package).

    4) In addition to the usual things for property hunting, there ar properties with stunning views of DB, but the window areas are so large that the rooms can get incredibly hot in the summer time, so you need good aircon (check to make sure it works and is not noisy). Some kitchens have oven rings but do not actually have a proper stove underneath for your roast. Some properties, but not all, have a decent size balcony, which is always preferable even for utilitarian uses such as drying your clothes (if there is no drying machine). If the property comes furnished with a leather sofa, then check to make sure it is not going mouldy because of the high humidity. If the property has not yet been redecorated, then it may be several weeks before you can move in.

    5) If you want to rent a place then its two months deposit, plus months rent plus two weeks rent for the agency fee, equaling three and a half months of rent payment upfront. Retaining deposit is equal to one month's rent and lasts for two weeks. There is also a small HK tax of a few hundred HK Dollars to add as well.

    6) Overall, I thought the various property agencies that I used in DB were professional, and the agents spoke good English. The best selection and service was from EPS Properties. I had an excellent service there from a gentleman named Louis:

    EPS Property Consultants Ltd. 中 天 物 業

    Louis Mobile Contact Number: 692 55961

    EPS Mainlaine Number: 2987 2023

    You can say that a British expat recommendaed you.

    Good luck with your search.