Location of House
While looking for a house in Seoul, I'm sure most of the people preferred to settle along the Green Line (Line 2) of the subway because it has all the hot and hip areas covered, such as Sinchon, Hongdae, Gangnam, Jamsil, and etc. However, as expected, the rent of houses located nearby these busy subway lines is usually way expensive. So, if you don't mind not living right in the middle of the hip areas, choose an area that is a few stations away from the hip area but still located along the same subway line. The houses are usually cheaper and slightly bigger too.
If you are looking for houses through a real estate agent (부동산), they usually don't tell you the full address of the house unless you are going to stay there. I am not sure of the reason behind it but I would guess that it is because if they give you the details of the address, you might find another agent who has rooms in the same building with better deals and end up signing through another agency. Hence, making them lose a potential business deal.
So what I learned from people around me is that you can track the exact location of the house using your location apps such as Kakao Map, Naver Map, or Google Map. The purpose of this is not necessarily to find a new agent for a possible better deal but to take a walk from the nearest subway station exit or bus station to the house. Sometimes, the real estate agents would give an incorrect estimate on how far the house is from the subway just to appeal it to you. And also, when you are house hunting with the agent, they usually take you around by car. You might miss little things that might become problems afterward, such as hills/steep roads that might be dangerous during rain or snow, no matter if you travel by car or by foot.
It is always good to visit the house twice before deciding whether or not to stay there. Once in the day, once at night. When you visit the house during the day, it is easier to see how well the sunshine is shining into the house, making sure it is not gloomy. When you visit the house during nighttime, you should see if the alleys and road to your house have sufficient street lights so that it is safer to stay there.
*Tips
Here are some phrases Koreans use when house hunting. It is better when you list all the phrases to the agent in advance of your house hunt so that the houses that they show you fulfill your requirements. Some of these phrases are called 부동산 신조어 because they are phrases that were made by the agents for easy understanding.
- 역세권 (house nearby subway station)
- 신축 (new buildings)
- 도세권 (house nearby roads)
- 스세권/맥세권/편세권 (house nearby Starbucks/McDonald's/Convenience store)
- 숲세권 (house nearby forest/nature)
Age of House
If you are looking for a house that is not relatively new, you might want to notice how old the building is. If it is too old, the electricity bill could be higher because it needs more electric power to heat the house during winter.
Besides, older houses tend to have older furniture and appliances. It might have its wear and tear during your stay there, which would cause you some headache when there are glitches and breakdowns. If the furniture and appliances look too old to use, make sure to ask the agent if the house owner is willing to change to a new one before your move-in date. Sometimes, if the house owner is sly, they might blame you or make you fork out for repairing fee when the appliances breakdown due to old age.
Condition of House
When you are not the first tenant to be moving into the house, there are probably a few "marks" of depreciation left by the previous tenant, which is hard or impossible to fix. For example, cracks on the wall/floor/tiles, burn marks on the induction cooktop, drilled holes on walls, wallpaper discoloration, etc. Make sure to take photos of those flaws in the house before you fully move in so that you can prove those are not damages made by you. Remember, the huge sum of the deposit that you pay before moving in will only be returned to you when you move out. But, if there are any damages made by you, the repairing fee and damage fee shall be borne by you. House owners would normally deduct it from the sum of the deposit that you paid or they would withhold it until you pay for the damage fee!
Also, check all the water pressure in the kitchen and bathroom when you go house hunting. Ask the agent politely if you can check the sink's water pressures and flush the toilet to see how well it flushes. Normally, high-rise apartments might have lower water pressure and older house might have weak toilet flush.
The electrical appliances (air-condition, washing machine, dryer, refrigerator and etc) in the houses normally have a sticker on them that shows the level of energy saving. Level 1 (green) is highly power saving so it uses lesser electricity to run, while Level 5 (red) is not power saving, hence it uses more electricity to run. There is nothing that you can do really, other than taking note of it because they can't change the electrical appliances. Just make sure it is not too old because the electric bill and breakdowns afterward will give you nightmares.
History of house
It is not necessary to ask about the previous tenant, but for me, I usually ask the agent the reason why the previous tenant decided to move out and how long did the tenant stay. Sometimes, the reason they move out can give you a hint of how satisfied the person has been with the house and possible problems that you could be facing if you were to stay there. There were times where the agent told me that the tenant moved because they realised that the distance of the house from the subway station is further than what the agent estimated at first and it was too far to walk. However, the agent explained that everybody has a different speed of walking and men walk faster (? - lol) so what he estimated might not apply to everybody.
If the previous tenant stayed there for quite a period of time, it is probably evidence that it is a nice place to stay, given that the person did not consider moving for a few years. In my case, my house's previous tenant was the first tenant to move in when the house is done furnishing and has stayed for 3 years.
System and Surrounding of House
Other than the rent that you have to pay monthly, there is a fee called management fee 관리비 that you have to pay alongside. In Korea, waste sorting is really important. When I was staying in a sharehouse, all the housemate has to do waste sorting and discard them every week in rotation. And since I am staying alone now, I have to do the waste sorting by myself. The management fee mentioned is the fee paid for the service of people who help you discard the waste that you have sorted AND the general management of the whole building apartment (cleaning of corridors, building maintenance, hiring of guardsmen (경비아저씨) and etc)
It is important to check the cleanliness of the building and its surroundings to make sure that the maintenance of the area is done well. Places that do not need management fees usually do not do waste sorting. In this case, food waste and general waste are all piled up together. This will attract strayed cats to visit for food. Also, sometimes when there are parcel deliveries, the postman would leave the parcel at the security office instead of in front of your door. This is to make sure that your parcel is not left unsupervised. There are parcel thieves in Korea too! I came across this note on the door while I was house hunting around. It is a note to the parcel thief from the owner.
Last but not least, instead of taking photos of the houses when you visit them, I highly suggest that you take videos of the room. Because after seeing houses for the whole day, you will not be able to remember clearly which picture belongs to which house, and how does the whole house structure/layout looks like by looking at only pictures. You can also take videos of people standing in the house moving around, so that you can estimate the width and space of the house.
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