My Korean Life #26: House Hunting Part 2 - Visiting Real Estate Agencies

Part 2: Visiting Agencies and Properties

So you know what kind of property you want to see...now it's time to visit real estate agencies! Below is the list I visited and some details about each. The real estate agents can't read your mind so don't be afraid to tell them right off the bat if you don't like something. They probably have a variety of other places to show you.

Real Estate Agency #1, 2nd floor office (Visited on a Saturday):

• Before leaving the office to view properties we previewed a couple on his computer.
• Saw about 6 properties (Twice we saw two different rooms in the same property).
• Agent was a male, 30s.
• The first thing he asked me was what I was willing to pay for the deposit and monthly rent.
• First we walked to some properties and then were driven in his car to others.
• Was very friendly, not pushy, and told me my Korean was good :)
• After seeing the properties he dropped us back off near his office and said just to call if any tickled my fancy.
• Of the viewed properties, 2 were pretty nice.
• Of the viewed properties, the rest were either too small, too old, or just not what I was quite looking for.

Real Estate Agency #2, 2nd floor office above a coffee shop (Visited on a Saturday):

• Saw 2 properties (was going to see a third but he said the room was smaller than the other two so we skipped out)
• Agent was a male but had a female co-worker also in the office when we visited, bigger office than the first agency
• Again, the first thing I was asked was what I was willing to pay
• We were driven to all the properties
• He was also friendly, not pushy, but seemed in more of a rush than the other guy, he also said my Korean was good.
• After seeing properties he asked us where we'd like to be dropped off, and we were dropped off at the subway station. 
• He also said to just call if any were to my liking.
• Of the viewed properties, 1 I really liked.

Real Estate Agency #3, 2nd basement office (Visited on a Wednesday):

• Before leaving the office to view properties we previewed many on his computer.
• Saw 4 properties (Planned on seeing more but one was much older than the others so we skipped it)
• Agent was male and had a few employees (one male, one female that I saw), spoke very good English and caters to the foreign student market in the area
• Again, it's all based upon how much money you can afford for the deposit and rent
• Was driven to all the properties.
• Of the viewed properties, 1 was my favorite out of all viewed properties thus far.
• He said the one I liked the most is very popular and empty so it will be hard to get unless I make a move fast.
• Besides the one that was my favorite, there wasn't any pressure to make a quick decision.

Overall I saw close to 15 properties spread out over 3 visits to real estate agent offices. Sometimes the building owner was there to show us around the property, other times we just let ourselves in. Many of the rooms still had residents inside so sometimes we were greeted by the person who still lives there. All of the residents we saw were civil and friendly and didn't make a big deal about us barging in. From what I hear this is kind of normal procedure, even some of my ex-pat friends have gotten calls from their building owner asking for their door code or if they are actually there or not so that the apartment can be shown.

Part 3 will cover making a decision and signing the contract.

My Korean Life #25: House Hunting Part 1 - Before You Go

This mini-series within "My Korean Life" will document me finding a one-room (studio apartment) here in Korea. <NOTE: There is something called the jeonse (전세) system in Korea but normally that requires $80,000 - $125,000+ upfront, I will not be addressing this system>

Part 1: Research and Preparation

Research where you want to live first of all. Then you can start to look online or visit the windows of real estate agents and browse possible rooms. In Korea there is a very popular app called "직방" which I used to find some open rooms. They may not show you the exact apartment you saw online or the app due to the heavy turn over but they will show you similar properties or whatever is in your price range. Most every room has a negotiable price. Prices published online are normally what the building owner prefers but that is not set in stone.

If your Korean is...still in development...then feel free to bring along a Korean friend with you. I did on my first two visits to agencies but honestly (and my Korean friend said this to me) she didn't need to be there. My Korean was good enough. The 3rd agent I visited speaks English well so we talked mostly in English.

First thing you should KNOW (not a maybe and not an "I don't know") is the MAX you are willing to pay for both the security deposit (보증금) and monthly rent (월세). They will also ask you when you want to move in (an estimate is fine). I gave about one or two weeks out. You also don't want to go to the real estate agency too soon (maybe within 2-4 weeks of you wanting to move unless you need more time to plan or want to look at multiple areas of town).

They may also ask what is important to you or what size of room you want. They may reference an old area measurement called pyeong (평). If looking at one-rooms I suggest at least 6 pyeong (~213.5 sq.ft. or ~19.8 sqm).

They may also ask you about the options you want, this means what is included when you rent the apartment. Most will come some furniture like a desk or wardrobe. MANY DO NOT COME WITH A BED but sometimes this can be negotiated into the contract options. Just check with the real estate agent on what the options are PER PROPERTY.

If you visit multiple properties in the same neighborhood, remember where you have been as real estate agents may share regions, neighborhoods, or property building listings.

Checklist (pre-visit)

• Preferred location
• Max Deposit and Max Rent Amount. Most properties are negotiable.
• Preferred size (in pyeong or square meters)
• Preferred options (bed, desk, refrigerator, wardrobe, etc)
• Move-in Date
• Term of lease (Normally 1 year but some can negotiate less than a year or more than a year depending on the building owner)

Part 2 will cover visiting properties.

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