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Viewing Properties
New Buildings and Old Buildings
Newer buildings, defined as less than ten fifteen years old, often provide less square footage than
other older buildings. The ‘gross’ square footage in the newer buildings, is calculated by dividing the
communal areas by the number of flats in the complex, exterior walls and so forth; and adding
it to
the actual square footage of the flat. Often this results in an overstatement of up to 20-30% of
the advertised space in terms of actual living space. The Government has more recently require
the developers to state the ‘saleable area’ which is closer to the net internal space.
Older buildings described as ‘colonial’ (usually no older than 50 years) or with ‘character’ provide
goodvalue inspace,generallyspeakinghigherceilings,andmore spaceforinbuiltcupboards.
However, unless the property has been renovated the bathrooms and kitchens can be outdated.
Some older buildings do provide facilities as well; conditions may vary.
Measurements
You will notice that the unit of measurement in Hong Kong is generally square feet. The following
chartisa roughguide tohelpyouconvertfromsquaremeters tosquarefootage.
Property Condition
Our dedicated team of Destination Consultants will accompany you in your search for a
home. You will find during the course of property viewing that many of the properties
will still be in the condition left by the previous tenant. As Landlords are not obliged to
renovate the apartment before the terms and conditions with a new tenant are officially
agreed, it is common that apartments are looking tired. Fixtures will have been moved,
showing marks and faded walls, and debris from previous tenants may still be strewn
about. You will often find that the electricity has been turned off; therefore, air
conditioning units will not be working, resulting in mold on the walls. At first it can be a
depressing experience, though a bit of imagination is required to see past this.
Your Destination Consultant can advise you about standard decoration requests you
can ask a landlord to fix, prior to signing a lease. Depending on the negotiation this
most often includes could range from painting the walls, sanding and polishing the
hardwood waxing the floors, cleaning the exhaust fans, professional cleaning among others.
Commuting Times
OneofthegreatbenefitsofmovingtoHongKong isthecommute toworkisgenerallymuch
shorter than what you currentlyhave.
Rush hour (when traffic is worst) is generally 8:15 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. in the mornings and 6 p.m. -
7:30 p.m. at night. So, if you plan to work hours that begin earlier and end earlier (or vice-versa),
your commuting time can be significantly reduced.
Square Meters
Square Feet
0.093
1
92.90
1,000
139.35
1,500
185.80
2,000
232.26
2,500
464.52
5,000