We at Berlin Realty are happy to be of service to you and your family.

We thank you for the opportunity to introduce Berlin realty.

Please allow me to give you a bit of our background.

 

Berlin’s staff has serving the expatriate community in Taipei for over 15 years, and we were the first to employ an experienced western expatriate to assist our foreign clientele in obtaining housing accommodations appropriate to their needs.

 

We provide an informal but thorough overall service for newly arriving clients. This includes:

 

l A review of housing needs, dependent on budget , family size,

    preference, schooling needs, available family transport, activities and other personal factors.

 

l A review of educational facilities, and requirements.

 

l Assistance to the spouse in locating household furnishing, appliances, handymen…,etc.

 

l A review of available food markets, by housing area, particularly those catering to western palates.

 

l An overview of the Taipei lifestyle including relationships with our Chinese host/neighbors, local 

    entertainment, restaurants, shopping…,etc.

 

l An introduction to the wonderful expatriate community of Taiwan, which has consistently

    welcomed new arrivals and eased any possible cultural shocks.

 

Once again we welcome you to Taiwan and hopefully you will give

Berlin Realty a chance to be at your service. Thank you very much.

  

2009 EXPAT RESIDENT PROPERTY SURVEY

 

Housing and the “EX-PAT”

 

Relocating is stressful on everyone. It is particularly difficult when moving to a new country. To help ease culture shock, the most important thing is finding a new home.

At Berlin Realty, we understand this. For over 15 years we have specialized in helping the Foreign Community of Taipei to find the best homes to fit their special needs.

 

When looking for a home in a new country it is difficult to decide where to live, what kind of budget to set, when to look, and generally, what to expect. The following will help in these decisions.

 

Neighbourhoods：

 

    Tien Mou, located at distance of approx. 10kms. from the city centre. This area is known as the

    centre for the “expat” life and it contains most “expat” shops.

   

   Yangmingshan, located at a distance of 12-20 kms. from the city centre. This is a mountainous area,

   cool and pollution-free (but damp and cloudy too).

 

   Wellington Heights, located at a distance of 13-14 kms. from the city centre. This area is remote from

   shops, schools and other amenities.

 

   Some expatriate tenants are now opting to lease in the downtown city area of Taipei. This is primarily due

   to increasing  commuting delays arising from traffic congestion.  However, those exercising this option are

   almost always singles or couples without children since the downtown area is remote from the schools and

   suffers from some of the worst air pollution.

　

Availability：

    Sporadic. Early summer and spring yield the best choices. September and autumn are

    difficult periods since most new arrivals have settled in by then for the new school term.

 

   Apartments are still in far greater demand than houses are. This has a lot to do with the

   fact that apartments are generally much more secure than houses are. This can lead to the

   best apartments matching the best houses, in terms of prices.

 

Charges & Utilities：

   For apartments as well as for houses, no utility charges are ever included in the rental price quoted.

 

   Service charges are levied separately and range anywhere between NT$2,000- NT$25,000  per month.

　

   For garage space a tenant must expect to pay NT$5,000 to NT$10,000 per month.

   However, most good apartments have garage space included in the lease.

　

   An upper-limit guesstimate for the energy bill of a well-insulated large house is:  NT$20,000 per month.

　

   Leasing in the name of a corporation from a private landlord brings with it the liability  for a tax of 10%. 

   Leasing a home from a corporation brings with it liability for VAT of  5%.

　

   Installation of a telephone or ADSL takes 3-5 days.

 

Public Transport：

    All areas are served by extensive bus route, except for Wellignton Heights. Traffic congestion in and near

   the city centre can be acute.

   Taxis are abundant.  Both buses and taxis are subject to the same traffic problems as private cars. Transit

   to city centre 25-30 mins. " off-peak" In "peak hours" it can take 45-60 mins.

 

Schools：

   American and Japanese schools are located in Tien Mou.  This area also provides the best

   access to the facility on the fringe of Tien Mou area now shared by the British Junior 

   School up to the age of 9, thus enhancing further the convenience of this area. German,

   French and British Senior Schools are located in Shan-Zai-Hou, Yang Ming Shan.

 

Housing Types：

Tien Mou has mostly apartments, ranging from old to quite modern, usually-with large rooms and high ceilings.  Houses in this area are generally of an older sort.

 

Yangmingshan has mostly houses, the majority of which are detached with gardens.

 

Wellington Heights has only houses, most modest size and mostly detached (although some semidetached).  This originally was an American G.I. housing area.

 

City Centre has apartments only, in a very wide range of conditions.

 

Housing Types (cont'd):

  

Apartments in the areas surveyed are generally owned “condominium”, style with individual owners per apartment. All are high-rise buildings of 6-30 stories and have their own security personnel.

 

Higher level at higher cost houses and apartments are normally let unfurnished. Appliances are supplied in most of the apartments, but most of the houses aren’t.  Where appliances and furniture are not supplied, these can sometimes be negotiated into the lease in return for an increase in rental price.

 

   “Furnished” property will not often be furnished to the taste of the expatriate.

 

Housing Prices：

  

Whilst asking prices, in general, have dropped over the last year, there currently appears to be more frequent possibility for negotiation on the asking price, particularly for a house.

 

APARTMENTS (in Taiwan dollars, per month)

　

         LOW           MEDIUM                HIGH

2bedrooms  NT$35,000   NT$50-60,000+       NT$ 80-150,000+

3bedrooms  NT$45,000   NT$60-100,000+     NT$120-200,000+

4bedrooms  NT$60,000   NT$80-110,000+     NT$150-250,000+

 

HOUSES  (in Taiwan dollars, per month)

　

LOW        MEDIUM          HIGH

3bedrooms     NT$100,000   NT$150,000      NT$200,000+

4bedrooms+   NT$100,000   NT$150,000      NT$300,000+

    

  

LEASES & BROKERS：

  

The typical lease form is for a period of one, two or three years with an option to renew.

 

The typical brokerage fees associated with securing accommodation and for which the tenants are liable are now half of one month’s rent for any term contract.  Some of the newer agents are charging one month’s rent for any term. There is no legal maximum to the brokerage fee which may be levied.

 

It is not unusual for landlords of desirable properties to require up to 3 years payment in advance. The less desirable the property, the shorter the period of advance payments which a landlord will demand.

 

Both for furnished and unfurnished accommodation, a deposit of between 1-3 months’ rent is normally required.

 

Local estate agents do not cooperate with one another at all. Some agents are known for :sharp” practices.

 

Landlords generally prefer tenants not to keep pets and some refuse outright to consider this.

　

BERLIN  HOUSING  CO., LTD

3F-5, No.170, Sec. 3, Min Chuan E. Rd., Taipei, 105

Tel ：+886-2-27171130  

Fax：+886-2-27171790

Cell：+886-968101273

E-mail：service@BLH.com.tw