If you are ever looking for a house in Cheung Chau, I thoroughly recommend you seek out Kenneth…read moreYeung of Region Property Management & Agency Co.. Kenneth is a delightful fellow, who modestly claims not to speak English, but is in fact very good, so ex-pat buyers, you would do well to come to him. Kenneth is somewhat the kingpin of the Cheung Chau property scene, everyone knows him, and rates him highly. The properties he holds covers the full range available on the island, with properties to match all budgets. Ultimately, there is only so much property on Cheung Chau, and Kenneth seems to have them all covered! What I particularly like about the way that Kenneth works, is his liberal use of media. HK agencies are a real pain in the proverbial, when they offer detail on a property, but don't have any photos to show. As Cheung Chau is a bit of a trek to get around (there are no cars and Mrs L finds cycling unladylike), and Region Property has limited staff to tour around with you, Kenneth has made sure he videos all of his properties. This way, he can show you lots of videos and photos on the big screen in his office, without you having to step out in to the hot sunshine and schlep across the island, just to realise the proposed property is no good. Whilst I sing Kenneth's praises for his media use, do remember he is an estate agent, so can sometimes be flexible with the truth. For example, the smell coming through the housing estate is not "somebody's cooking" or "natural sea smells", and the noise is not "children playing", but in fact the smell and noise of the pig abattoir next door. Why do I suddenly feel that Clarice Starling is about to pop up?

For many, buying a property in the Mui Wo area on the south side of Lantau Island, is potentially a…read moregood idea. For HKD8-10million, you can pick up a wonderful three story plus roof terrace village house, in one of villages behind the Silvermine Hotel. If you do find yourself in the position of buying in Mui Wo, I would thoroughly recommend Findley Leung Realtors. They have a couple of shops along the road beyond the bus terminus from the ferry pier, and have really cornered the market for properties in Mui Wo, Pui O, and Cheung Sha. What was particularly refreshing was the attitude of the staff. I really did feel as though they were making an effort to help me find a property that I would buy, rather than just trying to flog me what was vaguely similar on their books. I was very well looked after, to the point of being driven around to view properties. On HK island, it's all about the walking - ugh! The local and legal knowledge of the staff was also excellent. Most of them live on the island, and couple of them are actual "natives" and entitled to village land, so they know all the nuances of buying villages houses. It's great to have this insider knowledge, as there is so much speculation as to rights and access to village land, that it feels worryingly difficult to buy, when in fact it is quite simple. Ultimately, if you are looking to buy in South Lantau, you will most likely come to Findley Leung, as one of the only (and probably biggest) realtors on this side of the island. I found them particularly good, I hope you do to. With their staff taking off a lot of the stress, you should only need to think as to whether or not you really want to be living the island life!

The greatest thing about Okay.com, apart from its name and never forgetting its website, are the…read morestaff that work in it. I've been fortunate enough to receive advice on buying/renting in Hong Kong by some of Okay's professionals. The agent that was assigned to me, Daniel, is a charming, informative man that genuinely is trying to get me the flat I want and not the quickest turn around between clients. After some questions and some quick searches we managed to find a fit, a great one at that. The things that gets on my nerves the most when house hunting is stating a budget. In most places I'll say my budget is $14,000, for example, and I'll be shown places in the $18,000 range. I'm treated as a number rather than a human. Not so at Okay.com. After speaking with Daniel and some of the other staff, I've come to learn that Okay.com is really pushing to set the standard in their field, and in my eyes already are. Their website is one of the most useful and insightful I've come across, and it contains a small section where you can ask the agents their opinions on property matters. It's easy to understand why they are growing rapidly, and why both agents and clients are attracted to the company. I don't know about you but I've never enjoyed house hunting with the usual agents. Maybe it's a mindset that is drilled into their agents, or maybe it's something else, but I don't feel any loyalty. "I'll call you next week." Means I'll probably never hear from them again. When property is such a profitable business I can understand certain attitudes. Okay.com really is something that Hong Kong needs to shake up the competition and is certainly the place that I will go to for answers and property.

Midland Realty is a giant amongst the estate agent world in Hong Kong. They have a huge number of…read morebranches, covering every square-foot of the island, the mainland, and outlying islands. Their reach is quite impressive. However, I want to highlight one store and one agent in particular. If you are ever looking for a property in Tin Hau, I would suggest visiting the Electric Road branch and asking for Simon. Simon is a lovely, good-natured agent, who works incredibly hard to find suitable properties for you, but is never pushy. His English is also excellent. What I particularly like about using a large agency like Midland Realty, is that they have access to properties beyond the area that the branch, and you, are perhaps looking in. On a recent property scouting trip to Tin Hau, I was not sure if I would eventually want to move to this area. As such, Simon hunted out properties in different areas of HK Island and Kowloon, that suited my needs, but where perhaps not in the specific area that I had originally requested. There in fact proved to be quite a few gems. What Simon also specialises in, is the new developments. He seems to have access to, and again this is perhaps due to being part of a large agency, a number of developments being built, that can only be bought off plan. If you are able to wait, and happy to buy off plan, you can get some real bargains in these brand-new buildings, before they are released to the general public. Sure, if you are looking for something very specific, in a very specific area, the local mom and pop agencies may suit you better. However if you're search is a little more general, or you are interested in brand-new developments, try some of these bigger agencies. As Simon has proved they're not all huge and anonymous.

Buying a property in Hong Kong can be a little bit of a minefield. For us mere mortals, who cannot…read moreafford one of the brand-new buildings offered by the larger chain estate agents, we are relegated to using some of the more colourful local agents, with old stock that is perhaps more suited to our budget. If you happen to be looking for a property in Tin Hau, I recommend that you go to Ngan Mok Street. Down this street there several estate agents, all of which hold a lot of reasonably priced stock in the area. Fion Li with Park View Property was particularly refreshing to deal with. She understood, and most importantly, followed our budget requirements. There was no addition of a few percent here or a few percent there. She looked for property at our budget. Of course when we were looking, many of the properties were not available to view immediately. We were able to make an appointment with Fion on the following day, and unlike many of the other agents, she was able to secure access to each of the properties on the day arranged. The only issue of having so many agents in a small area, is that they all hold the same stock - literally. So what was happening, was Fion was taking the keys from another agent to show us a property which the other agent would also be showing. As such, we ended up seeing many properties that we had already seen with another agent, and as is Hong Kong law, we were obliged to continue with the previous agent. Fortunately, Fion was very gracious about us turning down viewings. She must be quite used to this by now. Last note, Fion's English was very good, so we were able to communicate with relative ease. Again, a refreshing change to most local agents. I mean, how on earth do you hand signal, "are there any mortgage encumbrances on the property?"?

Deciding upon the place you're going to live for the next year (at least!) is never easy. It…read moreshouldn't be because you'll be there for a year! When it comes to finding the right place, on Southern Lantau, there are few places that do it better than Home Solutions. The estate agent has clients all across the beaches from Mui Wo, to Pui O, to Cheung Sha, as well as all the villages in between. They are also one of the only expat agencies in the area - for those non-chinese speakers out there. My girlfriend and I were looking for a new place a couple years ago and we were intrigued by the idea of living in the charming town of Mui Wo. We entered Home Solutions and were introduced to an agent named Sharon. After our first conversation I found Sharon to be an agent that actually listens to what we want and need. Almost immediately we were taken to three different homes that suited our budget and other requirements - one of which we loved. We inquired about that one and instantly struck up a negotiation with the owners, through Sharon. The fact that both Sharon and I are alive today, after our constant questions, demands, and such is a testament to the patience and professionalism of the woman. If it was me dealing with someone like me I'd hang up the phone in a heartbeat. That's just one of the reasons why I'm not an estate agent. By the end of the back and forth Sharon managed to get both parties to sign the contract with smiles on our faces. An agency is nothing without its agents. Home Solutions has the property, it has the agents, and it has my business if I ever think about moving to south Lantau again.

Buying a property, anywhere in the world, can be a stressful experience. Fortunately, there are a…read morefew good agents out there who are fighting your corner (as well as that of the vendor), and make this stress a little more bearable. Janice Chan at Y&C Property is one such agent, who has this particular calm and easy going nature bout her, that makes her a pleasure to deal with. Based in Tin Hau, so dealing with only properties local to that area, the agency is one of many nestled in the patch around Electric Road near the MTR station. Many of these agents share properties, but it seemed that Janice had access to some that were exclusive, which is great as it doesn't waste everyone's time with repeated viewings. It also meant that she had keys accessible or contact with the landlord, so we didn't have to wait at each property for some other agent to let us in. Janice also respected the budget and didn't try to weasel a few thousand more dollars out of every viewing. Frankly, is I say a million, I mean a million, not one and a half! Her English was reasonable, not the best, but passable. Unfortunately her colleagues were a bit like walking potatoes, but that might have been a language barrier. One thing that Janice did which I found a bit irritating, was the order of the viewings. Rather than organise the viewings around geography, so for example you go to the furthest one and work your way back, she would organise the viewings by some other random format, which meant we would go to and fro doubling up our walkabout. In the HK heat, it's not very pleasant. Otherwise, perfectly nice folks to deal with. Do check them out as their stock does seem to be that little bit different to everyone else's.

There's probably not a great deal one could say about a property agent. They advertise and sell…read morehouses, they are really only as good as their stock, and they tend to stick to one area (unless it is a chain). Well, if you are ever thinking of buying or renting in Wan Chai, do take a moment to seek out Good Luck Property. They are located near the Wan Chai / CWB border, and tend to stock properties in that side of town too. It means you get a Wan Chai address, but without being above a girlie bar. Their stock is good, especially for the lower end of the market (I suppose if you have a HKD20million flat to sell you will go to Centaline or Midland), so there is often plenty to choose from. Ask for Louis (pronounced the Jerry Lee way as opposed to the French king way). He is a really nice bloke who exudes a wonderful honesty in his work. He never badgers or pesters, just shows you properties and waits for you to come back with a yeay or nay. He will negotiate well on your behalf, he did so for me and shaved a few hundred off the asking rent on my last place. He is also educated in Oz, so his English is excellent. Go see them for your property needs, and "Good Luck" - haha, see what I did there!