Why should you put down a deposit when you find an apartment

The answer is simple – to secure the deal. When there are more than one interested parties, who put money first, who get the deal. Even if you are the only party who is interested, there is no guarantee no other potential clients will show up in the future. Because for the landlords, as long as they haven’t received any deposit or sign the lease, they are open to accept other bids and offers.

They may tell you that “okay, I will rent my apartment to you”, but who knows? It takes so much efforts and time to find a place you like, then you spend hours or even days negotiating with the landlord, talking to the agent and finally you guys reach a deal, when you think you can have the place but you didn’t put
down any money, then somebody shows up making a better offer…you have to start all over again, that would be a nightmare, right?

So when you reach a deal with the landlord, you should move quickly, get your agent to prepare the contract and set up a meeting with the landlord to put down a deposit. My experience tells me that the process should be done within one day. But if you haven’t reached a deal with landlord, the negotiation is still in the process, should you put down any money? Well, I would advise that you listen to your agent’s opinion and make sure if the money you put is refundable or not in case the landlord doesn’t accept your offer.

How much should you put down? It usually equals to one month rent or a bit less but no more than that amount. When the landlord takes the deposit, ask him or her to write down a piece of paper as a proof.

The paper should be in both English and Chinese, make sure the translation of deposit in Chinese is 定金 instead of 订金。Because if it is the second one 订金，it means if the landlord receives a better offer, he or she can just give the money back to you and then walk away without any punishment….. If it is the first one 定金，it means the landlord cannot do such thing without returning you deposit and paying you equal to same amount of money as a penalty. However, the first one 定金also means if you break the deal, you won’t get your deposit back. So keep this in your mind.

The above is all I can tell you about the deposit, I hope it will help; you are welcome to reach out for any questions. We are specialized in the apartments and lane houses in the Former French Concession, Jingan and Xintiandi area.Our wechat is Shanghaiflat or 13046607569.