How to find apartment in suzhou SIP

Hi All,
     I am an agency working in suzhou SIP for several years with rich experience. No matter which compound  you want to live, pls feel free to contact me. I have the full house resources. You can choose to email me to: [email protected]     skype: natwangbin        call: 18606216036
    Following is just a little my experice in suzhou, hope it would be helpful to expats in suzhou.
Suzhou has mainly three districts(SIP, downtown & SND). Most Europeans and Americans choose to live in SIP, while most Japanese live in SND. Not too many expats live in downtown areas cos the traffic is too crowded and most apartment are old. I will just share my experience as an agency for expats to find apartment. Because most of my clients to live in SIP, i will focus more on the SIP house suitation respectively.

There are several rules you need to know about searching for apartment in suzhou.(experienced agency will explain to you at the first time to see you)
1. Payment style: Rental is paid every three months. There is also one month's deposit for the renting. That means, before you move-in, you need to pay the 3 months'rental and 1 month deposit. After the lease term expire, the landlord shall return you all the deposit if the house is in good condition.
2. Lease term: Most landlord will prefer the lease term starting from one year. if it's only 3 months to 5 months , landlord will think it has too much troble cos SIP apartment is very hot area and it can be rented out in a very short time.
3. When to see apartment: it has something to do with your budget. If your budget is lower than 10000,the best time is 3-4 weeks before you move-in.For this budget, there are too many clients every day in the market, the landlord will not wait for 1 or 2 months just to wait for you.Sometimes if you are lucky, landlord will wait for you for one month if h/she likes you too much.Another situation is if you can pay a little bit higher than the market price for your potential house, the landlord is happy to wait for you, which is easy to understand. If your budget is higher than 10000, more than 20000, you can starting to see earlier cos you are probably searching a very big apartment or house. The higer budget you have, the fewer competitors it will have in the market.The landlord will tend to wait for you if you can sign the contract or pay the deposit. Then he will not show to other potential clients.
4. how to solve trouble after moving in: if you meet some problems inside it Hwafter moving into an apartment, you can contact your agency, and they will help you to solve the problem.
5. how to find a good agency: In Suzhou, there are two kinds of agencies. One is for chinese client, they do business for rent and sell apartment.They almost have no after-sales service.  The other kind of agency is for expat client, they only do the renting business. They can speak fluent English and have a good aftersales service.Find a reliable agency is very important. You won't feel helpless if you meet troubles in the apartment.(if you have seen this blog, you can also contact me as your agency)
6. Location(west or east of the lake): most expats will live close to the jinji lake. The west of the lake is more mature because you can reach supermaket, gyms, restaurants, bus stops, metro stations,pubs, taxi by several min's walk. While in east of the lake, the apartments are newer. this area is still in developing. areas close to Time Square is also very convenient.
7. International school: In SIP, most expat will choose the SSIS and Dulwich college.
8. Some nice compounds: Join in the grand, Horizon Resort, Marina Cove Garden, lakeview,Royal lakefront,landmark skylight,platinum apartment,Bailing Masion, lakeview city, Bayside Garden, Grace Residence,lakeside palace,Youngor, golden lough,lake Geneva,The royal peninsula, Case de esplanade, Top lake view and so on.
(Moderated: no free ad on the forum pls + register in the business directory)