House Hunting in Korea

Today, we had the inspection for our Apartment. Before I get into this, let me back up a bit to when we first arrived. It was a bit of a confusing process, so I hope this can help anyone else coming to Korea anytime soon!

Once we arrived to Camp Carroll, one of the first things on our list was to check into housing. We were told we could have a three bedroom apartment on post, but we opted instead to live off post. Those families with school aged children benefit greatly from living on post since the school is right next to the housing. However, we decided we wanted the full experience of living in the city. We had to sit in a short "briefing" with the manager of housing and sign off on a sheet accepting the consequences of living off post.

Next, we received a packet with the approved realtors to use. The army has contracts with this realtors and they are used to working with Americans in finding places to live. In Korea, there is no website that you can check to search for homes available. The best thing is to stop by as many realtors as you can, until you find the place you want. You are welcome to call the realtors to set up appointments, but we just went straight away and walked into each one. They are pretty much all in a row on one street right outside the gate at Camp Walker. We spoke with about 5-6 different realtors and saw about 9-10 different properties.

Over the next few days, we viewed the 9-10 different homes, until we found one we loved. It is a brand new apartment complex in downtown Deagu. There is a lot to do for Sadie and me and we are a short subway ride away from post. Steve can easily hop on the expressway to get to work.

After you find your apartment, the realtor fills out paperwork for you to take back to housing. Housing then gives you a date and time for an inspection.

We rode with our realtor to the inspection. The landlords were present and a man from housing came with paperwork. We walked through the entire apartment opening all doors and turning on all lights. Very similar to in the U.S., we wrote down anything wrong with the apartment so that we won't be charged with it when it is time to move out.

The next step to take will be to sign the lease. We have another appointment set up on September 15 to sign. The housing office will be present as well as our realtor and landlord. We will move in just a few days after! We are so ready to be in our own place.

Until then... here's a sneak peak of our view!

(Sorry it's from behind the screen.)