Common Con

One of the first things you learn when moving to Hong Kong is that property developers are lying bastards.

When they advertise a flat as say, 700 square feet, in reality they include bits of common areas in the calculation. That means actual usable space is much less than you might need. Common areas may include the building lobby, rooftops which are rarely used, paths, planters, and so on. I wouldn't be surprised if they included the space inside the mailbox.

The trick is that the developers never have to tell you what they're including when they quote the price per square foot; it's up to you to ask about the actual percentage of usable space, otherwise known as the efficiency rate.

The local rag reports that the efficiency rate has dropped from about 90% in the 1980s to about 70% for new flats, and because there is no industry standard, developers can include anything they desire in the total square footage, even the unusable sill outside your 36th floor window. No one in his right mind is going to place a potted plant there, unless he wants to go to jail after it gets blown off and kills someone at ground level.

It's all part of the game and is one of the reasons Hong Kong is an expensive place to live. It's also why I prefer to rent.

Buying a flat means that when it's time to sell, you will be forced to perpetuate the lie.

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