1. Budget
Keeping rent within 30% of your monthly salary is the safety line. For an 8,000 salary, that means 2,400; going above 3,000 will noticeably squeeze food and social expenses.
Upfront costs: “deposit + 3 months’ rent” requires 4 months’ rent total; “deposit + 1 month’s rent” requires 2 months. Also set aside a deposit for utilities (typically 200–500) and agency fee (if using an agent, half to one month’s rent).
Commute: A house that saves you 500 a month but takes over an hour each way is not worth it. Two hours on the road daily will drain your energy after work.

2. Search Channels – Breakdown
Beike / Lianjia 
Highest listing authenticity among all platforms. Mature VR tour function saves you from visiting many unsuitable places. Most listings have access control, property management, elevators – infrastructure is reliable.
Drawbacks: expensive. Agency fee is half to one month’s rent, and listed prices are typically 5–10% higher than direct‑rental channels. Most listings are standard whole‑apartment units; small, affordable units for one person or couples are rare.
Best for: graduates with sufficient budget, who don’t want hassle and value certainty.

Ziroom 
Uniform decor, fully furnished, move‑in ready. Cleanliness, maintenance, customer service are well‑organised – someone responds when you have an issue.
Drawbacks: high premium. Same location and size cost 15–20% more than nearby apartments, plus service fee. Contract terms clearly favour the platform; disputes over cleaning, repair, and depreciation fees upon move‑out are common – search “Ziroom move‑out deduction complaints” online.
Best for: those who don’t want to buy any furniture, are price‑insensitive, and fear hassle more than being charged.

Wellcee
Mostly direct landlord listings and sublets – no agency fee. Clean interface, listing photos generally better than traditional classified sites, more like lifestyle sharing than ads.
Pros: No agency fee – your budget goes entirely to rent. Younger user base – many landlords are office workers in their 20s‑30s, easy communication. Photos relatively true – less extreme filtering or wide‑angle distortion than some platforms.
Cons: Limited inventory – fine in tier‑1 cities, but tier‑2 cities often show only a few options. Sublets require verification that the original landlord agrees, otherwise you could be evicted. Platform uses manual screening but it’s not 100% – fake listings occasionally appear.
Best for: graduates willing to spend time filtering, wanting to save agency fees, having taste but not needing standardised service.

Douban Rental Groups
Completely free, massive information. Sublets, roommate searches, direct landlord listings – many posts by current tenants, so communication feels genuine.
Drawbacks: extremely messy information. Same post may be bumped repeatedly, hard to tell timeliness. Biggest issue: scammers – deposit fraud, fake listings, impersonated landlords – new people fall for it daily. Typical trick: great apartment at a surprisingly low price, asking you to pay 500 deposit first.
How to use: treat Douban only as an information source, not a transaction platform. After contacting, ask for a photo of the property ownership certificate (landlord) or the original lease plus landlord’s sublet approval (subletter). Always see the apartment first – no money before viewing.

Xianyu 
High traffic, many listings, chance to find a bargain. Good filtering by area, type, price range.
Downside: most listings are from agents or sub‑landlords. Many agents disguise themselves as private landlords with titles like “direct from owner”, but the photos show agency watermarks. Some use low prices as bait, then say it’s rented and recommend pricier ones.
Filtering method: use the “individual” tag, and check the user’s profile history. If they posted three different apartments in different areas on the same day – different neighbourhoods, different styles – they are likely an agent or sub‑landlord team – skip them. Private landlords usually only have one or two units for rent.

Baletown
Nominally no agency fee for tenants – the commission is charged to landlords. Medium‑high inventory – in Shanghai, about one‑third of Beike’s volume.
The business model determines its nature: most active users are professional landlords and sub‑landlords who rent blocks of apartments and sublet them. This means quality varies – nice decor might be a converted partition, fully furnished might mean cheapest appliances. Screening is relatively loose; some users report big gaps between photos and reality.
Suggestion: use as a backup channel, not your primary. During viewings, pay special attention to whether it’s a partition (knock on walls, check for separate electricity meter), whether appliances work, and window soundproofing.

3. In‑Person Viewing – What to Focus On
What photos never show: outside obstructions and noise (check at morning and evening rush hour), water pressure, whether AC cools/heats properly, noise from upstairs/downstairs, whether neighbours pile trash outside the door, how often the elevator breaks down.
Recommend viewing once during the day for sunlight, once at night for quietness and neighbourhood lighting. Unless you’re very satisfied, don’t pay a deposit on the spot – go home and think it over for a night.

4. Signing the Lease – Which Clauses to Avoid
Standard lease contracts use the local housing authority’s template. Any handwritten additions must be read word by word.
Key items to watch:

• Maintenance responsibility – natural wear and tear is the landlord’s cost; specify response time (e.g., leaks handled within 24 hours).

• Move‑out deduction standards – what triggers how much deduction – avoid vague phrases like “deduct as appropriate”.

• Subletting rights – if work requires an early move, can you sublet? How is the deposit returned after subletting?
  Take photos of utility meter readings, wall/floor condition, furniture and appliances at handover, and have both parties sign an inspection checklist.

5. Earnest Money vs. Security Deposit
Earnest money: do not pay before you’ve decided to rent. If unavoidable, put in writing that it will offset the first rent payment and under what conditions it is refundable. The legal cap for earnest money is 20% of one month’s rent.
Security deposit: normally one to two months’ rent. Delayed refund of deposit upon move‑out is a common dispute. Write in the contract: “Deposit to be returned within 3 working days after inspection on move‑out day.” If the landlord makes questionable deductions, ask for an invoice or receipt as proof.

6. Real Market Conditions
Graduation season (June–August) is the most expensive period – a flat rented in June can cost 8–12% more than in April, and good units go fast. You might see it in the morning, hesitate in the afternoon, and it’s gone by night. That’s not fearmongering – it’s the actual market speed.
Among tier‑1 cities, Beijing and Shanghai are least friendly to graduates – not only high prices but also strict landlord checks: proof of employment, income statements, even references from previous tenants. Shenzhen is relatively relaxed, but the gap between urban‑village housing and commercial apartments is huge. Guangzhou offers the best rent‑to‑price ratio among the four – for around 2,500 you can find a decent 1‑bedroom in older neighbourhoods.
Recently, a hybrid of “short‑term + long‑term” leasing has increased. Previously landlords generally demanded a one‑year term; now more accept six‑month terms or allow sublets, because supply is rising and vacancy pressure has shifted partly from tenants to landlords. This gives graduates some bargaining room, especially when you like a place but the start date or lease length doesn’t fit – you can try to negotiate.
Another observation: any apartment listed for over two weeks in the same area almost certainly has a fatal flaw – maybe street noise, ground‑floor dampness, or upstairs renovation. Don’t think you’ve found a hidden gem that everyone else missed – chances are earlier viewers noticed problems you haven’t yet.

7. Subletting and Early Move‑Out
Signing a one‑year lease while your job is unstable is common for graduates. Try to negotiate a subletting clause: give one month’s notice, find a replacement tenant, and after the sublet is completed, the full deposit is returned. Avoid a clause that says “early termination forfeits entire deposit” unless the rent itself is very low.
If the contract is already fixed, be polite in negotiation. Many landlords are willing to accommodate fresh graduates – the key is to put the agreed terms in a written addendum.