Success

In two ways...

Apparently I chose the correct apartment - the one with the Queen size bed. At least that's what Sonia says. We now reside in the Chi apartments in Jordan, Kowloon. A one-bedroom apartment that is nicer (albeit smaller) than the one we were in on The Island, for a reasonable amount less. And it's furnished and serviced (dishes washed every day, floor cleaned, linen changed, etc)... It's true that the apartment is a lot smaller, but it will be ok for a while. We are also the proud renters of (yet another) a storage unit in Kennedy Town. Really just a big lockable cupboard...

The second "success" is having finished cleaning the old apartment. I have spent Monday and half of Tuesday cleaning it from top to bottom. Handover to the landlord is tomorrow afternoon, at which point I want to ensure there is no reason for the landlord to retain any portion of the deposit. In HK there is almost zero regulatory protection for renters - the landlord can do pretty much whatever they want - claim cleaning, repairs, etc. The last landlord we had was very good, and refunded 100% of the deposit (possibly because Sonia left the apartment very clean?). We are hopeful that this landlord will be similarly inclined. Deposit is equivalent to two months rent, so it is not insignificant...

Handover is at 4pm tomorrow (Wednesday), and before that I have two meetings and need to get to the gym. A busy day, I guess.