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The Real Estate Market |
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The largest and best real estate agency in Ulaanbaatar is Mongolian Properties.
They have a large expat staff working for them and can assist you in
most European and Asian languages. All their contracts, legal documents
and general information are available in English. The Residential
letting market of Ulaanbaatar has consistently grown over the last few
years, with supply still very much struggling to meet the high levels
of demand. The strong growth witnessed within the Mongolian economy has
fuelled demand by local residents for housing as well as encourage
expats to live and work in Mongolia.Ulaanbaatar is a city built by the
Soviets along the soviet ideals of architecture, in short, it is blocky
ugly and prone to collapsing, this is very clearly visible when walking
around the city. Various waves of construction and developments have
come through the city and each has left its mark. Prices for rental and
sales of real estate is greatly affected by the age and the state of
the building.
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Where to live in Ulaanbaatar |
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The pink buildings
 The city was originally built entirely with those constructions. They are extraordinarily strong with thick walls and high ceilings. They were built between the 1940’s and the 1960’s. The prices of those buildings are actually on the rise; this is because they are solid and comfortable. There are generally three to four floors high while some also have balconies. They are great for renovations and to live in. Often full of character and cracks. A lot of them are run down and in need of serious structural repairs but nothing that can't be fixed. They are sometimes dangerous as the entrances are always in the courtyards and are a favourite with drunk mongolians who may or may not be a bit violent towards foreigners.
The goulag towers
 Built in the 60’s and 80’s they litter the landscape in most of the old socialist states. They were built at a time of desperate need when a large percentage of the population had neither housing nor choice in where they lived. Those towers were for the most part built in factories on the cheap and they certainly look like it. There are a few of them around the city centre, behind the MCS Plaza and opposite the Russian Embassy are prime examples. They are generally 5 to 8 floors high, no elevators, no security and regularity have problems with plumbing and electricity. The advantages of living in the goulag towers is that they are quite cheap, some are in the city centre and they provide for amusing stories back home as they are full of local live. Some of those goulag towers apartments have been bought by expats and renovated. They make for a great deal if you can get your hands on one of those.
The courtyard developments
 When the Soviets first started developing the city with the pink and orange buildings, they built them in a square around a large central courtyard which was communal to all the buildings along the square. This meant that kids and the elderly could go out and play in those courtyards without any risk. As the price of land in the city is becoming more scarce and valuable, those courtyards and the gaps to them are being built upon. This phenomenon started in the 90’s and is still on-going. Those buildings are generally very popular with the expat, they are often built with garage space underneath, a fence around it and spacious and light apartments within them. The apartments are modern and for the better part very comfortable.
The luxury ones
 For the past five years or so there has been a flurry of new developments being built in and around the city, each new development is generally better then the last. They are starting to incorporate all the mod cons as standard into the buildings, are generally well located and popular with the expats. You can expect to pay considerably higher prices for those higher standards. The latest buildings such as the Park View Residence and the Star Apartments are very hard to get into as they have waiting lists. Golomt towers still have a few apartments left for rent but the building is slightly out of town. Mongolian Properties maintains an online listing of all the availabilities in town.
The next wave
 There is a new wave of constructions taking place in Ulaanbaatar. They are for the most part world class high rise (well around 15 floors) condominiums such as the Regency Residence being currently built next to the children’s park. Some developments are also coming up outside of the city to the south such as the Four Seasons Garden. The buildings being planned and built at the moment such as the Olympic Residence and the MITIC towers would not look out of place in any other capital in the first world. It is then that Ulaanbaatar will have caught up in terms of luxury to Tokyo and Seoul.
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The best locations to live in Ulaanbaatar |
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The Best Locations to live
Ulaanbaatar is an evolving city with some areas better or more
desirable than others. The city is generally divided into three areas.
Sukhbaatar Square
Sukhbaatar square and everything to the north of parliament house is
the political and administrative centre of the city, there are a lot of
ministries, official buildings, some embassies and so forth. While it
is a relatively safe area to live in, it is far from the main
restaurant and bar area and can be slightly dangerous during the winter
months. Being north of peace avenue it is relatively polluted in winter and rather colder as the wind is at full strength.
The Children’s Park
The Children’s Park is the most sought after location in the city,
primarily along Olympic Avenue around the Star Apartments, the
Continental hotel and the Regency Residence. The area is safe as a lot
of embassies are located there. The star apartments are home to most of
the ambassadors and high ranking expats in the city while the Park
provides for a nice quiet and luxurious environment perfect for high
end residential living away from the pollution and madness of the city
but still close enough to walk into all the major locations. The Park
View Residence, located next to the popular Choijin Lama museum is a
popular building with the executives from the mining companies. The
park is also filling up with bars and restaurants. To name but a few
there is the Veranda Restaurant, the Silk Road, the extremely popular
Millie’s, the Antique Pub, River Sounds, Khan Brau and much more.
Seoul Street and the Circus
This area has some luxury buildings but most are average price, this is
the entertainment centre of the city, with a lot of cool bars and
restaurants along it. Unless you are a high executive or a well earning
expat this is the area for you, it is fun, safe and young.
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Rental Prices in Ulaanbaatar |
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Rental prices in UB have been on the rise for the past few years. Below is a guideline on what is obtainable at what prices:
250 USD to 350USD
 For this price you can generally rent a 1
bedroom flat / studio around Seoul street or further north towards the
Lenin Museun and the Cinema. The building which you would get for that
will be either a pink building or a goulag development. Usually comes
partially furnished. It is hard to find an apartment in this category
which is decorated in the western style as opposed to the heavy kitsch
style so common in Mongolia.
350 USD to 500USD
2 bedroom apartment as above but in generally a better location and
better decorated with more modern cons. Fully furnished, quite a few of
them towards the north of peace avenue and around Sukhbaatar Square.
500USD to 1,000USD
 The possibility to move in a courtyard development, it would generally
be a 2 bedroom apartment with a security guard at the entrance.
Standard mod cons. Those apartments are in a shortage so hard to find.
They usually have reasonable levels of furniture.
1,000USD to 2,500USD
Those are starting to be luxurious apartments of a standard equivalent
to mid to high end apartments in the Asian capital cities, some supply
around the Children’s Park, they are the top end of the courtyard
developments and the low to mid range of the luxury apartments. Most of
the apartments in the Park View Residence are priced within this
bracket. A reasonable amount of choice within this category, but it is
very seasonal as consultants and expats tend to come for the summer or
milder months and go home for winter. There are a lot of developments
outside of the city, they form a compound with security and services
within it but require you to have transport to and from the city
centre.
2,500USD upwards
From 2,500 USD you can have access to some of the best real estate in
the city, generally situated around the park, this would include
penthouses and large apartments. From 3,000USD it might even be
possible to have a small townhouse in the Star Apartments but a long
queue is still existent.
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Utilities in Mongolia |
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Bills
Paying bills in Mongolia is a tricky business, primarily if you don’t
speak the language. Bills will be glued on your door every so often. It
will not state how much the bill is or sometimes not even what it is
for. You then need to go to your district’s payment centre for whatever
bill you have, once there you will be told how much the bill is. Once
paid you will receive a receipt for it (if you are lucky). This process
is frustrating at best but Mongolian Properties can offer this as part
of a property management package for your apartment.
Phone
Again, a difficult process, if you take an apartment, make sure it has
an existing phone line and that it will not be shut off when you move
into the apartment. If you are unlucky enough to have to acquire a
landline for your apartment, speak to the slightly mad foreigner
sitting in a corner twitching nervously, he has probably been trying
for some years without success. Friends and Mongolian Properties can
help but the process can be long and drawn out. Getting a mobile phone
is considerably easier; Mobicom offers a good level of service and a
reliable network. They have a point of sales in the State Department
Store with some English speaking staff available to help.
Internet
If you have a phone line, you need to connect an internet provider in
the city. Mobinet, Magicnet, MCS, digicom are some of the most reliable
ones. Depending on your location and the price you are willing to pay
you can have broadband wi-fi installed in your apartment, the whole
process should not normally take more than a month.
Security
Mongolia is a relatively safe place, it is quite rare to hear of expats
getting physically abused while in Ulaanbaatar. It has happened in the
past, primarily in winter as the rich and drunk expat stumbling out of
a bar makes for easy picking for drunks Mongolian who are freezing.
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About Mongolia 
