Property agent who sold HK$20 million Mid-Levels flat ended up sleeping rough in Hong Kong
Ka-hei, whose parents died when he was 14, was forced to quit his job after having kidney surgery
When former property agent Ka-hei (not his full name to protect his privacy) helped a client sell a HK$20 million (US$2.5 million) upscale flat in Mid-Levels, he was thinking how to spend his commission.
He did not expect he would be sleeping on the streets just a few years after he sealed the deal, which earned him HK$50,000.
“I was in the business of helping others find homes. Now I don’t even have my own home,” says Ka-hei, 34, a casual worker who has been sleeping rough for six years.
The former top property salesman, whose parents died in a traffic accident when he was 14, was once living alone in a 700 sq ft flat with two bedrooms, where he dreamed of having his own family.
In 2010, Ka-hei was forced to quit the real estate industry after kidney surgery and mental health issues. He says the frequency of follow-up consultations left him unable to cope with his workload or find another full-time job. And since then, he has been taking temporary jobs, mostly in the catering and logistics fields.
In early 2011, Ka-hei was kicked out by his landlord as he could not afford the rent any more. He says he had no alternative but to sleep on the streets.