1) Most Chinese people only need to pay 20-30% of the entire price at the time of deal. They can pay the rest in installments. Do foreigners have the same facility?
2) If I buy a house and later decide to sell it, are there any specific rules for foreigners about that?
3) Any special rules for foreigners about buying a house in Shanghai?

Thanks

0) use the search function, but be aware that the laws get updated almost every year.
1) the down payment (initial payment) is fixed by the government. I saw a figure of 40%, maybe that was for a second home or for foreigners, although before that I was pretty sure the down payment for locals was 30%....
2) yes
3) yes

1) 40%
2) Have no right rent out own property.
3) After living 1 year in China.

4) Price is too high.

which peoples bank

overh20 wrote:

d1ck wrote:1) 40%
2) Have no right rent out own property.
3) After living 1 year in China.

4) Price is too high.

1. Wrong.
2. Really wrong.
3. Incomplete.
4. Probably true.

Sorry, Mr. Head, but you get a "D" on this exam. You can, however, take comfort in the fact that God, if He does exist, still loves you.

Mate.. Over , you know, i love you .. deep and i don't care if you over or under me, kisses Rolling Eyes

Back to topic, what is true about: 1.2.3 ?

Hi Over, nice post !

However, i would check twice on #2.

Btw, how weather in BJ ?

overh20 wrote:^

1. Can rent it out. No restrictions. Been there, done that ... too.
2. Weather here is far better than there.

1) I will check it.

2) Yes, ofcause.

Sorry, going off line: ride my bike along seacoast

How many times can I decide that a certain apartment is my "main place of residence", then reconsider, buy another apartment, and move? For example I could buy an apartment on the outskirts of Shanghai, then after 3 months decide the commute is too long, and buy another apartment closer to the city centre and move there. I could theoretically move all over the country doing something similar, couldn't I?

I know of a few things that have changed recently in regards to buying homes.

No more discounts on down payments for 1st time buyers. People were paying as low as 20% a month ago on 1st home purchases.

No more loans for previously owned homes at at least some banks, but the others are likley to follow.

No more kickbacks and special arrangements between real-estate agencies and banks.

d1ck wrote:4) Price is too high.

4) Wrong, you can't afford it.

OK, so I can only own one at a time, but I can buy and sell residential properties without other limitations, as long as I can claim that each property in turn is my "main place of residence"??

^^One simple way to own multiple properties and rent them out is to simply open a business in China. If you owned 9 places and rented 8, I'm sure you'd have enough to live on here without doing a thing!

overh20 wrote:
Oh, and you need to legally incorporate and have a Chinese partner.

I posted a statement similar to this on another thread and got a lot of flack from people saying it ain't true. Is it true, having to have a Chinese partner or not?

KalanStar wrote:

Andreas wrote:

KalanStar wrote:

Andreas wrote:

KalanStar wrote:are you an expat? If so, you must partner with a Chinese to have a business here at all!!

Now why would you need a Chinese partner to do business here? I am here for more than 15 years, and never had a Chinese business partner. Nowadays (apart from a few restricted sectors) you can run most businesses as a wholly foreign owned enterprise.

I was doing research in to starting my own China based firm, and this is what I was told. I apologize if I have been misinformed.

There are a few, restricted areas, but most business is a lot more free to decide if they want to go WOFE or JV. 10-15 years ago that was a lot different. Things changed pretty fast for a while.

Does a "corporate training company" fall into a special category requiring Chinese partnership?

overh20 wrote:
Then, as a business, you need to pay capital gains taxes, corporate income taxes, fa piao taxes and then personal income tax on your salary..

As far as taxes go, China is pretty cheap compared with Canada and Germany. These are the only two countries I've had a lot of experience with operating my own business venture! I wouldn't worry too much about that here. In those countries, it can easily add up to 60% of profit!

^^Thanks

Ah Beng wrote:

d1ck wrote:4) Price is too high.

4) Wrong, you can't afford it.

I meant what the price,probably, in top of a hyperbole and need to be careful.

In law stated (i'm not comments about):

1、规定境外机构在境内设立分支、代表机构，境外个人在境内工作、学习超过1年的，可以购买符合实际需要的自用、自住商品房。在境内没有设立分支、代表机构的境外机构和在境内工作、学习时间一年以下的境外个人，不得购买商品房。港澳台地区居民和华侨因生活需要，可在境内限购一定面积的自住商品房。

One requiring the establishment of branches of foreign institutions in the territory, on behalf of institutions, foreign individuals in the territory of working, studying more than one year, meet the actual needs can be purchased for personal use, self-occupied commercial buildings. Not set up branches in the territory, on behalf of overseas institutions and organizations within the country to work, study time, less than one year outside the individual, not to buy commercial housing. Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents and overseas Chinese for their everyday needs can be limited within a certain area of the home purchase commercial housing.

overh20 wrote:Mr. Head & I were discussing the idea of renting out a residential property owned by an expat.

Over, glad to know you are nice and welcome back !

PS: I will still try to kick your *** someday , cos still regret about

my unsuccessful attempts in good old times..

Don't go ! We all miss you !

KalanStar wrote:^^One simple way to own multiple properties and rent them out is to simply open a business in China. If you owned 9 places and rented 8, I'm sure you'd have enough to live on here without doing a thing!

It is possible, but profit is very thin (rent yield ~ 3% year). And .. last time the trend was "bull market", so very hard to get any discount or bargains(if do some re-sell). Will see, if the situation will stabilized - here will be a chance.

BTW: registration taxes is not that cheap, actually (count all the black holes) ~ 3%

overh20 wrote:Well, Mr. Head, nice to know you are still confusing your K's and L's.

Keep up the good work!

Yes, glad to know what you floated from U's to O's. Hold on !

it's an interesting time now isn't it?
the rules always change here, so I guess a question is warranted.
They'll probably further restrict lending this year and it'll be harder for you to find something to finance.
The currency itself (cash) seems a safer bet at the moment, though that's just my opinion

Bubble is a whole different question, but if china is really going to pop, that would shackle more than just the region itself I believe.

news google chanos

true, true, but the real estate here is interlinked with so much else, I mean, much of the stimulus did flow into this sector and stocks if the officials like it or not.
And I'm talking about a bubble burst with no rescue intervention (which is unlikely of course), how much more can they pump in?
All of their 2.4 trillion $ ?

They're counting on china to piggy back the rest of the world out of the mess we're in, which is overshadowed by the stock boom.

But the world is in a serious crisis right now.
And the hopes of china's economic growth seems to keep it artificially afloat.

There's been a drop in housing prices in Hainan, 2%, but no one is buying. Is it over for Hainan. Prices are still 100% more than they were 2 months ago! They were expecting record profits from mainlanders arriving over the New Year week with mountains of cash.

No new homes sold in Nanjing over the New Year week! Last year 29 sold! Is it over for Nanjing.

^^Just some of the "news" on CCTV9 Biz China.

What I want to know is, how many vacant developments can Shanghai support? It'd be news if they could answer that! Within 8 kms of me there's well over a hundred vacant apartment buildings, even more 2 and 3 story detached homes, and 1000's of store fronts! There are also at least a dozen or so abandoned partially completed complexes. I live across the street from a virtual ghost town, built in the past 5 years and no one ever moved in! I've traveled all over the world and have never seen so many vacant properties as I see in Shanghai. The developers constantly say they've sold all or nearly all of the space before their completed, and then no one ever moves in

Here's a good thread on the housing market: http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/index.php? ... &p=1215348

shanghai property is used as a money parking instrument since there is nothing else really to invest in in china. so unless the authorities open the door for investment to overseas or if there is an economic crunch then shanghai property price will fall. otherwise, people will just ignore the so called fall ie official prices may have fallen lower but u could never find the lower price property. take a walk around inner ring areas like sichuan north road and u will see. property agents like century 21 report owners just pulling out their offers and pretending the lower price doesnt exist. they can afford to do this since they dont need the money.

^^Yes, the individual owners can afford to not sell... but can the developers? If the developers fail to sell, they tend to go bankrupt and that has to have some ramifications on the greater economy.

With the high property prices, I wonder what has happened to the value of unfinished vacant properties where the developers went out of business? Are those properties also increasing in value? I wish I had a millions of Euro stashed away. I'd buy a complex and turn it into rental space only. With climbing housing prices, I'm sure I'd be able to find tenants.

wuyee wrote:shanghai property .... agents like century 21 report owners just pulling out their offers and pretending the lower price doesnt exist. they can afford to do this since they dont need the money.

^^ And ...they have been heard in BJ

http://tantaonews.com/?p=30284

BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) China’s new credit rules put brakes on banks’ lending binge

"The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) issued new regulations on Saturday evening telling banks to set lending quotas after “prudent calculation” of borrowers’ “actual demand”(should read:checking solvency ).

there is a terrible need for housing in the city actually, but there isn't many apartments for rent at those levels.
Thats why so many migrants live together, and shanghainese families stay together in one place.

It would be a good thing for the people if the prices were to become more affordable, but it's not going to just happen because of that.

How many people would like to afford a place in NYC?
I just recently read an article on the real deal www.therealdeal.com that so many people are renting the affordable housing there, but people still don't want to buy it, stay away, no need, and too expensive still...

overh20 wrote:

KalanStar wrote:^^Yes, the individual owners can afford to not sell... but can the developers? If the developers fail to sell, they tend to go bankrupt and that has to have some ramifications on the greater economy.

With the high property prices, I wonder what has happened to the value of unfinished vacant properties where the developers went out of business? Are those properties also increasing in value? I wish I had a millions of Euro stashed away. I'd buy a complex and turn it into rental space only. With climbing housing prices, I'm sure I'd be able to find tenants.

Finding tenants is easy. Getting them to pay a high enough rent so that you can earn money off the property is almost impossible.

ah, nay nay nay,

it always depends on the property you buy.
most of the average one's your right.
Or propbably 98% of the places your right.

But with some insights in the market you can get 3,4 or 8% still for some properties.
And a smart buyer will check the REAL rent he can get on the places beforehand.

oh yeah, you make a very good point there,

it'll likely be much less after mantainance, management fee's, agency fees and taxes.
but as I said, I think i'll stay in rmb for a while, real estate or cash

I had a few customers they made real good bets, obviously the places appreciated like hell and that's a fortune in itself, but they also took out USD loans with HSBC or Standard.
It became cheaper while the place appreciated.

overh20 wrote:you are still confusing your K's and L's.

Hi, just got your joke Thanks, Smart Аss !

I dig in sh1t around inyternet and find the website about property:

http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/

Here some interesting junk:

BEST INVESTMENT:

http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/investment-rating