I have been renting a studio in a neighborhood next to the Science Park…the entire neighborhood pretty much consists of rentals for Science Park workers…I pay around 8000NT~9000NT for a studio apartment there, which includes furnishings, internet, electricity (with the A/C on a seperate meter), cable television, and water…washing machine is also provided on the rooftop…
Recently, there have been a few new constructions in the neighborhood that are selling brand new studio apartments…I guess seeing the low mortgage rates, they probably thought Science Park workers might decide to buy instead of rent…
I have been eyeing one of these new studios in the area lately…the asking price is 188萬元, total area is 9.16 坪, and the actual living area is 6.89 坪…picture of the place is here:
From what the agent told me, monthly maintenance cost is $1000NT, and I obviously need to pay for utilities myself…no parking…just streetside…easy enough to park a scooter, but a car is most likely out of the question…
So what do you all think? I have three options:
- Pay the amount completely in one lump sum…I am guessing I can haggle the price down to around 170萬元…producing the cash is no problem…
- Mortgage…question is, how much I should pay up front, and how much I should mortgage…should I take advantage of low mortgage rates now, or just buy it???
- Just continue renting…I think I will be here for another 2~3 years at least…
I was thinking…after my time here is over…I could sell it (I am hoping to get at least the same price I bought it for and hope the land price is relatively stable or growing at a healthy rate due to the Science Park)…if I can’t get rid of it…I could rent it out at 8000~9000NT a month…maybe higher…I don’t think I would have a problem, considering that the area is pretty hot among Science Park workers…would appreciate any feedback…thanks! My considerations for buying is not so much to make a profit off it…it would be nice to have a place of my own to call “home”…just wanted to know if it was logically/financially sound…or totally a wrong/dumb move…thanks!