Can a NWOHR buy a house in Taiwan?

CAn a taiwan passport holder that no household can buy a house in any place in taiwan?

no.

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So in order to buy a house in Taiwan, first you need to have a house in Taiwan?

Maybe @henkka01 means NWOHR can not buy a house in some place in Taiwan.

If by have you mean own, no. Renting works too. But you do need an address for the registration.

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many landlord discourage or disallow tenants to register their household thereā€¦ something about tax and stuff.

That is true. Itā€™s mainly a tax evasion issue. I donā€™t think they are legally allowed to forbid it.

you can go to the household registration office and report them, but even they have advised this will basically strain your relationship with your landlord and theyā€™ll find an excuse to make you move out.

I believe you donā€™t need an address in Taiwan to buy a house or land in Taiwan and resister your ownership.

This is a regulation for land, but it may be similar to a regulation for houses.

Regulations of the Land Registration

Article 40
The registering party shall appear in person at the registration agency when delivering a registration application, present the original copy of ID card, sign on the application form or proof documents citing the cause of registration on site, and receive the verification by the assigned personnel at the registration agency before an approval may be granted.
The registering party referred to above shall present one of the following identifications if ID card is not available:
(1) A passport or a resident certificate issued by the Government of the Republic of China if the applicant is an alien
(2) An overseas compatriot identity certificate issued by the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission or documents required by the central land administration authority, and a secondary photo identification if the applicant is an overseas citizen
(3) An identification or long-term resident certificate for the Taiwan area verified by the institute or civil organization established or designated by the Executive Yuan if the applicant is a mainland Chinese
(4) A passport or permanent residence permit issued by Hong Kong or Macau if the applicant is a resident of Hong Kong or Macau, or
(5) A naturalization or restoration approval issued by the competent agency, if the applicant has been granted citizenship through naturalization or restoration

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Correct, some land has limitations on it (e.g. the land restricted to aboriginals).

Pretty much anyone can buy a house in Taiwan. Even a foreigner just using their passport, donā€™t even need ARC AFAIK. (As long as Taiwanese can buy property in that country, itā€™s reciprocal.)

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Yes,you are correct thats what i know for foreigner but the regulation regarding oversease chinese who hold taiwan passport only that i know and thats why i know and tandoā€¦gives us very informative answers thank you tando

Yes!you are correct thats what i know only for foreigner that they can a property in taiwan but the regulation regarding overseas chinese who hold taiwan passport only thats i dont know about the regulation when regardings to buying a property and tandoā€¦gives us very informative answers thank you tando

Sorry if I was unclear. I meant you need an address for household registration, not to buy a house.

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I am a NWOHR currently in the process of buying a home. I should mention that I do also have a TARC.

As far as I know, there is no law against most or all foreigners buying and owning homes in Taiwan (including NWOHR). There are some restrictions on some types of land.

Getting a bank mortgage to buy the home, however, is a separate issue. If you can pay all in cash, I guess it doesnā€™t matter, but this is important to note if you plan to try to get a mortgage in Taiwan. Banks have their own requirements and criteria for assessing whether or not they will give you a mortgage. At a minimum, I believe they all want to see some kind of ARC or TARC or other resident visa, and even with that, many prefer a äæč­‰äŗŗ (not sure how to translate this ā€“ maybe guarantor?) who is a local with a Taiwan ID ļ¼ˆčŗ«åˆ†č­‰ļ¼‰and sometimes they want that person to be a direct relative like a parent. Sometimes they want this person to also be financially qualified as well (certain level of income, and/or no large ratio of outstanding debt to income).

Iā€™m currently in the late stages of the process of getting a mortgage and buying a home. Iā€™ll write a detailed post about what I learned when the process concludes. I will say two things: (1) itā€™s probably far easier once you have a Taiwan ID ļ¼ˆčŗ«åˆ†å¼µļ¼‰, (2) be careful signing contracts ā€“ I got into a house buying contract which seemed to say all down payment money would be returned if I couldnā€™t get a loan, but then later one of the sales managers said that if I exited the contract due to not being able to get a loan on my side, they would probably need to penalize me 10% to 15% of the home price. I was getting ready to check with a lawyer, because I think his answer may have been bogus, but luckily it looks like I wonā€™t need to do that if everything finalizes soon.

So, even if youā€™re really wealthy in another country, it can be a really challenging process to get a mortgage in Taiwan. I have a lot more to write about on this subject once Iā€™m done with the process.

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Hi multipass! Curious to hear if you have any updates regarding your experience buying a house as a NWOHR.

Hi @intercitydisco ,

I wrote about this a bit in another thread. You may find these 2 comments helpful:

Comment 1:


Comment 2:

ā€“

Feel free to let me know if you have any specific questions. I can also refer you to the loan/mortgage person at the bank that I worked with, and also another that I got approved with but didnā€™t move forward with.

Overall my main tips are:

  • Prepare as much supporting financial info as possible, no matter what the mortgage salesperson says. Land, stocks, retirement savings, etc.
  • Being able to pick up the phone and answer the questions accurately when your application is being reviewed is very important.
  • If you have a direct relative in Taiwan like parent, spouse, grandparent, or sibling, who can financially qualify as your äæč­‰äŗŗļ¼Œit seems like that could help a lot (but I didnā€™t end up needing to go that far)
  • Donā€™t get discouraged if you donā€™t get the loan you want from the first bank. Try at least a few different ones. åÆŒé‚¦éŠ€č”Œļ¼Œę˜Ÿå±• and åƌ邦äŗŗ壽 were all willing to at least let me apply and not reject me immediately. Despite my being really poorly prepared and too busy to pick up calls, two still approved me ā€“ 1 for the loan I wanted. Many banks simply will not handle this type of case at all, for various reasons.
  • Remember that the mortgage salesperson doesnā€™t handle the approval process, so they often donā€™t 100% know what theyā€™re talking about. Some mortgage salespeople will say you can easily get the loan, but donā€™t really understand the requirements clearly.
  • Be prepared for the possibility that youā€™ll only get approved for a smaller loan than you were needing to buy the home and therefore need to put down more cash to go through with the purchase.
  • Before signing an agreement to buy a home (required before applying for the mortgage loan to pay for it), ask the seller if the contract has any penalty if you need to back out due specifically to not getting approved for a high enough mortgage (and check the contract yourself also). The point here is: if you canā€™t get approved by any bank, and if the contract has a penalty for backing out of the house purchase agreement, the seller might demand that you pay them a bunch of money. Iā€™m not sure how legally enforceable that is. Luckily I didnā€™t get that far into a problematic situation.
  • Before signing an agreement to buy a home, talk to the loan salespeople at the banks first to get familiar with the process and their thinking. Come to them with a few examples of properties youā€™re considering and the prices to get their feedback based on your basic financial stats like income and assets.
  • Donā€™t expect things to go perfectly smoothly. Be patient and make sure you do everything you can to help facilitate the process. Expect to spend a lot of time explaining yourself to various people.
  • Finally, if youā€™re planning to get a čŗ«ä»½č­‰ in a year or two, you might want to consider just renting until you get that. Rent is cheap in Taiwan, and buying later with that čŗ«ä»½č­‰ seems like it would be a lot easier, unless youā€™re going to be less financially able to support the loan in that situation.

Hopefully that helps, but let me know if you need other information.

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Hi I am new here and I am an NWOHR. Aside from the financial aspects, what is required of from the government when purchasing a condominium and can I live there immediately after purchasing?

Hi @Reno818 , itā€™s been a while since my purchase, but if I recall correctly, nothing is needed ahead of the purchase (other than making sure you have all of your IDs ready), and during/after the purchase youā€™ll need to register to pay local land and home taxes, and probably register for utilities like gas and electricity. These may require a TARC or similar ID. Iā€™m not 100% sure.

Beyond that, I donā€™t think the government asks for anything specifically, but itā€™s been a while since I bought my place.

If you plan to live there as your primary residence, you can most likely file for a slightly lower tax rate if you have a TARC or similar ID. Not sure if itā€™s possible without it.

I donā€™t think the government requires anything to move in and live there, but if you want to have a lower tax rate or sign up for similar things as the person living there, youā€™ll probably need your TARC or some other ID to have the address listed. If you donā€™t have a TARC or anything like that, Iā€™m not sure if thereā€™s anything else to consider. My guess is that if you have the keys and own the place, most likely no one will stop you from physically being there for any reason.

The main hurdles are with the banks if you want a mortgage. I guess if you paid in all cash maybe it could be rather easy.

In terms of living there immediately, remember to plan for some time to install a/c and heating if you need it, etc., as most condos just come as an empty shell.

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Hi multipass,

Thanks for the info. Iā€™m researching the process of buying a home in Taiwan so the info in your posts was really helpful.

According to the Dept of Land Admin website:

Foreign nationals purchasing real estate are required to submit the following documents to the Land Registration Office where the land is located :

(1). Application form for land registration
(2). Identification documents of obligor and oblige of changes in land rights
(3). Contract of sale and purchase
(4). Tax payment or tax exemption documents (e.g. land value increment tax or tax on land ownership registration)
(5). Certificate of Reciprocity (has included in the table of reciprocal countries, therefore not necessary)
(6). Certificate of zoning for land use (do not need to submit if the land is considered non-urban)
(7). Land ownership certificate
(8). Authorization document ( attach if individual is unable to apply personally)
(9).Other documents of evidence required according to the provisions of the Central Land Administration

So this process is to be done AFTER the home purchase?

Thanks.