Can you buy a house with all physical cash?

I know Taiwan is still very dependent on physical cash whereas US and EU mostly use some sort of digital payment (cards, swift, wire, etc).

That being said, would one be able to buy a house in Taiwan and pay entirely in physical cash? Would this be allowed or raise any alarm bells? This is assuming one does not need any bank loan or mortgage of course.

The main reason being that it’s actually easier for me to liquidate certain assets for physical cash (crypto, watches, gold) in Taiwan and I’m curious if it’s possible to then directly use these funds to purchase a house. This would be extremely uncommon in the West, but how feasible would it be to do so in Taiwan? Are there any limits to how much physical cash would be allowed for a real estate purchase?

1 Like

Yes.

Or you can wire it. Sure.

1 Like

We’re talking half a million USD in CASH here?

Get an accountant, and have him handle all the stuff.

That much cash you’re asking to get scammed.

1 Like

Yes, they show you the house. You hand over the money and then they switch the house up for a box of garbage.

Happened to a friend when he tried to buy a camera on the street.

2 Likes

… and hire a security firm to transport that many 1000 - 2000 NT$ bills.

If you have evidence cash comes from legit sources - why not.
Bad part is did you launder cash to buy into the assets you have sold?
That would be investigated U.K.

Hopefully one is smart enough to involve a lawyer.

In Europe many countries have a 1000-3000 Euro limit on cash payment.

I’d say an accountant because there are going to be a LOT of questions as to where that money comes from.

Even people who can afford to pay cash for stuff like a house or a car still gets a loan, because you will have to answer a lot more questions about the money if you were to pay cash vs getting a loan.

Why would anyone get a lone and pay interest and fees when they have the cash available? unless they have another motive, the questions are not that hard.

“Where did the money come from, and can you prove it?”

Interest 1-2% vs capital gains of 10%+. Makes more sense to get a loan so you can keep cash to invest.

4 Likes

Having that much cash is possible, with little to explain because there is little to say.

I know someone who was an early mover in Bitcoin. His net worth is now hundreds of millions of US$, all because he spent a few dollars a long time ago on BTC.

where you getting that risk free?

Ditto. But dont get upset if you have government folks calling and visiting you in person to ask questions. If its legal and you gave a big slice to the government, then there would be no issue.

I feel like you are mixing up a cash purchase and actually having a suitcase full of cash.

Nobody would buy a house in physical cash. No advantage at all. Unless you are trying to lie about how much actually exchanged hands.

But people do buy houses without a mortgage. Aka a cash purchase.

Sell your crypto/gold/watches and put the cash in a bank. Then transfer.

Because interest rates are low. That cash can earn much more than the interest on the loan. In fact, it’s super ignorant to pay cash for a house when interest rates are so low.

Interest rates are low on savings also, 2 year fixed rate savings bonds at my bank will give me .45%, the mortgage would be just over 1% if i fix it for 2 years.

Even the annuities at the Taiwanese insurance companies give 4 or 5 percent.

2 year annuity 2.6% and you pay tax and fees also its not risk free, if the insurance firm go under you loose your money, unless you pay for insurance. also you need to filter in the cost of the lone fee’s extra. banks have been doing this for a long time and they dont like to give money away.

You can bring in $2.4 Million tax free into Taiwan…