Buying a house is something that always seemed out of reach, but my income has gone up and I’m thinking more about the future, so it’s something I’m thinking about again. My number of people has also increased, family wise, as has my age. The last one is my main concern.
Here are my brief stats to avoid a lot of boring info.
Late 40s, about NT$80,000/m income, wife and child and hope to add one more child. I have no savings or investments (savings disappeared when the baby came), so I’d have to save up to make a down payment, at which point I’ll be even older. My wife can’t work now but should be able to in 2 years, though it’s not likely she’ll have a high income (could teach, doesn’t want to, but wants to work, long story).
We’re all foreigners. I’d like to stay near-ish to Taipei, but I’m willing to compromise, Sanxia or the like. 3 bedrooms would be ideal, I can settle for 2.
I’ve looked on 591 and used their mortgage calculator. I’m having trouble sorting out the different options of what’s available. Prices seem to go from 1 million to 50, with around 20 being the most common. Presale apartments look like a good deal, but I don’t think I can swing the payments while also paying rent. It looks like it takes years until you can live in one after buying it. I don’t mind buying an older gongwu apartment if it’s in good shape and my wife can sell it when I’m dead.
It’s the age that makes me think a bank isn’t going to give me a loan. I’ve read on other threads how hard it is for foreigners and even naturalized former foreigners to get the time of day from a bank. At my age, they’re also going to think I’ll stop working or be dead before much longer. I think a typical loan period is 30 years, which would be great, but I’ll be nearing 80. In 20 years, I’ll be past retirement age. I just started paying into the Taiwan pension system 3 years ago, so I don’t expect to have much. I will have paid enough into the US social security to get the minimum payout. It would be about enough to live in Taiwan, but I don’t think a bank will factor that. 10 to 15 years is probably about the best I can do, unless I’m wrong. I just don’t know if any bank would lend me the money this late in life even if I came up with a significantly high down payment.
I think the biggest hurdle you need to overcome is the down payment, possible remodeling and setup cost. Your down payment on the house can be 20-30%. Remodeling and startup cost depends on you. If you are lucky or want too, you can get a mortgage where you don’t have to start paying on it for a few years. Of course, ideally, you still want to have some money in the bank for emergencies.
im in a similar situation, mid 40s, and dont want to be tied to a loan till im almost 70 or 80.
I would consider checking the option of getting a mortgage or loan from your home country.
perhaps the deal you can get in a US bank will be better.
My problem with home purchase in Taiwan is the high down payment. You almost can’t do it unless your mom or dad pitched in. Given the price of homes in Taiwan you’re looking at least 5 million nt in cash.
That and the rental yield is so low you’re better off renting.
For a house in Taiwan? That doesn’t seem likely. How would they foreclose? In any case, I have only a tiny US income and my credit rating is mediocre. Also, no property in the US.
You haven’t discussed expenses and debt. Assuming those are reasonable and manageable (such that you can actually save up a down payment), you could afford something on the (very) low end of that. But if you can save up a down payment, but haven’t, that suggests you’re spending all your money and will need a downgrade in lifestyle to make it happen. Is that something you want to do?
Min payout is like $50. Make sure you understand your benefits.
Forget the mortgage. You’ll be able to convince someone to give you the loan. First things first, you need the downpayment. Based on your requirements you’re gonna need what? 3 million? You need to figure out if you can adjust your income and expenses so you can save that in a reasonable amount of time. Alternatively you can choose a cheaper area or settle for an older building.
5 mil in 15 years seemed doable if a bank would lend it to me, but I mentioned the space I needed. Well, not exactly, but for 3+ people, in the neighborhood of 30 ping, less if it’s laid out well.
I don’t know why you would think renting is better. My rent now is less than a mortgage payment, but not significantly less. Of course, that depends on the term of the loan.
Expenses are manageable and decreasing as the kid gets older. I have debt in the US, but I have income there too that about covers it.
As I said, baby, and my income has increased. I would have thought about this a few years ago except that the baby came. I could cut back on the whiskey, but otherwise, we’re pretty frugal.
In the US? Unless there’s some funny rule about overseas earners, and I’m still not earning that much, the minimum as of 2020 was $886.
I don’t understand that at all. I thought a mortgage was a type of loan with the property as collateral. I’m sure it’s more complicated, but isn’t a mortgage what people get when they buy a home?
3 mil for the house or the down payment? That seems low for a house and high for a down payment. I will take a year or two, but I can save the down payment.
Everyone is giving helpful advice, but the age thing is what concerns me the most. I haven’t known of a foreigner with no property borrowing money for a home at my age.
I don’t think age is the issue. You or the bank (if they foreclose) can sell the property at any time. Banks are dealing with risk all day and with a 20% down payment, I don’t think they really care if you are 70-80yo in the final 10yrs of your loan. They will have taken 20yrs of money from you and if somehow you are unable to sell the house and cannot pay the loan…they’ll just take the house. Certainly as a foreigner you may need extra effort to find a bank that will help get it done.
Aside from buying a house that’s within a reasonable budget and having a down payment, the big issue is monthly income vs expenses. Can you afford the loan payments and monthly building fees (if any) along with your other expenses? You would have to factor in future schooling and additional child costs if you are looking to have another kid.
Along with a down payment, do you have an emergency fund if you somehow cannot work for 2 months? Those would be the more important issues.
I meant as down payment. That’s good that you can scrape that, don’t know how on an 80k income with 3 mouths to feed but good nonetheless. Also as a foreigner, especially one that worries about getting the mortgage, you may need to pay up to 30% as down payment.
Miscommunication. You got the definition right, I just meant getting the mortgage is not as hard as saving the down payment.
There are no hard rules for mortgages you just need to convince one bank employee you are good for the money and it’s done. I wouldn’t worry about it, the age is mostly irrelevant if you have a stable income.
I wouldn’t think so either, but foreigners get turned down all the time with better circumstances than me. I think they prefer to have it paid off over the life of a loan, in which case they get more money, and the longer the term the more they get.
No, I couldn’t do 3 mil as a down payment within a reasonable amount of time. I wasn’t thinking of buying a place that would require that big of a down payment. I probably confused things by listing a lot of numbers.
I think I did my math wrong last night. I think it will take a lot longer than I expected to save up a down payment unless I got some very cheap place.
It’s viable, but you’re going to have to start living a lot more frugally if you haven’t managed to save anything so far, and you’re going to have to make some compromises on location. I’m in my late 30s, bought a house while on a similar salary a couple of years ago, but managed to have enough saving for a deposit. My wife chipped in some, but I could have put down the whole deposit if I had needed too, just would have wiped out most of our retirement fund. We also bought in the mountains around Ankeng. IMO there’s really good value to be had up here, especially in the Taipei housing market. What you lose in convenience you make up for in price and living environment.
You’re going to have to think outside the box to make this work in Taiwan’s inflated housing market. Maybe gofund your down payment. Maybe start some sort of collective with other foreigners in a similar situation and buy an entire building at reduced cost per ping.
Lets be realistic.
On your salary alone with no savings, no. This is not doable. Sanxia housing prices are skyrocketing now that the new MRT line is nearing completion.
You need 3 million in savings minimum for a down-payment. You needto consider furnishing and renovations. You need more income.
Special Minimum Benefits are only applicable to certain individuals with long periods of relatively low earnings… It was $886 in 2019 if the recipient had paid into Social Security for 30 years… Here is the Special Minimum Benefits table for 2022:
To estimate your Social Security benefits, you can login to your Social Security account, and run the online calculator (make sure to fill in 0’s for the years you don’t work in the US).
