So has anyone actually successfully got a house int heir name, and mortgage to go with it, as a foreigner. We’ve ogt an offer on the table now, and would like the house and mortgage either in my name or both that of me and my wife. One of my in-laws can co-sign.
Is it worth me trying out the banks? How do I go about doing this?
Brian
I haven’t bought yet, but I’ve done some research. You can buy residential property if your country allows Taiwanese to do the same … the reciprocal thingy again. Some local banks will allow you to get a loan as long as a local co-signs with you. I spoke to Rebecca at SCSB - 022 581 7111 ext.1102
Good luck!
teggs
Thanks Teggs. That makes sense out of what my estate agent said about he’s not sure about New Zelanders. I was wondering why it would be different for different foreigners - the old Taiwanese government’s selective reciprocity.
He also seemed to think that maybe only foreign banks would give me a loan, so the interest would be higher. But you say ‘some local banks’ so that’s helpful.
Taxes - someone above mentioned something about taxes being higher for foreigners. Does anyone know what taxes we are talking abouthere, and how much higher it might be. Land taxes are pretty miniscule anyway, as I understand it. Or are we talking about some sort of purchase tax?
I’ve made a formal offer on a place, so am eager to find out this info ASAP. All help appreciated.
Brian
What would you have to pay monthly on say, a 4 million or 5 million house? Is there any chance ever of a Mugabe taking over power somewhere and you as foreigner losing the right to own a house, thus losing your property?
Brian,
I am looking to this also, and have been advised of the reciprocal requirement. AFAIK, there are not many restrictions on foreigners buying property in NZ (some say to NZs detriment) other than significant purchases of conservation type land or large chunks of coastal.
Case in point: recently Shania Twain was finally allowed to ‘purchase’ a huge chunk of Central Otago incl national parks, but it took a couple of years to approve and is more or less a long term lease.
But other than that, I think Joe Bloggs foreign cash buyers can purchase a house if they want. I will try and find some official info.
I am in a different boat to you tho, in that I don’t have a Tw spouse, so if you have trouble, then I am really pushing it. :s
hello I need to take some loan against my house, I heard you can do 房屋超貸? like up to double of the value of your house? can someone tell me exactly how it’s done and risks involved in it and what not? thanks a lot
Double is pretty doubtful. What happens is that the real estate agent and the seller agree with you to officially sell you the house at a higher price than you’re actually going to buy it, thus you can effectively borrow more. For example if you agree on a price of 4 million and have organised a 70% mortgage (ie deposit 30%) then they agree to a paper value of 5M, then you can actually borrow 3.5M rather than 2.8.
The flaw is that banks here lend very low perecentages of the value (ie require higher deposits) than back home and will have guidelines for various areas and types of houses. So they might check out your house and decide that because of where it is or what type of house it is, they’ll only lend you 65% or something. I think about 60%-80% is typical.
As to legality - my former real estate agent friend said it’s illegal, but not ILLEGAL.
Brian
Taiwan, eh? You can either laugh or cry.
HG
[quote=“Bu Lai En”]Double is pretty doubtful. What happens is that the real estate agent and the seller agree with you to officially sell you the house at a higher price than you’re actually going to buy it, thus you can effectively borrow more. For example if you agree on a price of 4 million and have organised a 70% mortgage (ie deposit 30%) then they agree to a paper value of 5M, then you can actually borrow 3.5M rather than 2.8.
The flaw is that banks here lend very low perecentages of the value (ie require higher deposits) than back home and will have guidelines for various areas and types of houses. So they might check out your house and decide that because of where it is or what type of house it is, they’ll only lend you 65% or something. I think about 60%-80% is typical.
As to legality - my former real estate agent friend said it’s illegal, but not ILLEGAL.
Brian[/quote]
I see, but I am not buying a house and I am actually want to take a loan against my house, house is all paid for so in this case can I get it at a higher price? but who and who will agree at a higher price? Bank and me?
[quote=“ironfist”]
I see, but I am not buying a house and I am actually want to take a loan against my house, house is all paid for so in this case can I get it at a higher price? but who and who will agree at a higher price? Bank and me?[/quote]
You are simply asking for a mortgage (or maybe you are remortgaging your house in this case). The bank will send its appraisers to see the propety and you’ll get a loan of anywhere up to 75% of the appraised value, just like everyone else.
to take a loan against your house, how do they borrow loan from one bank then borrow again on another bank? is it when the property went up then you can borrow again? my question is I can’t find a co signer, so I can only borrow half of the value of my house, so can I borrow half from this bank then the other half from the other bank?
This seems to be a very misunderstood situation, and it’s very difficult to get a definitive answer. As a result, the information I’m about to provide may be contradicted, but it’s extremely unlikely that my findings are incorrect given the resources I’ve allocated to the investigation of this question.
I own a successful English school and I recently gave one of my Taiwanese employees the mission of finding out if there is any way I can get a loan without a co-signer: the answer seems to be a resounding “no”. A foreigner must have a permanent ARC or be married to a Taiwanese person before 100% ownership of a school is allowed, but even the establishment of a successful business does not incline the banks to lend me money.
At the same time, there are many alternative sources of financing when it comes to buying real estate, including financing from the seller. This holds true even more now that many Taiwanese are starting to realize that real estate prices have been artificially high for too long. The fact that real estate prices will likely fall, as well as the increasing difficulty of selling real estate, will likely make it easier for foreigners to find alternative sources of financing in the future. At the same time, it also makes the financial prospects of ownership less desirable, unless the investor is really looking at the long-term (a few decades) or some uniquely profitable investment opportunity.
In any case, it would seem to me that this question is moot because:
a foreigner who is married should obviously be trusted by the spouse, so a co-signer is no problem (note that Taiwanese law does not allow for the division of assets upon divorce; rather, the assets are in the name of one spouse or the other)
a foreigner with a permanent ARC must first live here for seven years, and it seems impossible that a trustworthy and dependable foreigner could live here for so long without having a single friend who could act as a co-signer
I should add that I personally find it offensive that we are barred from having loans without the assurances of a local, but there are many Taiwanese laws and customs which seem strange to me: the fact is, we can get around most of them using consideration, creativity and connections.
I have’t see a recent thread on this subject, but as the title states, I’m looking at taking out a housing loan for an apartment here in Taiwan.
This will likely be solely in my name. Has anyone on an ARC done this recently and realistically, what is the percentage of the purchase price and interest rates that a bank would offer to a foreigner?
I know that this would be dependent on other factors such as my income, property location etc, just looking for a general guide here so that I can estimate how much cash I would need to cough up for a downpayment.
Thanks!
Hey,
My situation isn’t exactly the same but I’ll share anyways.
I’m an APRC holder married to a Taiwanese citizen.
First off, there’s a huge difference in the amount of down payment needed for a new house vs used. Used houses require 30% down, that’s pretty big IMO. New houses/apartments only require 10% down. The building company finances the mortgage.
Regarding the interest rate, I wanted the house in my name. The bank did say I could, but the IR would be higher. They offered us 4-5% above prime if in my name and only 1% if it was in hers. We decided to put it in her name.
Anyways, hopefully someone will have more specific info for you but I hope this gives you some idea
That’s absolutely insane. Why would the bank do that when they can just take the house if you don’t pay?
Yeah, well it made it an easy choice for who’s name to put it in
Thanks @eCanada, this was exactly the kind of info I was looking for.
Can I ask where you got this information? I was looking at a new apartment and the developer told me I would likely need to place a dowpayment of 30%, though that might be because in their experience the bank would likely only extend 70% and actually have nothing to do with the developer.
And wow! thats a huge difference!
From my bank and housing developer. We decided to buy a new apartment because we didn’t have enough saved for 30% down. We bought it two years ago and have 28 years left on the mortgage.
thanks, this is tremendously helpful!
Let me know if you have any more questions and let us know how it works out