Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Never been to Vietnam but I've been to Thailand and frequent Thailand message boards. The consensus is to just rent. The risk is too high to buy something in such countries.
Quote:
Foreigners are not allowed to own land. In fact, even citizens are not allowed to own land. In Vietnam, land is theoretically collectively owned by the people, but regulated by the State.
Foreigners who are residents in Vietnam are permitted to purchase dwelling houses. They can own a house but not the land on which it is built. They have the option to lease the land from the State.
However the leading foreign estate agent in Vietnam, Chesterton, is marketing a 50-year lease scheme, which is almost a sale. Under this scheme, the buyer acquires a right to the apartment for 50 years, and the right to renew the lease at the term´s expiry without payment of additional rent. If property ownership by foreigners becomes legal within that time, the complex owner will transfer the apartment title to the buyer. If the building for some reason has to be sold, the buyer will get a pro-rata share of the proceeds. And because the contract is only a lease, the buyer can sub-let his apartment. In other words, the contract gives the buyer many of the rights of ownership. Chesterton for example sells 38-year leases in the Parkland building, which has been in existence 12 years (the maximum lease length under Vietnamese law is 50 years).
A foreign investor may also invest in Vietnamese real property by forming a joint venture company with a local partner, or a wholly foreign-owned company, or by forming a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) company or one of its variants.
Quote:
Foreigners who are residents in Vietnam can own dwelling houses but cannot sub-lease these dwellings. Foreign residents can also sell, donate, inherit, or give dwelling houses as gifts. But where they terminate their residence in Vietnam without disposal of their dwelling, 90 days after their departure from Vietnam their dwelling house certificates will automatically cease to be valid, and the Vietnamese State will manage and use their houses.
One thing that separates real estate transactions in Vietnam from the rest of the world is it´s done in pure gold. In June, according to Thanhnien News, one tael (1.25 ounces) of gold is equivalent to VND11.45 million (US$510). It is very important to keep this in mind when looking for a property. The buyer must be aware of the prices and conversions at all times.
Registering property in Vietnam is not particularly onerous, taking about 43 to 71 days to finish the four procedures needed, and costing considerably less than elsewhere in the region.
Never been to Vietnam but I've been to Thailand and frequent Thailand message boards. The consensus is to just rent. The risk is too high to buy something in such countries.
You can buy a 50-year leasehold.
You can't own land (only the dwelling on the land).
Any foreigner can buy property with either a work visa or a tourist visa.
Etc.
Looks like prices in HCMC are about half of what they are in BKK.
Thailand is one of the five MITI-V countries that are supposedly up and coming, however Thailand just seems a little old-news to me. My bet is on Vietnam also because it seems to be receiving more companies fleeing China. But I have friends that are more bullish on Thailand.
You can buy a house in Vietnam, but have to lease the property. Similar to when Americans move to Mexico and live within 3x miles of the coast - they have to 'lease' the land (long term lease).
Set to go to Ho Chi Minh City June 15 to look at some condos. That's the only type of dwelling foreigners are allowed to buy; no single family houses, no land. I think the govt is afraid of foreigners controlling their land. In a condo situation they also limit the % of units in a building that can be sold to foreigners.
But if China experience is any guide, not owning the land does not prevent the investment from returning profit.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
