Buying property in Vietnam

Christine,

By law, foreigners are not allowed to buy much in Vietnam.  Heck, we are not even allowed to buy motorbikes, with engine displacements of 50cc or greater.  But, of course, there are a number of exceptions to this law: those that are working here, doing business here or have been granted Vietnamese citizenships.  But, in any case, one must really look into the fine prints of those applicable amendments, for a mistake will lead to days, if not months, of agony.  I am not even going to get into the lost of money part; it is an entire can of worms on its own.

So, we are all being considered "temps" therefore, if not absolutely necessary, we should not try to be like the folks that are living here permanently.  It is not worth the effort.

Just my 2 cents.

Good lucks,
Howie

Thank you Howie!

Wild_1/Howie wrote:

By law, foreigners are not allowed to buy much in Vietnam.  Heck, we are not even allowed to buy motorbikes, with engine displacements of 50cc or greater.

Actually you can buy a motorcycle with any displacement you want, your licence is the problem.

If you use your overseas licence to get a VN licence, the maximum displacement is 179cc. If, however, you take the VN driving test ad health check (more an excuse to collect a few Dong) you ban even drive a 'hawg' up to 500cc (the limit of police motorcycles). A licence issued through a test has a lifetime validity and is recognised, and accepted, by ASEAN countries whereas a 'exchange; licence has no validity outside VietNam.

Hi gang,

Jaitch, I was referring to buying and registering a new motorbike like the Vietnameses do.  We must have, at the very least, that Temporary Residence Card to do it.  Other than that, there is no way to do it.  I had to put my motorbike under the name of one of my Vietnamese friends, when I first got here.

The same thing goes with homes.  And I think there are limits to that also:  foreingers, with Temporary Residence Cards, are only allowed one property each.  It is a big old fuss, if you ask me.

Howie

If you have a Biz visa of 3 months or over you can get an NN plate for your motorcycle as well as importing household or personal property but subject to import duty - based on VN customs valuation.

Te idea behind limiting property "purchase" by Foreigners is to prevent large companies or itch people from buying up the place. Now Viet Kieu are buying up some of the best property such as in Cam Ranh Bay where huge tracts of lsnd are marked off as having been assigned.

I have temp residency through marriage & work but was not allowed to even have my name on the purchase of our apartment.  My wife had to buy it alone, but they said in the event of a divorce I would still be afforded my half...I kind of doubt that, but hopefully that will never come up.

If you have good friends or a spouse here it is possible to own anything you want, albeit not in your name.  Just be careful who you trust, but don't be afraid to go after a good deal with help.

VietRob wrote:

... I would still be afforded my half...I kind of doubt that, but hopefully that will never come up.

If you have good friends or a spouse here it is possible to own anything you want, albeit not in your name.  ....

I posted A Layman's Guide to Buying Property in VietNam which explains a lot of the ins and outs of registering property.

Foreigers ca have property registered in their name n Ha Noi, Da Nang and HCMC only the User Certificate has a vaidity f only 75 years.

If your spouse is VN, then that person acquires a normal User Certificate ten signs an agreement appointing the Foreign spouse as land manager and stating the User Certificate can only be transferred ('sold') with your consent.

VN divorce procedure is ery clear,no ifs, ands or buts, 50-50 and if one spouse doesn't agree on property, no divorce.

Ownership registration is possible if you are prepared to wade through paperwork. The other method is to set up a company and the it can wn anything.

so the 75 years is more like a lifetime rental? this applies for any kind of property, but is limited to 1?

VietRob wrote:

so the 75 years is more like a lifetime rental? this applies for any kind of property, but is limited to 1?

The long term leasehold might be a strange concept to North Americans but it is common in Europe. 99-year land leases are not unusual.

In VietNam this restriction is part of their scheme to prevent Foreigners from buying all the prime spots of land.

Foreigners can own the buildings on the leased land but no one owns 'land' in VN other than the government.

This is far better than Thailand where a Thai citizen married to a Foreigner has to prove any property ownership is bought with the Thai spouse' money!

I have a house, an office and two small hotels in VietNam and all the land is (User Certificates) is i my wife's name and we have an agreement that appoints me her exclusive 'land manger', which means technically we have joint control, and that she will not pledge as security or sell the land User Certificate.

A foreigner cant purchase a property but can have a 'long lease' property. It's a 50-year term lease with the developer, so-called sale. Only applicable to apartment and not landed property. One must have a valid resident card, usually valid for 3 years. the property can be sold to a local and become freehold under the local's name.

I am not unfamiliar with it, as I had heard this is how to buy land in Cambodia.  I was unaware that Vietnam had a similar policy, but had heard that it was no possible for foreigners to purchase land...but this has only been in the last few years or so.  I imagine it won't be long before we can obtain longer residencies and greater privileges with this.  It seems every year we are afforded more and more opportunities...another reason why living here is great.  Thanks for the info-

Hi Howie,

You mean you don't need a vn bike licence to register a new bike? Having a resident card only allows you to register ownership of the bbike right? You still need to go to the transport office to get your registration plate. How do you do that without a vn motor licence?

Hue1964 wrote:

Hi Howie,

You mean you don't need a vn bike licence to register a new bike? Having a resident card only allows you to register ownership of the bbike right? You still need to go to the transport office to get your registration plate. How do you do that without a vn motor licence?

Anyone holding a least a 3-month biz visa can register a vehicle, onership of a vehicle is not tied to a driving licence. My company can't drive but the vehicles are registered in it's name. One has an NN pate and the other a LD plate, others have 'normal' registrations.

You don't even need a residence permit to get a land User Certificate and buy property - witness condo owners on Con Dao Island.

Hi Hue,

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you.  But, when you buy a new motorbike, the dealer will take care of the paperworks (title and registration) for you.  You might have to go down to the station to pick up the plates yourself.  But, if you could, try and get the dealer to do that for you, too.  The dealer has its own contact with the traffic police; it can get things done much easier. 

As for your Vietnamese license, go to the transportation department, they will give the package needed to obtain a Vietnamese motorbike and auto licenses based on your valid foreign licenses.  I remember vaguely that you will need to translate your licenses, and the department of foreign affairs will need to stamp some papers regarding your presence here.  It is all in that package, and there is no exam involved.  And it cost very little.  You might have to do this yourself for, not many Vietnamese knows this process.

Good lucks,
Howie

My post is gone so I post again for help on.
I buying a house in HCMC with my VN wife. And we have make a down payment via bank to the house owner.
Now for change name in the red book, the bank ask me write a letter saying I agree to put my wife name only in the red book. Will this make myself don't have control on the ownership ? Thanks.

Acsl,

Yes, it will!  You will me just like Joe Smuck, you will have no part in the sayings of the fore-mentioned property.  Unless you ABSOLUTELY trust her, don't put yourself out on a limb like this.

Howie

Acsl wrote (in the message that disappeared):

    Im getting a house in HcMC with my VN wife, and pay the downpayment via the bank, but now they say I need to write a letter say I agree to only put my wife name in to the red book? Is it the way to do and to I still have say on the house ownership? Please advice thanks.

Did you use a lawyer anywhere in this transaction?

My VN wife holds the User Certificate in her name and we have an agreement that says I am the land manager of the property; she can not borrow against or sell the User Certificate without my written consent and that we have equal interest in the property.

This is the equivalent of a 50-50 divorce provision in say North America or Europe.

Do not write any letter or even more importantly sign anything without legal advice.

Funny things have happened over here in the past where a Foreigner and money is involved. There have been reported cases where a member of the VN spouse family being kidnapped and held for ransom - either money or User Certificate.

By having a written agreement, which is part of the documentation filed with the Peoples Committee, it means no legal transfer can happen without you being involved and consenting to the transaction.

Very hard to get around it.

The other protection is during (heaven forbid) a divorce procedure - your interests are protected. Also make sure that where your money, as opposed to that of your wife, the paper trail is very clear. (Bank transfers not ATM pulls)

Remember, get a lawyer and register it with your User Certificate, just as the bank will with any loan.

Thanks for the advice Jaitch do u have any Lawer that can trust. Because some of them don't event know English is hard to talk to them. For the buying house is all done by bank. Now the 10% of the down payment  and the red book is with the bank.
Thanks.

Jaitch also my wife want me to bank in the money to her account before, going down to the bank and get the red book done. 
But like what you did become the land manager what is the step and where to get it done, is it will be written on the red book after that? 
Also the red and user cert is it the same paper we talking about because I not sure what is the term for that in VN. Thank you.

The land manager in vietnamese because I talk to the bank they say don't have this thanks.

Hi Jaitch Thanks I got it.

VietRob wrote:

so the 75 years is more like a lifetime rental? this applies for any kind of property, but is limited to 1?

Yes, It's like a lease hold. There are also 25 and 50 years (. Before expiring time yo either can sell it pr "hand it over" to the state.
Some of the shorter leases can have a "right" for one renewal.

I read some news http://www.asiaadvert.com/blog-2/135-al … in-vietnam about this

brunc77 wrote:

I read some news http://www.asiaadvert.com/blog-2/135-al … in-vietnam about this

It still has a loooooooooooooooong way. I wont hold my breathe. Like anything else, it happens WHEN it happens.
new airport, casiNO