Buying House

That is not a proposition I'd agree to in any country under any circumstances. It's way to risky and is bound to fall in a hole. You and your wife shuold buy your own block and build your own house by yourselves, for just yourselves. One house, one family is the only way to go.

You can now purchase land enough to build your own as foreigners - but since you are Viet Kieu, you also reclaim your Vietnamese citizenship, if Australia allows dual citizenship its a win win for you.  I agree with the above, waaaay too risky, who knows what relative will come into the picture later and claim the land is theirs and your friends were not authorized to build on it.   Build your own homestead.

Hmnn...  2 laptops, (Apple Macbook & Microsoft Dell), WI-FI, Mobile broadband modem, (still) unable to 'open page'  or access Expat.com website.

..any clues, anyone..?

Bazza139 wrote:

Hmnn...  2 laptops, (Apple Macbook & Microsoft Dell), WI-FI, Mobile broadband modem, (still) unable to 'open page'  or access Expat.com website.

..any clues, anyone..?

you should ask the government. They control the internet in this country. Back to the topic, I think you should spend more time investigating the property on your own. Like others suggested, I'd buy the land for yourself if I were you. Do not involve other people, too much headache later on. This is Vietnam and the rules and regulations are constantly changing. You get no protection if things go awry.

I'm working in legal field. I hope my suggest can help you:

1. With foreigners in Vietnam, until now, there 2 basic ways for foreign individual and business to possess house in Vietnam:
a) Invest and build house in projected area by Vietnam law regulation and other related law regulation;

b) Buy, rent, contribute or inherit commercial house, including building apartment and private house in projected area by the law;

=> You should research or contact with Local Department to know more information.

2. Follow your informations, maybe your wife is still a Vietnam citizen (you can apply documents to return Vietnam citizen), so your wife can own that land. (But this process will lost time).

You need to verify the requirements for the foreigners to buy property in Vietnam; be sure that you and your wife's name are on the title (do not take any promises, every agreement have to be on writing); be careful and spell out all details on the agreement contract and have it notarized. The law in Vietnam is very different with other develop countries especially Vietnamese real estate law, we just went through a very nasty deal with a very devious Vietnamese real estate seller, she promised the deal would be closed in 3 weeks, next few days .............. we need to bribe the official to get the document sign ........ to make it short, she wait until the market price went up then said "sorry, I changed my mind ....... if you want to buy the condo you have to pay an additional 100 million VND. Do not trust any Vietnamese with your money, I know there are honors Vietnamese but do not test your luck.

I am a Vietnamese and I still have a hard time to accept that a gentlemen word/promise are long gone and everything must be spell out in detail and even with all that careful works, I still have problems. Thanks to the new way of life and ........ "Murphy Law". A lot of lucks to you.

I'm not sure why you are taking this risk. All loans and investments entail risk.

What if your question was:

"We have friends who are Australian citizens, who are buying with a mortgage, a plot of land and they would like us to be joint purchasers to enable them to build a house on the land, we would be financing the building. Does anybody foresee problems..."

In your first-world country, each party would naturally have lawyers to draw up a contract that the court would uphold to protect all parties. Your lawyer would suggest you require collateral and/or a lien for your investment. A land title company would research title history to guarantee your deed against future claims. In the case your friends had an emergency or financial downturn and the house was left unbuilt, the contract would help you to mitigate your losses.

In any third-world country, you cannot rely on the same sorts of consumer protections you are accustomed to. Rule of law is weak. Rulings and interpretations are inconsistent. Enforcement of laws are subject to various abnormalities and bias (I like to avoid 'c' word). Law breakers can get out of trouble. I don't even know that personal lawsuits can be brought to court, or whether there is an appellate process.

I have thought about buying property in Vietnam, but since I cannot afford to risk loss of $60k - $120k, I am going to wait until there are more success stories of foreign buyers, and can then find a real estate lawyer with a great track record.

Just FYI the thoughts that rolled around my head! Good luck.

Agree with previous posters, it's just too damn risky.