looking to invest in an apartment

janin

22 October 2014 20:02:32

Ho Chi Minh City

One of my friends wants to invest in a condo/apartment for rental income. As its a serious proposition would request some serious advise from senior members or who are already invested on some points:
(A). What are the latest rules for expats to buy condos as there is lot of conflicting info floating around
(B) rental returns in hcmc seem to be good for apartments in d2 and d7
(C) my friend would ultimately leave hcmc in 1-2 years but have heard that it can be bought also in company's name which would continue to operate and file tax returns
(D) repatriation of sale proceeds abroad. Is it easy or difficult
(E) given the administrative and legal hassles and red tapsim its a risky exercise esp if spouse is not vietnamese

Would request your inputs before moving ahead on the plan

Jaitch

23 October 2014 04:02:47

As with many things VNese laws are seemingly written in fading ink or built with the strength of Jello.

A. Property regulations are presently in flux - the National Assembly is deciding on new policies;
B. Your use of the word 'seems' is appropriate (See A), personally I think there are better prospects in Quan 2 or 7. Downtown is old stock, old infrastructure. Bigger problems;
C. Absentee property owners are legal;
D. Problematic - many discussions on this - banks have problems with Foreign currency - the State Bank of VietNam has a bank Help Line that is very busy, because of conflicts in regulations. Taking 'hot' hard currency out of VietNam 'under the counter' usually involves losses and acts of illegality - which doesn't trouble us too much as everyone is doing it;
E. Whatever you do GET A LAWYER. Land transfers (long term leases) are fraught with many dangers and if you have a dodgy 'title' you have a risky investment. Condominiums are, usually, a choice investment BUT the quality of the building is CRITICAL. Cheap, shoddy, workmanship means big bills.VN has a distinct lack of law applying to condominia which puts investments at risk.

Would you believe, in this day and age, high-rise buildings using SEPTIC TANKS, i.e. they are not connected to the sewer mains? A brand new building - whoops! we forgot the garbage shoots (added cleaner costs); No USER CERTIFICATES, coming real soon (no User Certificate means you don't legally own your building - the developer does and you are only the equivalent of a tenant).

For a properly structured deal, investment is OK. The problem is the shifting law.

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