Invest in Vietnamese or Thai real estate market as a foreigner

LadyShark123 wrote:

Vietnam

I live in Vietnam and when I look at the economic dynamic of the country I feel like it`s a right country to invest. I beleive, HCMC, Nha Trang and Vung Tau are the best spots for buying an apartment.

However, I see quite many obstacles and problems...

My questions are:

-Can I sell an apartment on a final stage of costruction without pink book?

-Can I purchase in cash, and do seller demand the proof of funds?

( My situation is that I stay here under tourism visa. I`ve made some money working on freelance basis. But, due to unability to transfer money abroad, I am very confused how can I transfer them out. Money Gram, Western Union and other money transfers are only acceptable to recieve money, but not to send. My brothet is going to send me some more money in order to buy a property. So,real estate  investment seems to be a good option in my case...But I am confused if it will work well in practice)

-Is it possible to transfer money abroad in case I sell it later?


Thailand

Also, I have looked at buying property in Thailand, and I think there are some good deals too...

They offer fully-equipped apartments in the beach area for a very reasonable price..But, again, there are a lot of new projects coming, so it looks like there is no garantie I can make profit after buying one. And cash transfer makes it so complicated, unless come in and out Vietnam transfering cash with me on a hand bag...

-But, again, what`s the procedure of transfering money abroad in case I decide to sell it in the final stage of costruction?


-Is it better to consider Thailand or Vietnam?


Many thanks,
Christina

p.s. I`m sorry for any grammar mistakes and some questions that might be too obvious for experienced investors. It would simply be my first time dealing with real estate,so I`m looking for an advice, not a criticism)

It seems the most logical first action is to confirm for yourself the ability to transfer funds out of Vietnam before getting involved in any real estate transaction.

I think you are saying you want to confirm that ability before your brother sends you money.

Good thinking.

Go to this main forum page:

Vietnam Forum

In the box "search the Vietnam forum" type the words "send money".

There are a lot of fairly current threads where the subject is being discussed.

Happy reading and good luck!

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

LadyShark123 wrote:

Vietnam

I live in Vietnam and when I look at the economic dynamic of the country I feel like it`s a right country to invest. I beleive, HCMC, Nha Trang and Vung Tau are the best spots for buying an apartment.

However, I see quite many obstacles and problems...

My questions are:

-Can I sell an apartment on a final stage of costruction without pink book?

-Can I purchase in cash, and do seller demand the proof of funds?

( My situation is that I stay here under tourism visa. I`ve made some money working on freelance basis. But, due to unability to transfer money abroad, I am very confused how can I transfer them out. Money Gram, Western Union and other money transfers are only acceptable to recieve money, but not to send. My brothet is going to send me some more money in order to buy a property. So,real estate  investment seems to be a good option in my case...But I am confused if it will work well in practice)

-Is it possible to transfer money abroad in case I sell it later?


Thailand

Also, I have looked at buying property in Thailand, and I think there are some good deals too...

They offer fully-equipped apartments in the beach area for a very reasonable price..But, again, there are a lot of new projects coming, so it looks like there is no garantie I can make profit after buying one. And cash transfer makes it so complicated, unless come in and out Vietnam transfering cash with me on a hand bag...

-But, again, what`s the procedure of transfering money abroad in case I decide to sell it in the final stage of costruction?


-Is it better to consider Thailand or Vietnam?


Many thanks,
Christina

p.s. I`m sorry for any grammar mistakes and some questions that might be too obvious for experienced investors. It would simply be my first time dealing with real estate,so I`m looking for an advice, not a criticism)

It seems the most logical first action is to confirm for yourself the ability to transfer funds out of Vietnam before getting involved in any real estate transaction.

I think you are saying you want to confirm that ability before your brother sends you money.

Good thinking.

Go to this main forum page:

Vietnam Forum

In the box "search the Vietnam forum" type the words "send money".

There are a lot of fairly current threads where the subject is being discussed.

Happy reading and good luck!

VN banks are very anal about sending money out. I think you will find that the money needs to come from an account in your name and sent back to an account in your name. If you do purchase a property then sell it you have to have a papertrail showing where the funds went after coming into VN and where the funds come from when sending it back out.

I went to my bank the other day and was informed that I now cannot walk into the bank and buy foreign currency. The banking regulations for foreigners really is a joke.

Personally, if I were younger maybe, I'd invest in the cement companies, not the end product.

Good luck getting your money back out of either VN or Thailand... small amounts are doable, buy gold and wear it on the way back. Huge amounts are doable if you grease the right palms, obviously. Anything between those extremes is going to need a lot of hoop jumping and some astralogical serendipity.

As far as converting vnd to foreign currencies it's not just foreigners are having problem.  Locals have the same issues.  They need to justify the reasons for having (example) usd.  If for traveling then need to have tickets on hand.  Or for transfer to children's overseas education. , etc, etc.

Yoda0807 wrote:

As far as converting vnd to foreign currencies it's not just foreigners are having problem.  Locals have the same issues.  They need to justify the reasons for having (example) usd.  If for traveling then need to have tickets on hand.  Or for transfer to children's overseas education. , etc, etc.

Yes but much easier for them, just have to show a travel ticket

My bank wanted me to show where the money came from, even though the money has been sitting in my account for 9 years.

colinoscapee wrote:

Yoda0807 wrote:

As far as converting vnd to foreign currencies it's not just foreigners are having problem.  Locals have the same issues.  They need to justify the reasons for having (example) usd.  If for traveling then need to have tickets on hand.  Or for transfer to children's overseas education. , etc, etc.

Yes but much easier for them, just have to show a travel ticket

My bank wanted me to show where the money came from, even though the money has been sitting in my account for 9 years.

  I have usd and vnd accounts with techcombank and was told that I can come in anytime and withdraw usd.  But to convert vnd back to usd then i need to show purposes for having usd.

Gold Shop??

goodolboy wrote:

Gold Shop??

Yeah, gold shops are fine, but my bank is just around the corner from my house. By law its actually illegal to do it.

Yoda0807 wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

Yoda0807 wrote:

As far as converting vnd to foreign currencies it's not just foreigners are having problem.  Locals have the same issues.  They need to justify the reasons for having (example) usd.  If for traveling then need to have tickets on hand.  Or for transfer to children's overseas education. , etc, etc.

Yes but much easier for them, just have to show a travel ticket

My bank wanted me to show where the money came from, even though the money has been sitting in my account for 9 years.

  I have usd and vnd accounts with techcombank and was told that I can come in anytime and withdraw usd.  But to convert vnd back to usd then i need to show purposes for having usd.

Yeah, I have,AUD,USD and VND.  In the past it was no problem. I was told my wife could come in and do it without any issues.

colinoscapee wrote:

goodolboy wrote:

Gold Shop??

Yeah, gold shops are fine, but my bank is just around the corner from my house. By law its actually illegal to do it.

so is prostitution Colin

Not replying to any one person in particular, but it seems that the ubiquitous ability to link an account to a debit card (usually Visa®) allows a person to access their money all over the globe through purchases or ATM withdrawals in the local currency.

Of course there are fees involved, so a person never gets the full value of the money they have in the account.

If I travel to the USA, I should be able to withdraw USD from the ATM machines or as a cash advance at a bank counter.

Still, I imagine that's not a good solution, given the large amounts of money that spark these discussions.

goodolboy wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

goodolboy wrote:

Gold Shop??

Yeah, gold shops are fine, but my bank is just around the corner from my house. By law its actually illegal to do it.

so is prostitution Colin

True, but Cong An has that under control.

colinoscapee wrote:

My bank wanted me to show where the money came from, even though the money has been sitting in my account for 9 years.

Hahaha, but the situation in the UK isn't much better. Walk into any high street bank and ask for 4 digits or more of your own money back in cold hard cash and you'll be invited to "wait to discuss it with the manager" while they speed-dial a police armed response unit 

The banks are all broke. When was the last time you heard of a bank robbery? More cash in the local kebab shop till.

Brick23 wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

My bank wanted me to show where the money came from, even though the money has been sitting in my account for 9 years.

Hahaha, but the situation in the UK isn't much better. Walk into any high street bank and ask for 4 digits or more of your own money back in cold hard cash and you'll be invited to "wait to discuss it with the manager" while they speed-dial a police armed response unit 

The banks are all broke. When was the last time you heard of a bank robbery? More cash in the local kebab shop till.

Maybe you should stop wearing a balaclava when doing your banking,lol.

colinoscapee wrote:

Brick23 wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

My bank wanted me to show where the money came from, even though the money has been sitting in my account for 9 years.

Hahaha, but the situation in the UK isn't much better. Walk into any high street bank and ask for 4 digits or more of your own money back in cold hard cash and you'll be invited to "wait to discuss it with the manager" while they speed-dial a police armed response unit 

The banks are all broke. When was the last time you heard of a bank robbery? More cash in the local kebab shop till.

Maybe you should stop wearing a balaclava when doing your banking,lol.

Or a Niqab, or a medical face mask,

Brick23 wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

My bank wanted me to show where the money came from, even though the money has been sitting in my account for 9 years.

Hahaha, but the situation in the UK isn't much better. Walk into any high street bank and ask for 4 digits or more of your own money back in cold hard cash and you'll be invited to "wait to discuss it with the manager" while they speed-dial a police armed response unit 

The banks are all broke. When was the last time you heard of a bank robbery? More cash in the local kebab shop till.

Vietnam give a 50 years lease so after u own a condo 10 years the lease is just 40 years so no one will ever buy yours..
Thailand its cheap and condos are freehold there. Or Phillipines maybe a nicer option.

Looks like the OP eas scared off from the replies.

colinoscapee wrote:

Looks like the OP eas scared off from the replies.

Probably for the best.