Opinion

Making a concrete choice for property

By Shi Yingying (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-02 15:55

Survival tips for the soon-to-be property owner  Make multiple copies of passport, residence permit and work permit. 10 copies sound just about right.  Keep receipts for everything, and make people sign for everything money-related to say they have received the money.  Avoid giving money directly to owner or agent without a third party witness.  Make sure the property is owned by the landlord with no encumbrance. (There have been cases of owners selling houses twice.)  Make sure all the owners in the deed give their written consent to sell, especially in the case of multiple owners, which usually happens in China, no matter how insignificant the relationship to the landlord.  If buying a brand-new property, make sure the developer has all the five required certificates, including State land use right certificate, construction land planning certificate, construction project planning certificate, construction project commencing certificate and the sales certificate.

Once a buyer is past the initial hurdles and all the papers are delivered, it usually takes another 45 to 90 days to get the process completed. In Beijing, property agents say it normally takes 30 days to get the process completed. If buyers pay off the whole sum at once, the process may take just seven days.

"It is so much easier than in Western countries. I am a European and it took me less than a week to do all the paperwork once I decided to buy my place," says 33-year-old Spanish Mark Larsen who bought a one-bedroom apartment in Xin Zhuang.

"Limit your choice of locations and find a trusty agent," says Yan Ai, who started looking at apartments around Jing'an district last August with her German husband.

Some of the more popular areas that attract foreigners in Shanghai are centralized around Xin Tiandi, Lu Jiazui, Gu Bei and Lian Yang, according to Howard Zhang from Crispins Property Investment.

For Beijing property buyers, high-end apartments in Chaoyang district or luxury villas in Shunyi are preferred by expatriates, says Wang Xiangjing, general manager of Century Realty.

There are a number of real estate companies who specialize in helping expatriates but they may charge more.

The average commission for completing a sale is around one percent of the property price in Shanghai, but Beijing property agents normally charge three percent, which is the upper limit regulated by law. For those who can speak Chinese, a smaller or local real estate agency chain is more affordable. If in doubt, ask a Chinese friend for advice.

After making an offer, the owner and buyer will sign a stamped sales contract. Armed with this piece of paper, foreign buyers can then start shopping around for the best mortgage deals. Loans are available to foreigners from large Chinese banks such as Bank of China, China Construction Bank and international banks such as HSBC and Standard Chartered.

"Expatriates actually enjoy certain advantages in terms of applying for the loans as certain international banks will not consider lending money to Chinese," said Howard Zhang from Crispins.

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Once the loan is finalized, all the necessary documents are checked once more by both the agent and the bank. If everything is in order, buyer and seller can then proceed to the district property trading center to transfer the name on the title deed.

And once the name is on the deed, the happy expatriate will have successfully cleared all the hurdles and would now join the ranks of proud owners hanging on to the fastest appreciating pieces of real estate in the world.

Xu Fan contributed to the story in Beijing.