Foreigner buying a flat/renting it out

[audiodesign]

Does anyone know the legality and amount of paperwork involved in purchasing a flat in Hong Kong? Would one need to hire a lawyer for drawing out the legal terms?

How about renting it out once its purchased? Can an American rent out to expats or locals on their own or do they have to pay commission to an agent?

What about the visa issue? I guess you have to invest at least 8 mil or so to get permanent residency? What if one was just on a tourist visa? Not much use buying a flat you can't get to for personal use or managing as a rental.

One more question. What are the loans like out here? As a foreigner, would one have to go to their home country's bank or will one's local HSBC be willing to help?

[KnowItAll]

Absolutely get a lawyer to do the due diligence on the purchase. We've had our rear ends saved when our lawyer found out that a flat we wanted to purchase had a illegal construction in it.

Also, lawyers will hold checks etc in a trusted environment, ensuring that funds get paid / transfered at the right time.

If you can afford to buy .. no problems at all. Anyone can buy, the visa is irrelevant for most purposes other than the loan that you might need to finance the purchase.

You'll have to get the loan locally - no bank in the US wants to, or has the ability to foreclose on your locally.

[audiodesign]

What about renting after purchase? Would one end up paying a huge commission or monthly percentage to an agent for finding a willing renter? What about short term vacation rental? Or can one go solo and find a good renter themselves?

[lionrock88]

If you have the time and inclination, you can rent out the apt yourself and save on the broker's fee.

Otherwise, both landlord and tenant each pays a broker's fee equivalent to 1/2 month rental (ie. 1 month rent divided by 2).

I think a lot of landlords prefer the latter as the fee is worth the time and hassle saved.

[PDLM]

What about the visa issue? I guess you have to invest at least 8 mil or so to get permanent residency?

As a non-Chinese you can't get permanent residency any way except by ordinarily residing in HK for 7 years continuously; simply owning property here doesn't count. You can get a fixed term, renewable visa allowing you to reside in HK if you invest more than HK$6.5M. This is the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme. Details here: http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/hkvisas_13.htm

[sideduck]

Does HK have the new immigrant/foreigner package where we can put 65% down and they will not look at income on the mortgage application? Does HK have a website where all realtors need to post their sale of property like www.mls.ca in Canada? If so, can somebody please provide me the url.

The after process when we own the flat, does the agent help us collect the rent and deposit it into our accounts on a monthly basis for a fee or do we need to arrange that with the tenant?

[KnowItAll]

Transaction records can be found on real estate sites like centanet.com etc ..

An agent's job is to find a tenant .. they're not going to be responsible for collecting rent etc. You'd need to do it yourself or find a company that will manage your lease (again for a fee).

[sideduck]

Any idea what the fee will be if I was going to find a company that will many the lease? Any examples of such a company in HK? And the company will help me look for a new tenant if in any circumstance the existing tenants decide to move out?

[ember]

can a foreigner who buys an apartment in HK rent it out as an investment?

my sister said foreigners are not allowed; I dont believe her.

Anyone can clarify if this is true or false?

thanks!
emm

[PDLM]

Yes, no problem owning or leasing out a property from a legal point of view. However, you will pay tax on the profit in Hong Kong, and it won't be so straightforward to get a mortgage.