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Do Banks Actually Take Action to Repossess Rented Properties from Tenants in HK?

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  1. #31
    Original Post Deleted
    I refer back to the original thread I first posted. It is where I was alerted to possible eviction of someone having experienced it themselves.

    https://geoexpat.com/forum/61/thread337890.html

  2. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by aussie_oi_oi_oi:
    sorry what?

    it has no bearing on the interest rate in HK

    the only issue is if they bought the property using >50% LTV which usually the restriction for self use is placed on, whereby you need to inform the bank first
    In our case, a property declared specifically as an investment property, bought for rental purpose and where the rental value is considered as part of the financing gets a slightly higher interest rate tagged on.

  3. #33

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    @hongkongiser - about the trespassing issue. It is one of those things that might be legal, but no bank will take the step to enforce it as long as the landlord pays.

    - Banks are not in the business of destroying their loan book.
    - Banks are not in the business of putting their clients (landlords) out of business
    - Banks know what is happening, and happily ignore it
    - The domino effect will bring down the whole property racket and the economy here in HK. I think..

    Not saying it will never happen. Just saying that there is a higher chance of Regina Ip's car getting ticketed in front of Hong Kong Club than a bank calling in a loan on a landlord that is paying his mortgage (irrespective of tenant or not).


  4. #34
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    The agreement would be between the Landlord and the bank/mortgage lender. The bank has a legal right to repossess and evict the tenant should prior written permission from the bank to rent out the property not be received by the landlord.
    Hence, the advice for tenants to protect themselves from being "trespassers" and not to take the risk of renting somewhere illegally.
    Getting a tenancy contract signed by the landlord with all terms and conditions with stamp duty doesn't make the lease of the property "legal", thus does not protect the tenant.

    I can only guess at this point that maybe adding a clause on the tenancy agreement stating that the tenant will not be liable for any losses, penalties etc.... in cases such as bank evictions and other situations where the tenant has not been at fault, may be worth it for landlords who don't want to provide or seek the bank's prior written consent, but this is probably unlikely, since the tenant will need to hire a lawyer to make sure the legal jargon is correct which will be extra bother and cost for the tenant. Plus why take the risk anyway? May as well just rent another property with the bank's written consent provided by the landlord or one not under a mortgage.

    Anyway, any tenants who end up finding this thread on Geoexpat looking for experiences or advice from others in a similar situation or have a similar concern can read the useful CLIC website also:
    http://www.hkclic.org/en/topics/land...tgage/q1.shtml
    Last edited by hongkongiser; 28-07-2018 at 09:41 AM.

  5. #35

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    Original Post Deleted
    - this one was with BEA. About 8-9 years old (forget the year.. its all a haze). Am planning on going back and looking at the loan app / approval process. It was all handled by mreferral.

  6. #36
    Quote Originally Posted by shri:
    @hongkongiser - about the trespassing issue. It is one of those things that might be legal, but no bank will take the step to enforce it as long as the landlord pays.
    "As long as the landlord pays".......
    Exactly! I suspect a lot of properties rented out are on mortgage without the mortgage lender's consent, but there is no guarantee that the landlord will or can pay the rent. Isn't there more and more news about property foreclosure as landlords can not keep up payments? So the risk is based on if you think the landlord can and will keep up payments throughout the lease period.

    As a tenant, knowing about the risk, why not just have better peace of mind and rent somewhere not on a mortgage and/or if want to take the risk, at least request the bank's written consent before signing the contract?

    And you can just read the news about the number of and increasing risk of foreclosures increasing every year:
    Range of flats on foreclosure sales list - The Standard
    https://www.reuters.com/article/hong...-idUSL1N18Y0A6
    https://themarketmogul.com/housing-market-hong-kong/
    https://www.mingtiandi.com/real-esta...s-sales-slump/
    More home foreclosure auctions predicted

  7. #37

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    since the tenant will need to hire a lawyer to make sure the legal jargon is correct which will be extra bother and cost for the tenant.
    A little bit of nitpicking on this. If the tenant has a change to a contract, they should also pay the landlord's legal fees to review this the changes. Just sayin, thats how shit works in this town..

  8. #38

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    @hongkongiser - you're going to spend sleepless nights on google...

    Just get your individual issue sorted - i.e. you need to find out if the landlord is up to date on his mortgage or not.


  9. #39

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    Original Post Deleted
    Not 1 or 2% - it was < 1.

  10. #40

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    Was not precise about it....

    Give me a day or two to dig up the old emails and review.