Buying a home with dog in mind..

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    6

    Buying a home with dog in mind..

    What are interest rates like in HK?

    I read a few other forums that said ex pats can find home loan rates of around 2-3% p.a. is this correct? I was thinking about buying a free standing house or villa in New territories if rates are this low otherwise i could probably only afford 2-3 bedroom apartment. The reason for this is i have two beautiful rare blue English Stafford shire puppies of which i want to bring over. Dogs are excellent well trained and NEVER bark, is it possible to keep them in an apartment? Which apartments in HK allow you to have the dogs! when i search property for sale it does not specify. Anyone know of a good building i can buy into near parks where i can walk my dogs. A friend said check out Pokfulam.

    My other Q is how long would it take to travel to HK island from New territories? As my dogs love to have space and i would prefer to buy a place with some land so they can run around.

    Is it a feasible distance to travel everyday?

    P.s. the reason i want a two bed minimum is so that my dogs can have there own room if i do end up having to buy an apartment.


  2. #2

    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    12

    Smile

    - it is quite right that the interest rate is around 3% at this moment, however there are few things you need to consider,
    i) are you able to borrow $$$ from the bank if you don't have a job.
    ii) interest rate could be up or down (probably up) in future, it depends on the global economy.

    - Before you buy an apartment, you can ask estate agency or property mgt office to make sure whether dogs is allowed or not.

    -Travelling from HK island to NT is easy, it takes within two hours. Just get a map and take a MTR, you can probably know how convenience of HK traffic is. You can't believe it if you compare the differences between the traffic of HK and Australia.


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Sai Kung
    Posts
    8,556

    travel from NT to HK island is fairly easy, but timing depends on where in the NT you live. The NT is fairly large so it would be impossible to say exactly how long it would take.

    ps> not all village houses come with a lot of "land". some of them have a small garden, some have virtually nothing.


  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    TST and Macau
    Posts
    1,499

    You can get a 3 year fixed rate from HSBC at around 2.6%. After that it will be subject to fluctuation.
    If I were you I would not take more than I could repay if interest went up to 5%.


  5. #5

    some other considerations

    Regarding the dogs:

    1. Living close to Sai Kung in the New Territories could help you to make dog friends as this town attracts loads of dog people on weekends as there are few urban precincts that welcome pets. It has villages and places in town that welcome dogs.
    2. Do your research concerning vets. There are probably blogs on the net that will give you some ideas. Once again, Sai Kung is an area with a range to choose from.
    3. If you want to breed and register your dogs, you will need to join the Hong Kong Kennel Club. See link:

    Hong Kong Kennel Club | Form Download

    They have shows too but these haven't been as much fun since a certain local nutcase took over from the dog obedience side.

    Anyway good luck with it all!


  6. #6

    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Posts
    112

    If you go with HIBOR (Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate) instead of Prime, you may get under 1%...