Job Discussion Forums

juststeven · Joined: 18 Aug 2004 Posts: 117

Decon,
4.whatever% sounds good. Is that for thirty frigging years? Did you ever read 'Waldon Pond' by Henry David Thoreau? Buy some land and build for yourself; to hell with the money brokers! There is a special level for them in Dante's Inferno! Laughing

burnsie · Joined: 18 Aug 2004 Posts: 489 Location: Beijing

Bought a 1 bedroom in Beijing for 600,000 RMB or around $85,000. Since we bought it last year it's gone up in price 25-30% Laughing

Monthly payments are 3,200 RMB or about $400 US. We have increased our payments to 7,000 RMB a month to get it paid off quicker. Seeing I earn between 10-18k a month it can be reasonably easy.

The big thing was having to have 120,000 RMB for deposit and then 100,000 to renovate and buy furniture. So you have to have $25,000US to get started with a 20% deposit. Not like in the west where you can do it for 10% or sometimes 5% deposit.

Since then we realised that if we bought out in the suburbs 3 times as big for the same price. Rolling Eyes

basiltherat · Joined: 04 Oct 2003 Posts: 952

managed to purchase a house in a nice suburb of jakarta (Citra Garden). 3 bedroom and brand new from tefling. It took just over 2 years to pay off the loan which wud have been impossible in the uk. Of course, economic conditions were better at that time. Its now worth just slightly more in dollar terms than when we bought it 18 years ago.
Still have it and is being rented out. Btw, if anybody out there is interested in renting it for a 2 year period, let me know. The locals dont seem to take care of other people's property very well. Shame really.
regrds
basil

juststeven · Joined: 18 Aug 2004 Posts: 117

Basilman,
Can you sell it and walk away with some money in your boot? Question

basiltherat · Joined: 04 Oct 2003 Posts: 952

as i said, its worth little more than the price we actually paid for it in $. at one stage it had doubled in $ terms but when the crisis hit, it went down the toilet. i feel its hardly worth selling. wen one considers the importance of bricks/mortar and land, it makes little sense to sell. better to hold on to it till economy improves there .. if it ever will.
in $ terms now, its probably worth no more than $25K which is potty to put it mildly. Im sure anyone living in jakarta now will tell you that prices of new property in the suburbs (even middle-class ones) in foreign currency is ridiculously low - but for our sake, hopefully rising !
regards
basil