Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Hanson]

My wife and I are thinking about buying an apartment soon. We've been doing the "cheon-se" for a while and we've saved up enough to be able to buy a modest abode, probably an apartment in a newish villa.

While looking at a few places recently and talking to a few agents, I realized that there are many little things to consider about making such a purchase, including things like parking, cleaning fees, building maintenance/repairs, property taxes, agent fees, home insurance, cost of home renovations, and so on.

For example, an agent was saying that his commission would be 0.4% of the sale price, meaning if we bought a place for 100 million, we'd have to pay him 400,000won. Is this the standard commission?And what kind of home insurance does anyone have (ballpark)?

Therefore, for those who have gone down this road and have 20/20 hindsight, any sage advice? I guess I'm looking for the tidbits of info that could save me headaches down the road.

Much appreciated.

[pesawattahi]

Heck thats cheap for commission, in the U.S. it is 2-3% (I got the seller to pay it) not to mention the titling fees, processing fees, solar eclipse fees, and so on and so forth.

[lucas_p]

[Mr. Pink]

Is there home insurance in Korea? I feel bad asking, but in all my years here everytime I asked a Korean I always got a negative answer.

If someone could post some info on that it would be appreciated.

[Captain Corea]

Keep in mind when buying one not yet built...
1. The final version often differs from the model home.
2. The final price can change accordingto final measurements*



*We bought a 27 peyon Apt from a builder for 300mil. A week before we moved in, they said they measiured everything and that ours was now 31 peyong... and that we owed an extra 30 mil before we moved in.

We moved in, and lived without furniture for a few months. lol

The builder was Hyundai.

[PRagic]

Also, if you're going to be in a villa, you should know the downsides. Your wife probably knows this, but villas generally go DOWN in price over time, and are not as easy to sell as apartments.

The upside is that you can get a much bigger villa than you can apartment for a lower price.

Sure you want to buy know? Bad real estate reports coming out of the US and UK. Korean prices may slide. Guess if you will be there long term, and you really like the place, why not?

Good luck to you.

[MissSeoul]

[SuperHero]

[Captain Corea]

[Hanson]

[PRagic]

No offense, but that must either be one tiny villa, or you aren't in or near a major city, especially Seoul.

Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of officitels, not villas, so my bad there. Having said that, you could tell the new owner to kindly kiss your arse over that big of an increase. If you know the area housing prices, you are in a better position to make that decision. What is the actual value of the property?

Still, one of the reasons we don't rent villas under chunsae is that it isn't easy to get new people to come in, and it isn't easy to increase the price (compared to buildings/apartments) for chunsae.

[Hanson]

[PRagic]

Even if prices have gone up, that's pretty cheap for 27 pyung. Just to give you an idea, we paid around 80 million for 25-27 pyung 11 years ago in Seoul when we were married. Ansan sounds very reasonable, especially if you have good work there.

Just my 2 cents, but I'd suggest buying an apartment there rather than a villa. If prices are on the way up, you'll do much better in the long run, particularly with something in the 27-25 pyung range. Like you said, villas don't get the value increase. Korean's are nuts about their apartments.

If you can't afford an apartment, then I'd just pay the increase in chunsae. That's still very reasonable compared to most places, especially if your income is on par. Invest the difference.

[bellum99]

[Hollywoodaction]