Korean Job Discussion Forums

BrooklynSteve · Joined: 21 Oct 2007

Does anyone have experience with buying an apartment in Korea? Please share the experience. My wife and I are shopping for a new apt. Were Korean banks willing to give expats loans?

crossmr · Joined: 22 Nov 2008 Location: Hwayangdong, Seoul

I doubt it.
You can barely get a phone here without a korean and a urine sample.

neeneek · Joined: 21 Nov 2006

Hi there,

In the summer we managed to get a mortgage over 17 years. That was with Hana bank. I think it helps if you use the same branch on a regular basis. I�m not too sure what the mortgage is called, but for the first year we only pay the interest. We did have to pay a high deposit though about 30%- 40% of the value of the apartment.

I hate renting and always see it as dead money. I looked at the options that were available because I knew we would be staying in Korea for quite sometime. They don�t seem to offer fixed rate mortgages (not at our Hana anyway) I think our rate is around 4.5% - 6% it depends on the economy.

Go into the bank and ask, that�s all I did.

If you need some info then please email me.

[email protected]

bigscott · Joined: 08 Oct 2005 Location: Incheon

My experience is from about a year and a half ago. My wife and I shopped around all of the banks looking for the best rates but also asking about the loan being in my name as I have a job and my wife stays home to look after our 2 young children. We found that in all cases the banks were not willing to give a loan to an expat, even though I had an F-5 visa and a stable job. They were, however, willing to give the loan in my wife's name with me as a guarantor. This meant that the apartment had to also be in my wife's name because the loan and the deed had to be in the same name. The 40% deposit is a requirement (government, I believe) that was needed at all banks we visited. We ended up going with HSBC as they gave us the best rates at the time.

Taeri1 · Joined: 20 Oct 2008 Location: Korea

saw6436 · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Daejeon, ROK

I got a fixed rate 6% mortgage at Hana Bank 2 years ago. Both the loan and the Apt are in my name (wife's father co-signed the loan). Helped that i was only borrowing W60,000,000 and I had W100,000,000 in the bank after paying 80% down on the Apt.

Pretty much every Korean bank requires a co-signer regardless of who you are. Even Koreans need a co-signer.