Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mavor]

Hello everyone.

I am planning to put down a jeonse deposit on an apartment with my best friend in korea (he is korean) and I wanted to know if anyone here has some experience or information about some worst-case scenarios.

For the record, I have been living in Korea for two years already under a wolse agreement with my friend. And i have a significant level of trust with him.

First off, the jeonse deposit would be $40 000 dollars for both me and my friend, totalling $80 000. The contract would be for two years, during which I will be staying in Korea under a D-4 visa (learning korean). This is a large amount of money, and I don't have much experience with the Korean legal system and the rights that they extend to foreigners. Here are my questions:

*I would appreciate if there were some legal documents/websites you cound point me too so I can have some firm literature backing my decision

1) Are there any direct legal implications by putting down this deposit while I am staying here under a D-4?

2) If for some reason I need to move out, what happens to the deposit and is there any way of backing out of the agreement?

3) If there is an early refund on the deposit.. what would the usual penalty be?

4) My D-4 visa must be renewed year by year (as far as i know), is it possible for me to enter into a two year apartment contract even though my visa is only good for one year at a time?

5) In the event of a deportation for any reason, is my deposit forfeit? What are my rights in the worst-case scenario of a deportation?

I appreciate any time you guys spend helping me answer these questions. If there are some websites that you think might help me understand this issue, I would appreciate any links.

Have a nice day : )

[redaxe]

First of all, weolse means monthly rent. The deposit is called jeonse.

Second of all why on earth would you want to put down that much money, and sign a two-year contract, if you're studying in Korea? How do you know you're even going to like it and stay for two years?

Actually I strongly doubt your name would even be on the contract at all if you are getting this place with a Korean friend. It would probably be just his name on the contract, with you only contributing half the money for his jeonse. This would be very risky because your contract is between you and your friend, and you are basically just loaning him money privately. If he doesn't pay you back you would have to sue him for it. You do not want to sue a Korean in Korea if you can avoid it.

This situation smells extremely fishy. Just tell your friend sorry, you can't front 40 million for jeonse, and get your own place with a one-year contract and monthly rent (weolse). Then the up-front security deposit will be at most 10-15 million won, not 80 million. You will have to pay rent every month instead, which could range anywhere from 500,000 to 2 million won per month depending on how nice of a place you want and in what area. It might be less convenient, but it will be MUCH safer.

[Englishee]

firstly, if ur a foreigner here, you will quickly learn that contracts dont mean jack...

secondly, jeonse is mainly referred to a "full payment" and you are exempt from paying monthly rent. You are, however, still responsible for utilities and damages...

wolsei, as stated above, is monthly rent, with a large deposit called "Key Money."

there is a formula to calculate exactly how much you should pay.

If your name is NOT on the contract then I wouldn't do it.

I am renting my own place, and they took my name, passport and ARC. There is a good chance that if you have a Korean friend, they will just do the paperwork in their name since its easier. RUN.

[mavor]

Ah I am sorry, I should have explained the situation a little deeper. This friend is someone I have lived in Korea with for two years already. I am considering doing jeonse with him because I trust him.

Your points about the contract being in his name is very valid. Is it possible to have both names down on the contract so that I have more recourse in the event of a dispute or some other problem?

The main reason for going with jeonse instead of wolse is because of the savings in rent costs. It's a pretty big difference in cost over two years.

[Englishee]

to be honest, i dont know, but i wouldnt see why not. then again, its korea, and nothing follows a logical path..

just a suggestion: if the jeonsei is the same regardless if you sign more years or not, try to negotiate 1 year, so if there are any problems you can get out early. if you have to leave before your contract ends, then its usually around 10% penalty... that would suck to lose 8000$ (4 and 4)...

[Korussian]

If I were in your position, putting down 40 grand in Korea (on anything other than my own bank account), I would be sweating bullets every single moment every single day.

Relationships here are more important than contracts and laws, which means that if somebody's relationship with somebody else requires you to lose your money for some reason, then that's what will happen, legal/ethical consequences be damned.

Did the apartment owner suddenly get asked by his dear younger brother for a massive loan? "Oh, sorry, I know your two year contract is up, but I'll give you your deposit back next month. I mean the following month. I mean maybe. I mean hopefully."

[redaxe]

[mavor]

So under jeonse if the owner of the apartment we are putting the deposit down for doesn't have the money available at the end of the 2 year contract, I have no legal recourse other then to grin and bear it until they decide to give the deposit back?

In the end, I am completely at the mercy of the land owner? Legally speaking, the Korean government doesn't really care very much about the legality of my deposit or not? It sounds like a pretty unstable way to run a country..

Even if my name is on the contract as having a half share of the deposit, I am still pretty much at the mercy of whoever the money is going to?

[conrad2]

[quote="mavor"] I am considering doing jeonse with him because I trust him.
quote]

Famous last words. I have known many "trustworthy" Koreans skip out on far less than 40k.

[Korussian]

[stevieg4ever]

This is just an incredibly risky thing to do. The sums of money involved and the nature of Korea you would have to be literally insane to do this. Why dont you just do 월세 and scale down your expectations?

I explored over 30 odd apartments before deciding my apartment: none of them involved 전세. And looking for foreingers rights here is like looking for Elvis or John Lennon. It aint gonna happen. How can you of been here 2 years and not of understood this.

[mavor]

This is true. I appreciate all of the feedback.

[PeteJB]

D4 visa must be renewed every semester. You can't get a full year with it.

[mavor]

Ah really? Is there a D visa that can last for one year? It seems incredibly tedius to have to renew it every three months, no?

[Bailsibub]

In this situation, I'd say the risk outweighs the rewards.

There's not only the issue of trusting your friend, who has the upper-hand here nonetheless. But there's also the issue of landlords doing stuff with your chonsei (which, by the way, is the trend for landlords right now because they see investment opportunity in this economy). Sure, they might make money, but they might also lose YOUR money.