Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Jimskins]

I'd get a low deposit / high monthly rent and chuck the rest in a index linked equity & bond fund. You're lucky to get 3.5% in the bank at the moment.

That is what we're doing, and we're leaving in 10 years too.

[Yaya]

I heard from a friend that his friend recently bought a brand-new villa of around 30 pyeong for just 150 million won. My friend, however, says a villa will almost certainly lost its value, esp. the new ones.

Anyone care to comment on this?

[Lazio]

[Yaya]

Btw, the villa was in Mok-dong, which has rich and not-so-rich parts.

So the key is to buy a quality villa that has had a few years on it. Good tip.

[wooden nickels]

The hidden upkeep in an older apartment or older villa really cuts into profits that will be made on them. I would think the prime time to buy is around the 5 - 8 years old mark. Or, buy new and hold it until the apocalypse comes.

[Jimskins]

Where my colleague lives near Ilsan they are building villas like crazy, but they are reasonably priced compared to newish apartments in the area (180 mil vs 300 mil for a 30 pyeong unit). My wife has visited her friend's there and said they are really nice (we currently live in a house but have lived exclusively in villas before, always had problems, even in newish ones). She suggested buying one as 180 mil is nothing for 30 pyeong 30 mins from Hongdae and for no more worring about the wolsei-jonsei carry-on. She nearly convinced me.

Another friend's wife claims 7 years is the magic number in terms of housing age in Korea. After 7 years Koreans no longer consider a place new and it's harder to sell/loses value more quickly.

[wooden nickels]

I have always wondered why there aren't more apartments being built in the 30 pyung range. I don't know if it's trend, profit, or both.

[Yaya]

What I hear is that demand has shifted toward the smaller units given how Korea's birth rate has plummeted, but that's just what I've heard.

Also, I asked my uncle, who is financially independent, about buying a villa (he made his money in real estate). He said in the early 1980s, he bought a villa near Bucheon for 23 million won (25 pyeong) and sold it seven years later for 25 million won. Had he invested in a small apartment, he would've gotten back a lot more on his investment. So he advised me to buy a one-room officetel and I think I'm gonna look more into it.

[edwardcatflap]

[PRagic]

People rarely make money on villas. As for officitels, the rules have changed a lot over the past few years. They were popular, and many justified the stupidly high price/pyung, because all the rent was income earned under the table. No more. Now you have to report rental income from officitels and the government does check.

Plus, if it doesn't rent, you're stuck paying the uber high maintenance fees. We paid chunsae for one near hapjeong station and then rented it out to a Japanese client who spent chunks of time in Seoul a few years back for top buck. THAT worked out great lol.

[motiontodismiss]

[motiontodismiss]

[PRagic]

A bank? How would you get 500K to begin with by thinking small? Slap it in an index fund? Invest it in a low risk fund with a 5-6% annual yield? Why buy here?

[Fallacy]

REIT.