Korean Job Discussion Forums

[travis]

I'm a Canadain getting married to a Korean in December and looking to buy a house in March. Was wondering if anyone has had any recent experience with getting bankloans/mortgages. We're probably looking at having 30 million to be able to plop down right up front but will need to borrow the rest. I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who has had some experience doing this or who is in the middle of the process right now. Thanks ahead of time to anyone that takes the time to respond.....travis

[Cheonmunka]

Buy an apartment if possible. Try not to buy a new villa. You'll only see a reduction, or a minus, in capital gain at sale.
I haven't bought our house here, I much prefer chonsei. I can't actually think of a good reason to buy a house here, unless I had the first option on an apartment and only then for capital gain.
2nd owner Apartments, ( hard to get into a new one at a good price, you might try the apt. lottery or even buy a villa if you think it's going to be in a redevelopment site-but you need ESP on that ) if onsold within three years have big tax take on realised capital gain. Well, in Seoul they have this....
Maybe it's much easier out of Seoul?

[Captain Corea]

[SuperHero]

One more thing, as a foreigner your income will not count to your spouse being able to get a loan. The maximum loan alloted will be determined by her job (income stability length of employment etc.)

[chiaa]

[tzechuk]

[SuperHero]

[JongnoGuru]

Travis, your future intended is Korean, so she should know what's doable for you two, what prices are like in the area you'd like to buy, and she'll be able to get answers faster and with greater certainty than we can here on a messageboard. That and she'll naturally have a personal say & interest in the whole matter, plus family here who can offer advice.

I would imagine that a single visit to any realtor near where you want to buy will answer 50% of your questions. It's amazing what little some of them seem to know, and few have any experience dealing with foreigners, but it's still the most logical starting point.

Some random thoughts based on the OP...

House or apartment?

Your name or hers?

Where?

What is the relevance of March 2006?

How long do you see yourselves living in Korea?
(Often impossible to know exactly, but some properties are likely to sell faster than others. It's worth knowing that, and knowing which ones, before you buy anything.)

I'm almost perpetually "in the middle of the process", so PM me if you'd like and I'll try to help with some answers if I can. But nothing beats visiting the realtors together with your wife-to-be and just seeing what things cost and what your options are. However, when you go, don't use the "Is it possible for foreigners like me to...?" line of inquiry, whether you're looking to buy in your own name or hers. You'll hear "yes" when the real answer is "no", "no" when it's "yes", and half the time their answers are based on hunches and hearsay.

[denverdeath]

This is also hearsay...but...you might want to think about who the owner will be on paper. My wife and I bought a new place(which we haven't moved into yet and which we're still paying on) and my wife mentioned that there might be some new governmental policies regarding foreign investors, which may translate into some savings somewhere. Have your fiance check into that junk too. I'm not sure yet, but it might have something to do with property taxes, or something?