Korean Job Discussion Forums

[FDNY]

My wife and I have decided to buy land and build our own house on it. Does anyone have any info on this? Realtors tend to operate in very small little areas and sell apartments from only one or two apartment complexes. So where would we look to scout out possible locations? Are there contractors in Korea with experience in housebuiding? Also, we would like to build as close to the city as possible. For example, buying a plot of land from a farmer. Is this possible? Or do these properties have a covenant expressly forbidding commercial or residential development?

[crescent]

We did it. Bought a plot of land in the countryside near Daegu, then saved up enough to build a house. It was without a doubt, the most frustrating, difficult, stressful experience of my life.

We continually received mis-information from the government regarding building codes, and property line boundaries. Having to satisfy inspectors from various agencies during the building process, this misinformation cost us lots of time and money. I also lost a lot of weight and hair. No joke. I would not recommend doing this unless you have complete command of the Korean language, and an intelligent contractor whom you trust.

[JustinC]

I imagine just buying an old house and having it remodelled would be a massive PITA.

[FDNY]

[Unposter]

I have never done it but one of my wife's friends (Korean) has done it. While they plowed a considerable amount of money into building their dream house, they were extremely satisfied. (And, let me tell you, it was amazing!) I am sure there are contractors/construction companies that can do it/help you for the right price.

I don't really have any advice for you other than, yes, it can be done if you really want to do it.

And, like anything else, you get what you research and understand and what you pay for so I would suggest doing your due dilligence before undertaking it.

Good Luck!

[crescent]

[jonah47]

My wife and I bought a place in Daegu (she is Korean although we are both American citizens) and completely remodeled it. We have also done the same in the US so we are somewhat used to the usual frustration associated with the whole process. I would say our experience building in Korea was less stressful and time consuming than our experiences with projects in California. Having said that, it is essential that at least one of the couple speaks fluent Korean (my wife does) and of course pick a contractor that appears reliable and is tuned in to the local rules and regs. Also get a qualified buidling designer. Again good ones are very tied into the system and make the process go smooth. Our house in Daegu turned out very nice and overall we were very happy with process and the way it turned out.

Hope that helps.

[FDNY]

[jonah47]

Yes, to answer your question we completely renovated the place top to bottom. It ended up costing us about 200,000,00W. We even have a garage which is not that common in Daegu.

[meangradin]

I think besides the headache of the build, there are other things to consider. Specifically, can you sell the house in the future? Koreans as a rule dont want to live in houses, but apartments, so your market may be small when it comes time to sell. Also, what about garbage removal? Finally, make sure that you can hook up gas, sewage, etc... I think the best/easiest thing to do is renovate an existing house, but as I wrote earlier, I'd be concerned about selling it in the future. The biggest detractor for us was the concern that we'd be stuck with an unsalable property.

[crescent]

[jonah47]

A lot of good information on the subject. I think the bottom line is that as anywhere whether Korea or the States any building project is a hassle but if you are willing to put up with it can end up to be a profitable venture. I totally agree about the gas hookup, get it if available. If you are in the city, sewer hookups are part of the process.

As far as the resale potential goes I have not thought about since ours is a long term investment. Is SK suffering the same housing downtrend that is going on in the US? I really don't know. Probably best thing is to have a conversation with some local real estate agents and see what the local market is like. I know certain markets in SK are booming and others have stagnated. Like most places, location is everything.

[FDNY]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm thinking of doing a lot of work myself. I've worked construction before. Framing, insulating, drywall and bricklaying. I would get a company to do the concrete foundation, plumbing and electricals. Blueprints of houses are pretty easy to come buy.

Good info on the gas, electricity and sewer. We're actually hoping to do this close to a city. Like buying a piece of a farmer's land. Or long tern lease. We want more of a suburb house than a country house.

As far as reselling, we're not to worried. We're here long term. We can also sell it to another foreigner!

I've seen model log homes in Korea. I wonder how much they go for?

[meangradin]

[PatrickGHBusan]

Very intersting thread.

We considered buying land for a countryside house near Gyungju years ago. We even found a plot of land we liked. However, at the end of the day we decided it was not worth it as we clearly prefer city living. So, instead we bought an apt in Busan.

We sold that apt in 2008ish when we left Korea.

We bought another apt in Busan recently (last year) for investment and for family reasons.

In Canada, we live in a city and do not own a countryside cottage as we have no interest in that. As for building your own house, I know people who did that and I agree that typically they are building their "dream house" and that resale is not a priority issue for them. As for stress, buying a property can be stressful so building one will be more stressful in my opinion as you have to supervise the project and see the costs rise. Still, I am sure it is more than worth it if at the end of it people get their dream house.