Does anyone have any familiarity or advice on any of the following?

1. Does PRC still restrict foreigners from purchasing a second property in Beijing?

2. What types of fees or taxes apply to foreigners who sell a property in Beijing? I have heard that there are extra taxes that foreigners must pay (that local citizens do not have to pay).

Along the same lines, I have yet to find a property that will sell to foreigners (though I have not looked that hard). I casually looked at one property recently by a fairly large developer (Poly), and was surprised to find out that they do not sell to foreigners. In general, what kinds of properties are available to foreigners? What about second-hand apartments - are these easier for foreigners to buy?

Also, does anyone have any experience with the 2-mortgage limit per household that was enacted earlier this year? Since most foreigners who purchase property here would be getting their mortgages from the foreign banks, would they still check this?

gdbill wrote:

I'm not sure how they really verify if you are on your third mortgage or not. A while back a friend of mine in one of the local banks told me they can see if you have had mortgages previously by looking at your credit report. I'm not sure how accurate that is, though.

I also heard that the banks are now "net connected" and can look up your mortgage history (even past mortgages that have already been paid off are counted in the current 2 mortgage limit). I'm just not sure how they enforce/verify it on a per-household basis - for this they would need to go through other departments to look up hukou/marriage records. And presumably, it would be even more complicated when the household includes a foreigner.

gdbill wrote:

From what I've seen credit reports do state marital status, but not the spouse's name so I wonder how they could easily find out about a spouse's mortgage history. I wouldn't think they could access hukou / marriage records online, but who knows. Perhaps when you apply for a mortgage they get the spouse's name and ID number and then check their credit report.

Apparently with the current restrictions there's a new form that buyers are supposed to fill out. The form asks for your mortgage history and also that for your spouse. So the question then is, how (closely) do they verify this?

I've heard that the banks issuing mortgages will not extend a mortgage to foreigners who already own a property and would like to purchase a second property on a loan - even if the first was purchased with cash only.

This apparently extends to couples because the law counts you as a single entity. So even if the first property was purchased by only one individual when she was single. That locks out the couple from getting a mortgage on the second desired property.

@Nidaye, I've never heard of an agent not willing to sell to a foreigner. Could happen. But on the contrary, I've found them more than willing to work you through it to make the sale.

coco-nuts wrote:

I've heard that the banks issuing mortgages will not extend a mortgage to foreigners who already own a property and would like to purchase a second property on a loan - even if the first was purchased with cash only.

A new rule was announced just days ago, foreigners can only buy one property now:

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-11-15/china-steps-up-ownership-curbs-for-foreign-homebuyers.html

I knew that it was long a rule that a foreigner could only purchase and own a single property. But I didn't know that they considered a "couple" a single entity. Meaning that the couple can only own a single property (they can not purchase one each, unless they did so before getting married).

Learned this only recently from several agents I've spoken with. And never heard that this was the case previously. Not sure if it's tied to the new law you've referenced that was instituted just days ago.

I actually had someone suggest that exact idea!! Tempting for some, I guess, but they were concerned about potential disadvantages of doing that even though they couldn't think of any at the moment.

I could be wrong, but I was told it is up to (not more than) 3 units per Chinese couple.

Of course, there are always conflicting reports... But according to most agents and banks (at least 90% of those I've heard from), the law now is that it is one unit per foreign family. They do not care that each individual wishes to register/purchase a unit each under their own respective names. One unit per married foreign couple is the law.

If your understanding is different and have information pertaining to this, let me know.

coco-nuts wrote:

I could be wrong, but I was told it is up to (not more than) 3 units per Chinese couple.

The measures that were put in place back in May or June to try to cool the property market included a rule that banks could only approve mortgages for 2 units per couple. But people could still buy apartment #3 (or more) as long as they paid for them in cash. In addition they also raised the minimum downpayment for mortgages on 2nd apartments, as well as the interest rate. What is interesting about this 2 mortgage rule was that it counted past mortgages in your name - in otherwords, if you had a mortgage in the past but had paid it off, it would still count towards the 2 mortgage limit. Likewise, if you currently had 2 mortgages and were to sell one of your apartments to buy another one, you would have to buy in cash as you wouldn't be able to get another mortgage.

More recently banks also stopped approving apartment-backed loans that were to be used towards a purchase of another apartment, but I've heard that the real estate agencies have ways around this (but there is risk).

I do seem to recall hearing that they later imposed a hard limit of 3 units per couple, even if the units are paid for in cash. But I'm not 100% sure.

coco-nuts wrote:

Of course, there are always conflicting reports... But according to most agents and banks (at least 90% of those I've heard from), the law now is that it is one unit per foreign family. They do not care that each individual wishes to register/purchase a unit each under their own respective names. One unit per married foreign couple is the law.

If your understanding is different and have information pertaining to this, let me know.

Yes, I'd be interested in knowing too. This "one unit per foreign family" rule is news to me.

Nidaye wrote:

coco-nuts wrote:

I could be wrong, but I was told it is up to (not more than) 3 units per Chinese couple.

The measures that were put in place back in May or June to try to cool the property market included a rule that banks could only approve mortgages for 2 units per couple. But people could still buy apartment #3 (or more) as long as they paid for them in cash. In addition they also raised the minimum downpayment for mortgages on 2nd apartments, as well as the interest rate. What is interesting about this 2 mortgage rule was that it counted past mortgages in your name - in otherwords, if you had a mortgage in the past but had paid it off, it would still count towards the 2 mortgage limit. Likewise, if you currently had 2 mortgages and were to sell one of your apartments to buy another one, you would have to buy in cash as you wouldn't be able to get another mortgage.

More recently banks also stopped approving apartment-backed loans that were to be used towards a purchase of another apartment, but I've heard that the real estate agencies have ways around this (but there is risk).

I do seem to recall hearing that they later imposed a hard limit of 3 units per couple, even if the units are paid for in cash. But I'm not 100% sure.

coco-nuts wrote:

Of course, there are always conflicting reports... But according to most agents and banks (at least 90% of those I've heard from), the law now is that it is one unit per foreign family. They do not care that each individual wishes to register/purchase a unit each under their own respective names. One unit per married foreign couple is the law.

If your understanding is different and have information pertaining to this, let me know.

Yes, I'd be interested in knowing too. This "one unit per foreign family" rule is news to me.

It would be easy for the banks to do this since it can be seen on a Chinese person's credit reports if they have ever had a mortgage before. There are definitely ways around this, though, and I think the only risk is if the bank that gives you the mortgage ever found out.

I actually had someone suggest that exact idea!! Tempting for some, I guess, but they were concerned about potential disadvantages of doing that even though they couldn't think of any at the moment.