Expats Applaud Would-be Law Allowing Them To Buy Housing In Vietnam

[ThaiLife]

Expats applaud would-be law allowing them to buy housing in Vietnam

SIX CATEGORIES OF FOREIGNERS ELIGIBLE TO BUY HOUSES IN VIETNAM

■ People coming to Vietnam for direct investments.

■ People who have contributed to Vietnam and have been honored by ministries or higher-ranked agencies.

■ Cultural and scientific experts.

■ People married to Vietnamese citizens and living in Vietnam.

■ Honorary citizens.

■ Foreign-invested enterprises not operating in the property sector.

Not too sure just what to think ?

http://www.thanhniennews.com/overseas/?cat...mp;newsid=34368

TL

[tijnebijn]

Hope Thailand will follow , especially the married to a local part

[SpacemanSpliff]

Do you suppose Thailand would stop and ponder now even communist countries are allowing freeer markets open to all than Thailand does?

(nah, me neither.)

[Samuian]

Dream, dream, dream, dreeeeeam, dreeeeeam......... and the story will never die!

And it will never happen!

Does anyone of you understand the Nationalhymn of Thailand?

[PhilHarries]

Yes Viet Nam joins China in allowing foreigners to own property. Another nail in the coffin of my Thailand retirement plans.

But there will be those that claim that Viet Nam has to do all it can to encourage foreign investment whilst people are queueing up to move to Thailand. It should be kept in mind that those in the queue can always change lines anytime before they get to the front.

Then there'll be the commie bashers who just love their democracy so much they'll leap double back somersaults naked through hoops just to be allowed to stay in the country of their dreams (dreams?). I sometimes wonder whether democracy is the right form of government for S. E. Asia. When was the last time Viet Nam had a coup?

[ThaiLife]

Hi Samuian ....

Pra thet thai ruam luead nu'a chat chu'a thai

Pen pra cha rat pha thai kho'ng thai thuk suan

Yu dam rong khong wai dai thang muan

Duay thai luan mai rak sa mak khi

Thai ni rak sa ngop tae thu'ng rop mai khlat

Ek ka raj ja mai hai khrai khom khi

Sa la luead thuk yat pen chat p'hli

Tha loeng pra thet chat thai tha wi mi chai ch'yo

Thailand embraces in its bosom all people of Thai blood.

Every inch of Thailand belongs to the Thais.

It has long maintained its sovereignty,

Because the Thais have always been united.

The Thai people are peace-loving,

But they are no cowards at war.

They shall allow no one to rob them of their independence,

Nor shall they suffer tyranny.

All Thais are ready to give up every drop of blood

For the nation's safety, freedom and progress.

I see what you mean ...

TL

[Wrong Turn]

Not too sure just what to think ?

There are some positive to this.

But will there be negatives?

There is a housing bubble in Saigon right now. Especially in Districts 7 and 2.

Rampant speculation.

Leases for restaurants and office space has increased dramatically.

If foreigners (with their money) can buy, maybe it cause more speculation, and more property increases. Maybe not, it's population is about 9-10 million.

As for Thailand, many will disagree with me, but if LOS allowed foreigners to buy land outright we'd see increases, and a "Farangland" in certain parts of the country.

[Jingthing]

I think a more moderate approach that wouldn't be very disruptive would be for Thailand to loosen up the paths to permanent residence a bit, and then allow permanent residents to buy residential sized land. I think a more radical change would indeed have unintended consequences.

Edited December 21, 2007 by Jingthing

[Samuian]

Hi Samuian ....

Thailand embraces in its bosom all people of Thai blood.

Every inch of Thailand belongs to the Thais.

It has long maintained its sovereignty,

I see what you mean ...

Yep, now maybe others may "see" this as well and understand - the Middle class and Hi-So will be up in arms - why should they allow someone else to harvest on THEIR lands?

It is as simple as that!

[apetley]

It's not that clear in the article if foreigners can buy a house AND land or not. Good if both. If not, same as Thailand where farang can own the house but not the land.

[SpacemanSpliff]

Yep, now maybe others may "see" this as well and understand - the Middle class and Hi-So will be up in arms - why should they allow someone else to harvest on THEIR lands?

Actually the middle and upper classes would benefit the most, as they'd be the ones selling land not just to unclue Joe across the road, but in an actual international marketplace. They'd be ecstatic.

Also, why would Thailand be different from any other country in the world.. Having an open marketplace is GOOD for a country. Sure in any country there's people whining about selling out to foreigners, even in the US or UK, mind, but the whiners are typically not the sellers.

[JimsKnight]

It's not that clear in the article if foreigners can buy a house AND land or not. Good if both. If not, same as Thailand where farang can own the house but not the land.

Thats exactly what I'm wondering.

[jumnien]

Hopefully, many expats will invest in Vietnam and leave us be here in beautiful Thailand!

[technocracy]

ho ho ho . . . those pesky commies eh!

I bet most people are completely unaware but even here in Laos foreigners can actually buy land and houses . . . it's not straight forward but there is loop holes in the law which allow it.

hey ho . . . at least it democratic in Thailand eh . ..

[PattayaParent]

ho ho ho . . . those pesky commies eh!

I bet most people are completely unaware but even here in Laos foreigners can actually buy land and houses . . . it's not straight forward but there is loop holes in the law which allow it.

hey ho . . . at least it democratic in Thailand eh . ..

Many people believe there's loophoels in the Thai law that allow ownership of land, hence all these Farangs with dodgy nominee companies.

But the operative words in the VN regulations are foreigners married to Vitenamese citizens living in Vietnam.

If you're not living there you have to sell the property (yes you can own the land too) and you can't buy to rent out.

This was introduced about 1 year ago.

[technocracy]

Many people believe there's loophoels in the Thai law that allow ownership of land, hence all these Farangs with dodgy nominee companies.

But the operative words in the VN regulations are foreigners married to Vitenamese citizens living in Vietnam.

If you're not living there you have to sell the property (yes you can own the land too) and you can't buy to rent out.

This was introduced about 1 year ago.

The Lao PDR loopholes don't have strings attached or need a company . . .

[SoCal]

As for Vietnam being communist, I feel a whole lot more free than I did back in the states.

Vietnam is also a lot friendlier to foreigners than Thailand.

[klikster]

One paragraph from that article made my eyes widen.

Thomas Speeger, executive director of the German Business Association in Vietnam, said it would offer an alternative to leasing for expats who pay US$3,000-4,000 a month on average.

Maybe they're all living on Saigon's version of Sukhumvit

This made me laugh.

He said foreigners were able to buy and sell houses freely in many countries like Thailand, Malaysia, the US, and Britain and these markets were performing well and efficiently.

[comparing Thailand to US & Britain]

[klikster]

One paragraph from that article made my eyes widen.

Thomas Speeger, executive director of the German Business Association in Vietnam, said it would offer an alternative to leasing for expats who pay US$3,000-4,000 a month on average.

Maybe they're all living on Saigon's version of Sukhumvit

This made me laugh.

He said foreigners were able to buy and sell houses freely in many countries like Thailand, Malaysia, the US, and Britain and these markets were performing well and efficiently.

[comparing Thailand to US & Britain]

But this article puts a different spin on the proposal

Foreigners will soon be able to own houses if a proposal by the Construction Ministry is approved by the National Assembly's Standing Committee.

To be implemented on a trial basis in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City for a few years, the plan envisages allowing six categories of foreigners - including investors, non-property enterprises, and people married to Vietnamese citizens - to own housing for 70 years.

At the end of the 70-year period, if the title is not renewed, the owner has to sell or gift the house.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/overseas/?cat...mp;newsid=34208

Edited December 22, 2007 by klikster

[technocracy]

As for Vietnam being communist, I feel a whole lot more free than I did back in the states.

Vietnam is also a lot friendlier to foreigners than Thailand.

Shhhhhhh your not allowed to say such things on here you'll get the Thai expat bullies out tell you you're wrong! I've said this previously about my life in the Lao PDR but to have 3 or 4 people replying telling me that they know better and I don't really have any freedom at all because of the big bad communists! Even though none of them live here, obviously most have spent to long being bar stools preachers . . .

Oh in regards to the $3000-$4000 range in HCM, property is pretty dam_n expensive there I think more so than Bangkok.

Edited December 22, 2007 by technocracy

[Nignoy]

Not too sure just what to think ?

There are some positive to this.

But will there be negatives?

There is a housing bubble in Saigon right now. Especially in Districts 7 and 2.

Rampant speculation.

Leases for restaurants and office space has increased dramatically.

If foreigners (with their money) can buy, maybe it cause more speculation, and more property increases. Maybe not, it's population is about 9-10 million.

As for Thailand, many will disagree with me, but if LOS allowed foreigners to buy land outright we'd see increases, and a "Farangland" in certain parts of the country.

Thought there were a quite a few rather large Farangland enclaves in Thailand already, and so many knowledgable farangs always ready to spread their wisdom and knowledge to unsuspecting elderly tourists,we were cornered by such a gentleman while waiting for some somtam palah on the outskirts of Ubon,the look on his face when we told him we had driven up from Bkk,he explained the dangers of travelling in Isaan,when we explained we were travelling to a village near leong nok tha,his comment was how dangerous it could be for 2 disabled pensioners amongst such un trustworthy thai villagers,little mrs nignoy soon straightened him out when she explained she had been visting the village since 1981 and hubby since 1962 Nignoy

[pointofview]

Do you suppose Thailand would stop and ponder now even communist countries are allowing freeer markets open to all than Thailand does?

(nah, me neither.)

Stop and think?? Stop - yes, Think!! Not encouraged

[SoCal]

US $3,000-4,000/mo is for a serviced appartment, or a top end villa.

I live downtown (district 3), so pay more than if I lived out further. I pay 4,500,000/mo ($280/mo) for a small two bedroom/2 bath house. Previously I lived in a larger appartment further out (10km), and paid about $150/mo.

Land in downtown Saigon and Hanoi is exceptionaly expensive to buy, but not necessarily to rent.

Last year I was watching Deutche (?) World. Most expensive property in the world was Ben Thanh market Saigon $283,000USD/sq m.

Get out of the city, and land can be quite reasonable, then problem often becomes infrastructure though.

Don't buy, but rent, unless you believe in buying into a bubble.

[PattayaParent]

As for Vietnam being communist, I feel a whole lot more free than I did back in the states.

Vietnam is also a lot friendlier to foreigners than Thailand.

True in my experiences also but I prefer living in Thailand 'cos the the more developed infrastructure.

[SoCal]

True that Thailand's infrastructure is better, but Vietnam is comming along. A lot better than when I first moved here. Sure it will change a lot more in the next 2-5 years.

The biggest plus for me is that the dollar is still strong. Stronger than when I first moved here ('05) in fact.

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

In Fiji they have desiganted about 10% of the property as freehold to anyone. That is what foreigners own. Consequently the price on that property is many times higher than the price on nearby property that is not freehold. (at least that was true in the early 90's). It seemed to work well as the native land stayed affordable to the locals and they still had 90% of the country. Think that would work in Thailand?

[PattayaParent]

True that Thailand's infrastructure is better, but Vietnam is comming along. A lot better than when I first moved here. Sure it will change a lot more in the next 2-5 years.

The biggest plus for me is that the dollar is still strong. Stronger than when I first moved here ('05) in fact.

That's what I'm expecting too having seen some of the development plans for Ha Noi. Problem is the time it takes for implementation due to land purchase and bureaucracy, and funding!

I'm hoping it'll be greatly improved by the time I retire and I can play golf on a course that's reasonably accessible from the centre (Ciputra). And I hope by then they've employed more than one person to dub over the voices on the movies so it doesn't sound like a narration!

[Wrong Turn]

As for Vietnam being communist, I feel a whole lot more free than I did back in the states.

Vietnam is also a lot friendlier to foreigners than Thailand.

VN is not kommunist. The government does practice a form of Democratic Centralism. But in reality, this is the wild, wild, east. Capitalist to the name, and kommie in name only.

As foreigners, we have more freedom than in the US. Because we are foreigners.

Apparently, WTO is making the VN government end gasoline/petrol subsidies. Therefore, petrol is going up, leading to inflation on food, and other goods.

[007]

Thailand embraces in its bosom all people of Thai blood.

They don't even embrace their own who are Malay (and therefore not of Thai blood),

Chinese or Indians (whose families have lived here for generations), Laotians who settled in Isaan about two hundred years ago, "hill tribes" in the North and Northeast, or workers from the neighbouring countries...

No wonder many Thais admire Hitler. And the hymn for the national anthem was written by a German, too. Nuff said...

Edited December 25, 2007 by 7

[technocracy]

Thailand embraces in its bosom all people of Thai blood.

They don't even embrace their own who are Malay (and therefore not of Thai blood),

Chinese or Indians (whose families have lived here for generations), Laotians who settled in Isaan about two hundred years ago, "hill tribes" in the North and Northeast, or workers from the neighbouring countries...

No wonder many Thais admire Hitler. And the hymn for the national anthem was written by a German, too. Nuff said...

Well the Laotians didn't exactly settle .. .. they became part of Thailand purely because Thailand acquired most of that region from Laos.

Wrong Turn . . I must of missed the point in time Vietnam renounced Communism and held free election! It's a one party state - it's not call a socialist republic for nothing - and one that is a SR that is based upon Ho Chi Minh and Marxists communist beliefs. 100% Communist however you want to look at it.