| Owning Property in Vietnam |
| |||
Owning property in Vietnam can be challenging for foreign individuals due to complex and restrictive Vietnamese investment law. Following are details on Healy Consultants' services, and information to equip investors with required knowledge on owning property in Vietnam:
| ||||
1.
| Owning property in Vietnam is done on a lease basis as land can not be purchased in Vietnam. Apart from apartments, foreigners residing in Vietnam can purchase a house but the land is leased from the government. Foreigners can also own property in Vietnam by forming i) a joint venture company with a local partner ii) a wholly foreign-owned company iii) a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) company or one of its variants.
| |||
2.
| Because owning property in Vietnam does not include owning the land, the term of land use rights registration is used instead of land registration. Once the property transaction is completed, the buyer receives the Land Use Rights Certificate (LURC), which guarantees the rights over the land as well as the description of the property attached to the land.
| |||
3.
| Under the new Vietnam real estate law, foreign individuals will be permitted to own apartments only in approved developments that have a 50-year lease. The property owner must reside in the property, so it is not of benefit to investors based outside of Vietnam.
| |||
4.
| From 1 January 2009 foreign individuals living in Vietnam will be able to purchase property under a new law, called Circular 13. Foreigners will be permitted to own real estate provided certain conditions are met, which include: i) the individual already invests directly in Vietnam ii) the individual is married to a Vietnamese citizen iii) via a company. | |||
5.
| The actual buying cost for property in Vietnam is not high, at 6%, according to the Global Property Guide. However, taxes related to owning property in Vietnam are significant. Healy Consultants provides invaluable tax and accounting advice to investors to ensure all tax obligations are met. Property taxes include value added tax of 10%, land use right fees of 1%, income tax/capital gains tax at 25% and withholding tax of 10%.
| |||
6.
| The mortgage market in Vietnam is small as borrowing to buy property in Vietnam is not common. Most mortgages are via international banks and loan-to-value ratios rarely exceed 50%. For foreigners wishing to own property in Vietnam, Healy Consultants arranges property finance, including international mortgages. Our firm will source competitive finance options and negotiate mortgage terms and conditions. International banks including ANZ Bank, DBS Bank and OCBC Bank are examples of banks used.
| |||
7.
| Healy Consultants offers comprehensive professional advice, and management services to assist clients with their objective of owning property in Vietnam. Whether the requirement is i) residential real estate or ii) commercial real estate, our firm will establish the property needs such as budget, property locations, size, proximity to schools, and security requirements to develop appropriate property investment options. |
|||
8.
| Investors who own property in Vietnam benefit from the property management services provided by Healy Consultants. Clients save time and money by outsourcing time consuming activities such as property maintenance, refurbishments, security, property valuations, finding tenants, organizing property insurance and ad hoc problem solving requirements. |
|||
9.
| The increased interest and investment in the Vietnam property market has led the Vietnamese government to address the laws associated with property transactions. One such legislation is known as Decree 153 and relates to the funding of projects that are sold off-plan. Previously, developers would take payments prior to even the ground on the property site being broken, with timelines and completion dates being completely ignored along the way. The Decree provides regulation of this and in the case of residential developments, the first payments are not required until work on the foundations has been completed. |
|||
10.
| Healy Consultants will appoint and supervise a local lawyer to ensure the legal matters associated with owning property in Vietnam are undertaken correctly. Having an experienced lawyer is advised to help avoid any problems in the transaction and protect the interests of the buyer.
| |||
11.
| For clients relocating to Vietnam, Healy Consultants will arrange all the migration requirements such as immigration visas, relocation services, and country orientation information.
| |||
Contact Us
| ||||
For further information on owning property in Vietnam, please contact us at our Singapore office at (+65) 67350120 or email us at email@healyconsultants.com
| ||||
Back to Vietnam Real Estate page.
| ||||
| © Copyright 2006 - 2011 | ASIA PROPERTY CONSULTANTS |