Buying an apartment in Hanoi

And another thing - is that true that the Government can confiscate a flat from a foreigner in case the foreigner is absent from Vietnam for longer than 90 days?

1, It shoudnt be any problem
2, too complicated to reply
3, the law allowed you to sell the house if you do not intend to use it anymore. It is a bit complicated as it forbids selling for " earning money'' purpose, But if you can show that you dont need to use the apartment, you should be able to sell,
But you can lease your house easily,

Thanks a lot for your reply

You're more than welcome

Talk to a lawyer who works in the area of real estate. VN law is a minefield with no consistency.

I agree.
Such things require professional advice.
Thanks!

As your time in Vietnam is limited and residency is temporary and unstable, it is risky to put money to invest in this country. ( you will also be subject to foreign exchange regulations when you try to sell and and take money OUT OF VIETNAM at a latter stage).
You can bring money to Vietnam no problems. But when you try to take out it is a different ball game and the end looser will be you.

You must seek the professional advise of a lawyer in such a case.
Please contact:
Mr Nguyen cong
Email: cong.nguyen@dimac-law.com
Or face book:
Nguyen cong at group how to business in vietnam

peterwij wrote:

You must seek the professional advise of a lawyer in such a case.
Please contact:
Mr Nguyen cong
Email: cong.nguyen@dimac-law.com
Or face book:
Nguyen cong at group how to business in vietnam

Your personal recommendation based on experience or do you have a financial interest in this firm?

After checking out DIMAC website, I'm now left with two questions:

1/ Why can't a supposed to be great law firm write grammatically correct English?
2/ Why doesn't the firm publish the names of their lawyers with credentials and experiences?

Blame me for being too accustomed to American and European law firms, but since I'll never buy a pig in a poke, I don't think I will bring my legal business to faceless, nameless, and credential-less lawyers who work for a firm that doesn't inspire my trust at first glance.

peterwij wrote:

As your time in Vietnam is limited and residency is temporary and unstable, it is risky to put money to invest in this country. ( you will also be subject to foreign exchange regulations when you try to sell and and take money OUT OF VIETNAM at a latter stage).
You can bring money to Vietnam no problems. But when you try to take out it is a different ball game and the end looser will be you.

You must seek the professional advise of a lawyer in such a case.
Please contact:
Mr Nguyen cong
Email: cong.nguyen@dimac-law.com
Or face book:
Nguyen cong at group how to business in vietnam

Not quite true. If you keep the documention showing what and how you brought the money into VN, you can then take the same amount out. I have already done this.

From past experience.

It is not the  dimac writing. It is from a normal person who got help from this lawyer.

Sorry about the grammar errors may be due to misspelling ( or auto correct function) while using an iPhone keypad.
I want to help this guy that is why I directed him him to some sort of help direction.
No need to find faults please give him advice -
Peter

No, not any individual person writing, Peter. It's what I read on DIMAC website and it isn't exactly the best of English. I don't care how people write on the forum, but I do mind about a company (in this case, a law firm) that is careless about its presentation. The way I see it, if the firm doesn't care much for its own case, what assurance do I have that it would care more for mine?

In addition, the names and credentials of the lawyers are very important to prospective clients. DIMAC, for some reason, keeps that list hidden. That's the one thing I've never heard of in all my years dealing with law firms in the States and Europe, and that makes me feel leery. Expressing my feeling about a recommended law firm is my own form of help to the OP, especially in a country where smoke and mirror is practically a way of life.

Hi OlegR,

I am local Hanoian and living in Abu Dhabi. However I have some experience with buying apartment in Hanoi to share. If you are to buy a flat for investment purpose, you would make a loss when resell and foreigner will be entitled to 50 years ownership only which makes your flat even more devaluated. It is financially better for foreigners to rent an accomodation in Vietnam.

The real estate market in Hanoi and Vietnam cities are at peak at the moment. Don't be hooked by any developers even Vinhomes.

And you can google all information about foreign purchase of real estate, no need to consult any lawyers. Cheers

At long last, a local who is honest about real estate investment in Vietnam.  Of course her current location may give her a more worldly perspective.

I have a friend who bought two properties from Vinhomes, she was told she would get 1300 usd a month. Now 7 months down the track, they are still empty due to the oversupply of apartments.The properties are now down to 950 usd and still no takers.

Our landlord has been threatening to sell the apartment we rent. I told the wife, let him try to sell it. No one has even come to look at it.

Now, the old lady's worried we'll be out on the street...I said..OK, Ask him about the price.

2,300,000,000 dong (about $101,223.00 USD according to google) (90m2, 3 beds, 2 baths)

Yeah...not gonna happen. It's an older building, with cockroaches and rats running down the hallways.

I wish him good luck...But I am not going to be the sucker to buy this place.

He'll take his 7,000,000 dong a month we pay and like it or he can lump it.

Zep--

Usual practice is you only need to be a resident when you sign the sale and purchase agreement. I've seen foreigners buy apartments when they don't even reside in VN. They just fly in to sign the agreement, and fly out.

I understand you may have already paid the deposit. If not, usually two docs that would be coming up when you buy an apartment in VN:

- Deposit Agreement
- Sale and Purchase Agreement

For the sale and purchase agreement, Vinhomes has to register this agreement with the authorities. Therefore, it is generally non-negotiable. However, I would normally ask the developer to provide at least the following for checks:

(1)  certificate of Land Use Right for the land on which Vinhomes will develop (to ensure they are entitled to develop that project on the land)

(2)  bank guarantee (by law, developer of off-the-plan property must have a bank guarantee with a VN bank to protect buyer's interest when they fail to complete the project on time)

(3)  construction permit (to ensure they are licensed to construct the project)

Regarding selling the apartment in the future, you can sell it to local or foreigner. No restriction against that. But note stamp duty of 0.5% of transfer value will apply. Selling to another foreigner may not be attractive, as he will "inherit" the remainder of your 50-year (or whatever) term you will be granted for the ownership

Hello all! All foreigners need to understand that when you live or are (tourists) in  this country you are in a land where everything belongs to the people, the public; nothing is personal and nothing belongs to you.  So your land is the people's land; you only build your house on top of their land! So please do not think that you can do whatever you want, like in other free democratic countries.

Hi OlegR!
It is better to investigate in real estate market in Vietnam before any meetings with the agency. You can easily find the information on the internet anytime anywhere and also the price. For the sake of the information accuracy, the house should be checked directly at daytime.
Hope my real estate information might help you.

Just thinking of investing myself and am getting the same advise about the market overheating (two years after these posts and after my (rented) apartment has gone up 10% every year!)

There is a lot on the internet about this but I have two questions:-

1. Has anyone actually used a lawyer in Hanoi for this?
2. ONE site mentioned that a foreigner could not let their apartment if they are no longer in the country (maybe linked to the strange and doubtful "90 days outside the country and you lose your house", nonsense).

Anyone got any wise feedback about these?

Thanks

DC