Hi all!

I would like to know if anyone of you bought an apartment in Kunming as an foreigner,
what kind of problems where involved and what would be the costs in a good location

in Kunming to acquire a ca. 100m2 appartment in or around Kunming!

Thx for your answers

rehcla

@rehcla
Cost varies from roughly ¥6k-40k / m2. As a naive foreigner - you should expect an attempt to jack up the price by up to 3x the going rate. I had a realtor attempt to sell me a ¥6m apartment for ¥16 m. That was amusing.

In KM, I've seen the price of housing fluctuate by over 50% depending on location, time of year, government policy.

BEICHEN
JJ & Janice would advocate the Beichen area - it's a fairly stable area for expats, a den of expat restaurants, Judeo-Christian/Evangelistic groups, excellent shopping if your monthly salary exceeds ¥10-20k per month - bit dusty - but construction dust is everywhere and the city generally suffers from a lack of parking - so if you want a car - look for newer to brand new places (which will require interior design & decoration - I can recommend an outfit for that). METRO is closeby - if you have a membership card (or not). Metro members are usually gracious about sharing their card at the checkout - IFF one asks politely. But how would you get in, without the membership card - always wondered about that.

DIANCHI
Beautiful - depending on where you live. Dianchi can be stinky if you live too close to the stinky part of the lake. GOTTA have a car (or e-bike). You've got the boardwalk - which is miserable in winter - but the winters are short, but REALLY cold by the lake. Dianchi has the Hongta sponsored indoor sports center - gym, pool, badminton courts, and probably the sole remaining bowling alley ex Kunming.

SHOPPING
If you have a family - suggest you consider living close (but not TOO close) to Walmart or Carrefour. I personally prefer Carrefour - seems it's a little more upscale (to me) than Walmart - but our Carrefour is brand new and our Walmart is a grubby re-incarnation (along with an older and somewhat grubbier clientele - socio-economic snobbiness aside). Most places (even Dianchi) have Farmers Markets where you can purchase pseudo-fresh produce, meats, etc.

Also - try to live higher rather than lower than the water table. Kunming has dubiously effective waste water drainage systems. You do NOT want to be wading through waist-level high sewage to get home - assuming the next few years will be flood mode (as opposed to the last several years of drought).

But don't live too high if your building doesn't have its own water tanks. In the summer they ration water by reducing water pressure and if you are living lower you will be less effected.

Also if you buy a house that has not been previously sold for more than 5 years it will cost less in transfer taxes. In Kunming it is the buyer who pays all the taxes (even the sellers) unless you especially agree otherwise.

As a cash-buyer, do i need anything other than the cash? Any visa or residency requirements? Allowed to rent it out in case I would leave china in periods?
What are additional costs to consider: taxes (yuantongshis post) at what rate? Maintenance fees (my rented apt has maintenance fees of 1000 per year, includes lift maintenance, stairway sweeping,lighting in common areas etc.), home insurance,..what more?
Tx for starting this interesting thread!

Skip the car - one thing we don't need more of here - and think twice about Metro & Carrefour (how is it that nonspecific foreigners are thought to need these things)?

insurance....forget it. Offers NO protection at all and is ridiculously expensive. A complete scam.

Examine the management company very closely. How long have they been there? How many companies have come and gone in the last 5 years? Talk to residents to get a feel of how the property is managed. Get a contract to read over.

Look at how security is managed. Check the local police office for problems at the property. Spend a few hours at lunchtime watching who comes and goes from the property. What kind of people live there, etc.

Above all- Do not believe anything people tell you. Especially realestate agents. There is no such thing as disclosure laws in China. They will tell you whatever you want to hear with no hesitation.

Get somone who knows Kunming and the market to help you. The smaller real estate agents are better. The largest agency in Kunming I would avoid. Have your own contract from a good attorney. Sign nothing without advice. I moved offices, homes, sold and rented this summer. There are plenty of pitfalls but you can end upsafely with a nice place.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but buying real estate in China basically means you are "renting it out from the government" for no longer than 70 years. Then what is the point? Taking the current prices for property that must be a ridiculous investment unless you have a good business strategy to work out. Have a look at the Chinese property law. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_property_law

Maybe I'm missing something, but who cares after 70 years?

I saw that there has been quite a lot of discussion about the 70 years,,and beyond on the internet. There are a few conflicting laws, one saying that the 70 years should be extended automatically (and for free?) the other saying that the government should re-tax the property and give another 70 years.

Either way, if apartments will stand for 70 years then that will be a small miracle in itself.