Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
An apartment in the Chateau Regency building in Lido in the northeast, for example, aver-
ages at RMB32,000 per square meter. So a three-bedroom 285-square-meter (3,067-square-
foot) apartment there will tie you down for about RMB9,120,000 (US$1,436,286); an
older-style 50-square-meter (538-square-foot) apartment near Zhongguancun may cost you
RMB48,113 per square meter or a total of RMB2,549,989 (US$401,605).
When you buy a home in Beijing, you must choose between a secondhand property and a
new one. In order to curb speculation and prevent people from simply buying homes and
selling them off a year or two later for profit, the government imposes heavy taxes on the
sale of homes less than five years old, excluding the initial purchase of a brand-new prop-
erty. If the property is older than five years, the taxes ease up.
Besides the reduced taxes, there are other reasons why brand-new (first owner) homes
are cheaper. These are typically completely undecorated. It's highly likely they'll just be
cement boxes without even paint on the walls. You will need to completely outfit it your-
self. Given the rate of construction and buying, it's also likely that your home-to-be won't
be finished for another year or two, so you'll be taking a gamble as to what it will finally
look like and what the quality of the property management will be.
If your budget is limited to local services and you're unsure as to which part of the city
you want to buy in, say you're deciding between Sanyuanqiao in the northeast and Chong-
wenmen in the southeast, then you may need to use two different real estate agents, as they
tend to localize. On the other hand, if you have the budget for multimillion
rénmínbì
prop-
erties, you'll be able to use more international-level companies that can provide a compre-
hensive city-wide service for you.
The Chinese love paperwork, and when it comes to property buying they revel. Over the
course of a property purchase a forest worth of documents will pass through your hands.
First up you'll need to have your passport translated into Chinese and notarized. You'll also
need a certificate from the Public Security Bureau verifying that you've been in China for
one year to work or study. From here you can get the approval to purchase a property, which
your agent should be able to help you with. After this, it's time to pay the taxes, a process
that involves taking a number and getting in line. The better agents will help you with this.
In addition to the paperwork you personally have to put together, the seller also needs
to provide various documents. These include a state land use certificate, a construction land
