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Local market knowledge and a keen eye on future growth potential are key elements when investing in an emerging market. Reliable information on the property market, legal and fiscal environment and insights into city planning, infrastructure.

Our team of professional property consultants has a diverse background in real estate, finance and investment with international companies both, abroad and in Vietnam. This multi-cultural background coupled with our real estate expertise in the high-end segment give you the opportunity to get the best advice on which properties to invest into. Indochina Capital , our parent company, was one of the first foreign investors in Vietnam and our team can utilize the experience of over 20 years the property market.

If you wish to find out more about investing in Vietnam property, please contact us and we will schedule a personal consultation.

Buying a property is one of the most complex decisions that you make. To buy an emerging markets property is an even more complex process considering:
• Unknown legislation and personal concerns about it
• Language barriers
• Currency risks
• Vast difference to buying a personal home

The decision can have a variety of reasons:
• The emerging market has huge potential – properties are comparably low priced
• You can expect high yields and capital appreciation
• You are looking to diversify your portfolio
• You would be looking for a second or holiday home in a country that you love
• You are looking for a safe, tropical paradise to retire
• You want to relocate or settle permanently with your family

No matter what your buying motive in. Once we understand them, we can identify the right options and you can make the right decision in choosing the to fit your requirements.

A good and trustworthy real estate agent has to be fully equipped with property market knowledge. The agent should actively listen to your requests and should be prompt in responding to any of your concerns, update you regarding legal challenges or changes, give you insider market knowledge such as price development, new upcoming projects and market developments.

He/she is able to help you to ease you through the process smoothly and minimize your time efforts by assisting you with a myriad of matters including:

1. Listen to your requests and look for properties matching your search criteria
2. Narrow down the most suitable options and present these to you
3. Negotiate with the developer or owners of resale units on your behalf (arranging viewings, understanding all the terms and clauses of the agreement)
4. Guide you through the sales process and assist with the after-sales services (bank account opening, signing agreement, follow up with payment schedule, banking details, managing the property and renting it out) 5. Offer property related customer service at all times
6. Once your decide to resale, the agent is responsible for suggesting the new selling price based on market valuation and finding new buyer

Following the narrowing of your search, the agent will help you to select a few options out of the different properties and will make appointments with the developer to view the show gallery or with the property’s owners for actual unit viewing.

For new or unknown areas, our agent will guide you around the destination to have a clear vision of how the area is constructed and show you the pros and cons of the complex in regards to location. This is the first step in getting you to familiarize with the area and the development it is located within.

Before proceeding with the purchase, advance preparations are needed. To enable the buying process to be smooth, you need to secure your finances. Depending on this, you can further define your budget and make a decision on what type of property is suitable for you.

Deposit: When making a purchasing decision, typically you are required to leave a deposit with the developer or seller to show your commitment. This can be a nominal amount that can be paid by cash, credit card or bank transfer

Stage Payments: After your agents assists with the bank account opening, according to law, further payments must be made through a local Vietnamese account to the seller/developer. A good agent will help you through this process and give you the right advice to not encounter any issues upon a later resale and remittance of the funds back to your home country.

When buying a property in a foreign market, legal procedures and taxations are the most noteworthy elements a buyer has to be aware of.

Each country has their own laws in regards to real estate. As an expert in the local Vietnamese real estate market, a good agent can guide you through the tax regulations by the government and explain various payments to the developer, ensuring all steps towards your ownership are correct.

A legal counsel can help with the review of documents that are typically signed in English and Vietnamese and review legal documents on the land and project to ensure all legal requirements are met and assess the potential associated with it.

With the support of the agent, the buyer needs to read and fully understand all the terms and conditions of any of the agreements (deposit, sales and purchase, rental agreement). The agent will be by your side and explain any unclear terms.

As soon as the sale document is signed, the agency will provide support on paperwork and finding prospective tenants:

• Signing of agent agreement within 3 months prior to handover.
• Support foreign clients in opening Vietnamese bank account and payment schedule.
• Hold the key the unit key for the owner. Assist in client check in.
• Promote unit media channels to find qualified tenants. Accompany prospective tenants for unit viewing. When a qualified tenant has been found, a deposit is collected and receipt is sent to unit owners.
• Assist tenant with any issues during the tenancy period.
• Assist the unit owner in renewing the lease agreement with tenant.

We are always looking for that unique property to add to our portfolio. You can rely our experience in the sales and marketing of luxury properties in Vietnam and we can offer you the following services:

• Market price valuation
• Professional photography
• Listing package for prospective buyers
• Marketing Channels in over 10 countries
• International media exposure
• Regular reports on results

If you are a seller and you are looking to sell your home, contact us for a discussion.

Before anything else, it is important to draw up a basic plan for the selling process. You should consider establishing your timeframe for selling and having a general understanding of the current property market.

It is important to know when you want to sell your property. The urgency of the sale may affect the price of the property. In addition, if you need to sell quickly, we can speed up the process by proposing a thorough action plan to obtain your goals. Otherwise, our team of professional experts can help you thoroughly review the market conditions and find the most favourable time to sell.

Deciding to sell demands a serious consideration of current market in order to arrive at the best market prices and terms. With our knowledge and expertise, we will keep you up-to-date on the market price, financing, terms and conditions of competing properties.

Having a trustworthy agent can give you peace of mind and hassle-free selling process. Without a professional agent, most independent sellers tend to overestimate the value of their property. Our team provides support on market price, marketing, legal and financial terms to help you sell your property at the maximized price at the quickest time possible. Moreover, we will also guide you through the complicated paperwork involved from initial documents to final agreements. unrivalled track records in luxury property sales, professional team with multicultural backgrounds and quality customer service.

Setting the right price is the most important factor when putting your property on the market. For example, over-pricing of the property may result in a smaller buyers’ pool or a prolonged stay on the market that will result in lower offers. Likewise, under-pricing of the property might lead to losing money on your investment. With our experience and expertise, you can trust our team to help you thoroughly evaluate every offer and negotiate contractual terms for your benefits.

The condition of your property also affects how quickly your property sells and whether you acquire the highest market value for it. We recommend you maximize your property’s curb appeal by decluttering and getting the property as close to “open home ready” as possible.

We understand how important first impression is to property buyers, that’s why we focus on the aesthetic appeal of every property. We support property sellers to produce high quality and professional photography and marketing materials to create an immediate impact on potential buyers.

Most buyers make purchasing decision only after site visits or inspections. Some customers prefer to experience the property by staying at the place on vacation before buying. Our team with focus on customer service will ensure the most pleasant site visit trip for potential buyers. Moreover, our experienced sales consultants understand your property’s selling points and buyer’s needs; hence will be most useful in representing your interests when negotiating with prospective buyers.

Sellers may have to deal with multiple offers before accepting the most suitable one. Our team will assist on contractual terms negotiation and finding a win-win agreement that is beneficial to all parties involved.

With the support of the agent, the seller needs to read and fully understand all the terms and conditions of any of the agreements (deposit, sales and purchase). The agent will be by your side and explain any unclear terms.

The agent will support to ensure all the paperwork and documents are done correctly and on time. The agent also assist sellers and buyers in arranging payment schedule and connect buyers, sellers with professional services such as banks, lawyers to ensure the selling process goes smoothly and hassle-free.

With over 20 years experience in Vietnam, Indochina Capital was one of the first investment fund operations with a dedicated focus on Vietnam. Throughout this period, the company’s subsidiaries have developed a multitude of residential and resort projects across key destinations in the country.

With over US$500 million in raised capital from some of the most well-known institutional investors globally and over US$2 billion invested in real estate projects, Indochina Capital has led the Vietnamese property market on a path to success.

Indochina Properties is uniquely positioned to advise family offices, private and institutional investors on current and upcoming investment opportunities, investment structures and we manage a portfolio of project sites, commercial assets and hotels & resorts for sale in key markets throughout Vietnam.

1. As a foreigner, how can I purchase a property in Vietnam?

The housing law since July 2015 allows foreigners to purchase a property in Vietnam. Foreigners can own, inherit, lease, donate and resell properties in Vietnam.

Foreigners can own the property for 50 years. After 50 years, the government allows an extension for another 50 years.

2. Can I buy and sell my property to a Foreigner or Vietnamese?

Foreigners can only buy from developer and other foreigners.

Unlike Vietnamese who can only sell to Vietnamese, foreigners can resell to both foreigners and Vietnamese.

3. As a foreigner, is there any limits for the ownership?

Foreign organization or individual ownership of units in an apartment building may not exceed 30% of total units in one apartment building.

For housing projects with separate landed housing, the foreign organization and individual ownership may not exceed 10% of total units in one housing project.

For example: project has 100 apartment units and 30 villas, foreigners can buy up to 33 apartment units and 3 units.

4. Why Vietnamese cannot sell to foreigners?

As a Vietnamese owner, if resell to foreigner, the government cannot control the foreign quota, therefore, Vietnamese cannot sell to foreigner.

5. What is the ownership status when I resell to foreigner and Vietnamese?

If you sell to Vietnamese, they get freehold

If you sell to foreigners, the ownership will continue with the remaining age of the property and the title will still be the same.

For example: Foreigner own for 10 years and resell, new foreign buyer owns for the remaining 40 years

a. Long-term lease agreement: foreigner owns for 40 years with possibility of extension only if the Developer extends their business license

b. Sales and Purchase agreement: foreigner owns for 40 years but can extend ownership certificate for another 50 years

6. What is SPA?

SPA stands for Sales and Purchase agreement. This is a legally binding contract between the buyer and developer to prove that a house or apartment is sold to the buyer by the developer.

The SPA is used as evidence of ownership of the house or apartment before the house ownership certificate is granted to the owner.

The template for SPA is in accordance with the standard template as provided by the Ministry of Construction and is to be registered with Consumer Protection Bureau under the Ministry of Industry of Trade.

As such, the SPA cannot be amended or changed

7. What are my legal rights when I own an apartment/house?

• The right to involability of houses under his/her lawful ownership

• To use houses for residential purposes and other purposes not banned by law

• To be granted certificates for houses under his/her lawful ownership

• To sell, transfer sales & purchase contracts, lease, put for lease-purchase, gift, exchange, mortgage, lend, permit stay at, or authorize management of, his/her houses

• To use public facilities in the housing area in accordance with Housing laws and other relevant laws

• To maintain, renovate, demolish, or rebuild his/her house as prescribed in Housing Law and law on construction

• To receive the compensation as prescribed in regulations of law

8. How do I transfer money from and to my home country?

a. Open a bank account in Vietnam and start to collect rental income to this bank account.

b. To remit money back to home country, foreigners must provide the bank with the new SPA between them and the new buyer and a tax declaration form.

9. Does the client must make full payment from Vietnam’s bank account?

It is possible partially pay from overseas account and partially from Vietnam’s bank account

10. What are the fees that I need to be aware of?

a. Buying property: 10% VAT & 2% sinking fund (maintenance fee)

b. Rental income: 5% VAT and 5% Personal income tax

c. Resell property: 2% transaction fees
Registration fee with the government is 0.5%. This is to obtain the house ownership certificate, calculated on the apartment value.

11. What is sinking fund?

Sinking fund is commonly referred as maintenance fee, is a fund contributed by buyers of a development to maintain commonly owned areas of the development. It is used for maintenance, small repairs, medium repairs and overhauls of commonly owned areas to preserve quality. The sinking fund of a house/apartment is currently 2% on the price before VAT.

12. What is management fee?

This is a fee contributed by residents to managing operations of the development, such as operating the elevator system, generator and providing services for the building such as security, pest control, rubbish collection service, etc. Management fee is calculated per net salable area (NSA).

13. What and how is the net salable area?

Commonly referred as the carpet area. Net salable area (NSA) refers to the area for private use of the purchased apartment, which is measured by a clearance method and stipulated in the House Ownership Certificate granted to the buyer. It shall include the area of room-dividing walls built inside the apartments and area of balcony, loggia attached to such apartment (if any). It shall exclude the area of external walls, apartment-dividing walls, columns and service ducts inside the apartment. The NSA shall be stated in the pink book.

14. What does the price of the property include?

It includes also the 5% for issuing the pink book (ownership certificate from government)

15. Does the buyer must be physically present to purchase the property?

a. Can transfer the deposit from a bank from their home country

b. Transfer other installments from bank account in Vietnam

16. Which banks can I open account with?

There are several international bank options for you such as Standard Chartered, UOB, Bank of China, etc.

It is also advisable to open 2 bank accounts (US Dollars) and (Vietnam Dong)

17. What are the payment schemes?

For project under construction, the payment scheme is decided by developers and agreed with purchasers. Housing laws limit the maximum collection before handover to be up to 70% for local Vietnamese developer and up to 50% for foreign developers. The law also stipulates that 5% is to be collected upon issuance of the pink book.