Hong Kong allows foreigners to buy properties and condominiums in the country, except those who are the citizen of Afghanistan, Albania, Cuba, North Korea, and China. These nationalists are not allowed to buy properties from the mainland until and unless they are living in other countries as a legal citizen.

Another restriction is that you won’t get a freehold ownership on the property. All you can have is the leasehold ownership because the government owns it. This leasehold agreement is drawn up for a specific time period.

DETAILED BUYING GUIDE FOR THE PROPERTY

• The very first step that you need to take is to find a mortgage. This is to ensure that you don’t run out of money when you will be buying the property. Most of the banks in Hong Kong offer mortgage loans like the HSBC, DBS, Standard Chartered, Bank of China, and the CitiBank.
• After this, you need to find a real estate agent. Even the locals hire the agents for making the most lucrative deals.

1. The real estate agent must be able to speak three main languages- Mandarin, Cantonese, and English.
2. Recommendations play an important role in choosing the realtor.
3. You need to pay 1% as the commission to the real estate agent as his fee.

• The next thing is to find the solicitor. The lawyer will guide you through the legal terms of the property purchase procedure.
• Once the property is chosen, your real estate agent will prepare a preliminary agreement. This must be signed as it will contain the necessary information about the deal.
• You need to pay a 5% deposit amount in order to bind the contract and take off the offer from the market.
• The seller’s lawyer will then draw up the formal sale agreement which will be sent to your lawyer for verification. Once done, you will sign it along with a deposit of 5% to secure the deal.
• After this, the seller’s solicitor will send the sale deed with all the details.
• After verifying, your notary will set a public date for the signing. You will have to pay the rest of the amount at the said date.