Real Estate Much Cheaper in the Future?

[GuyInTaiwan]

MM: I don't think I claimed it was all Taipei drivers causing the trouble here. The locals here are awful drivers. I have no doubt that they're worse than Taipei drivers. Never the less, no one is waxing poetic about how Taidong City is rapidly becoming the Amsterdam of Asia. Everyone knows these guys are a bunch of bumpkins. I was saying that the tourists who come here are often dickheads. Not all, but enough. Also, Taoyuan and Xin Taibei are not exactly brilliant for driving. I lived in Taoyuan for a few years and used to regularly travel to Taipei by various means of transport. Absolute circus. I was back up there recently and it hadn't really changed.

I'm not buying it entirely with the MRT. Getting on or off normal trains is always fun, even in Taipei. Okay, maybe the people who can't queue and can't let passengers alight before shoving their way on are all visitors to Taipei. Can these people not transfer the skill of lining up for the MRT to lining up for the normal train?

Also, regarding education levels, I'm not buying that either. Everyone here has to do a driving test. The driving test contains both a written and practical part and they know it's both dangerous and illegal to run red lights and so on. If they don't, then they don't pass. The driving test is flawed, certainly, but at some level they learn that some driving manoeuvres are just bloody stupid. Besides which, it's just common bloody sense. That seems to be the thing lacking.

[Mucha Man]

Alright, you're not buying. But I'm still selling if anyone else is interested.

[GuyInTaiwan]

Yeah, but is there a bubble?

[llary]

Psst.. I heard you had some paradigms need shiftin?

[Icon]

Alright, you're not buying. But I'm still selling if anyone else is interested.

In the past, I would have jumped on the chance to buy a place like in Bitan like at lighting speed, but I am not so sure now. It has the advantage of all those places to hike and walk the dogs and such, plus a couple of supermarkets and such. And it is the limit where the pet shop/milk will deliver.

But I feel in general the economy is unstable and so bank loans, so I do not feel the safety of buying now. I harbor no illusions of prices going down anytime soon, but I definetively do not feel as sure of buying right away as before.

[headhonchoII]

I'd say stick it out for a couple of years Icon and keep saving money, then evaluate again. Some of these bubbles can go on for a long time, but if you buy at the peak of one it would hurt.

[bismarck]

I'd say stick it out for a couple of years Icon and keep saving money, then evaluate again. Some of these bubbles can go on for a long time, but if you buy at the peak of one it would hurt.

Yep, that's pretty much what I've been thinking. But I rent a house in a very good neighbourhood in Anping, Tainan that the old guy only wants 3 million and change for. So I'm pondering. The downside is it will need a few 100k in renovations (mainly closets, kitchen and one bathroom).

[tomthorne]

I'd say stick it out for a couple of years Icon and keep saving money, then evaluate again. Some of these bubbles can go on for a long time, but if you buy at the peak of one it would hurt.

Yep, that's pretty much what I've been thinking. But I rent a house in a very good neighbourhood in Anping, Tainan that the old guy only wants 3 million and change for. So I'm pondering. The downside is it will need a few 100k in renovations (mainly closets, kitchen and one bathroom).

Jeesh, even in the worst case scenario you're never going to lose that much. I usually recommend against buying in Taiwan, but in this case I think I would.

[bismarck]

I'd say stick it out for a couple of years Icon and keep saving money, then evaluate again. Some of these bubbles can go on for a long time, but if you buy at the peak of one it would hurt.

Yep, that's pretty much what I've been thinking. But I rent a house in a very good neighbourhood in Anping, Tainan that the old guy only wants 3 million and change for. So I'm pondering. The downside is it will need a few 100k in renovations (mainly closets, kitchen and one bathroom).

Jeesh, even in the worst case scenario you're never going to lose that much. I usually recommend against buying in Taiwan, but in this case I think I would.

Yep, looks good if you put it that way. Currently just waiting for the ID card thing to come through, and then I'll go chat with the banks and see what they say.

[Omniloquacious]

I'd say stick it out for a couple of years Icon and keep saving money, then evaluate again. Some of these bubbles can go on for a long time, but if you buy at the peak of one it would hurt.

Yep, that's pretty much what I've been thinking. But I rent a house in a very good neighbourhood in Anping, Tainan that the old guy only wants 3 million and change for. So I'm pondering. The downside is it will need a few 100k in renovations (mainly closets, kitchen and one bathroom).

Jeesh, even in the worst case scenario you're never going to lose that much. I usually recommend against buying in Taiwan, but in this case I think I would.

Yep, looks good if you put it that way. Currently just waiting for the ID card thing to come through, and then I'll go chat with the banks and see what they say.

At current interest rates, if you could get a loan for the whole purchase price, you'd be paying only around NT$14,000 a month to pay it off over 20 years.

And now that you're no longer a foreigner, getting a loan should be a synch.