Pingdong wrote:Surely, you can find out what kind of red tape is on the property beforehand cant you? we have gone out with the people, and they explained to us some basic things, but nothing was in writing, so it doesnt count really. but there must, in writing, be something talking about it?
We've spent six years looking for land, bidding, winning, building and so on, with a large group of people. We've seen several people lose all their investment, too. You really have to investigate things carefully. For example, you might get an old farmhouse and find out you cannot do any work on it, or pull it down. You could get stuck with a dilapidated building. Or, you might think you have road access but then find there is some little thing that is stopping you from getting permission from your neighbors to build a road along their property. If you can read and write Chinese, join http://www.2home.com.tw. You can read about every success and failure imaginable there, and find answers to your questions about finding land, legal stuff, building strategies, etc. It's an amazing resource.
Another thing to keep in mind is, this auction thing has become pretty popular over the past three or four years, and now it's really hard to get a good deal on the properties offered. Sometimes, the bids are way over the market value of the land or buildings. It wasn't like this several years ago.
