HABITAT MAKES BUYING IN HONG KONG EASY

Once you have found the property you are interested in you need to check the following:

The Land search
The age of the building
The saleable area
Is there a carpark?
Any building or slope orders registered against the property? (this will be shown on the landsearch)
Any planned building renovations that require contributions? .
Any building works in the area that may impact the property?
Any illegal structures?
Total stamp duty you are liable for
Are your finances in place?
Do you funds ready for the deposit?

Once you have checked the above and decide you want to make an offer on the property, then your Agent will handle negotiations between yourself and the Vendor until an agreement on price is reached.

Once an agreement is reached the following takes place:

Step 1 . Provisional Sale & Purchase Agreement
On agreement of the price and general terms and conditions you will sign a Provisional Sale & Purchase Agreement. This obligates you to buy the property. If you fail to complete you will lose the initial deposit, have to pay a penalty of Agent’s fees due from both parties and maybe liable for breach of contract.

On signing of the Provisional Agreement you will typically pay a 5% initial deposit. The deposit is payable to either the Vendor or the Vendor’s Solicitor.


Step 2. Formal Sale and Purchase Agreement
Now that the Provisional Agreement is signed, a Formal Sale & Purchase is usually signed within 14 days. This is a more detailed agreement and is co-ordinated by the solicitors appointed by both parties. On the signing of the Formal S & P a further payment of between 5–10% is made.

This is a legally binding agreement.


Step 3. Completion / Assignment
The completion/assignment normally happens within 2 - 3 months from the initial signing of the Provisional S & P. At this time the balance of the funds are transferred to the Vendor’s Solicitor.

Before completion, you are entitled to a final inspection of the property to ensure that it is in the condition agreed on by the parties.

The balance of the purchase price and related costs are settled through your solicitor, including your share of the management fee, rates and government rent (as shown in an apportionment account prepared by the Vendor’s solicitors).

If a mortgage is involved, your solicitor will draw down the mortgage loan on the completion date and will pay the balance of the purchase price in return for keys to the property.

You are responsible for the payment of the stamp duty in accordance with the schedule outlined below.

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