Another busy weekend
This weekend was very busy. Pretty much all day Saturday was spent at the gym. On Saturday night I went out with a Chinese lady to a place called I-55 Coffee Cafe. This place was created by an American that lives here in Dalian and has a good variety of sandwiches, coffees, teas, and cheesecakes. We spent several hours chatting and snacking. It was very nice.
On Sunday I got together with my boss and his wife, who happen to own several pieces of real estate here in Dalian, to go look for a new place to buy. I really have not decided yet if I am going to buy or rent yet, but it was very interesting. The prices in Dalian (at the moment) range anywhere from around 6kRMB to around 9kRMB per square meter for a finished place. You can also buy places un-finished. The unfinished are just a cement skeleton with plumbing and basic wiring (heat is through hot water pipes). The finished places have flooring and walls, sockets, etc... put in, but you have to be careful of the quality. If it's a big place one might want to buy un-finished and get some high quality finishing work put in, such as gas water heater, etc... Of course, un-finished go for less than finished.
Foreigners need to put up 30%, and can finance the rest. Current interest rate is 5% for a home loan. You have to pay a one time 5% property tax and a maintenance fee that ranges anywhere from 1.2RMB per square meter to 3RMB per square meter every month. The properties I looked at ranged in size from 43 square meters (studio) to 150 square meters (2 BR w/den). You also have some kind of form that says you get the property for 7 years (or 70 years... I could not hear which this was exactly), and after that time the goverment can take your property if they wish. Some kind of eminent domain thing since the goverment owns all land in China, and you are just building on it.
Sunday night I went out with two Japanese ladies from Dell and we went to an Italian place here called Cafe Igosso. The food was very good and they had a pretty good wine list. After having some Italian food we went a few blocks away to a new German brewhaus that just opened in Dalian a few weeks ago for desert. Desert was apple struttle and German beer. There was a band playing too, so it was a fun way to end to the weekend.
On Sunday I got together with my boss and his wife, who happen to own several pieces of real estate here in Dalian, to go look for a new place to buy. I really have not decided yet if I am going to buy or rent yet, but it was very interesting. The prices in Dalian (at the moment) range anywhere from around 6kRMB to around 9kRMB per square meter for a finished place. You can also buy places un-finished. The unfinished are just a cement skeleton with plumbing and basic wiring (heat is through hot water pipes). The finished places have flooring and walls, sockets, etc... put in, but you have to be careful of the quality. If it's a big place one might want to buy un-finished and get some high quality finishing work put in, such as gas water heater, etc... Of course, un-finished go for less than finished.
Foreigners need to put up 30%, and can finance the rest. Current interest rate is 5% for a home loan. You have to pay a one time 5% property tax and a maintenance fee that ranges anywhere from 1.2RMB per square meter to 3RMB per square meter every month. The properties I looked at ranged in size from 43 square meters (studio) to 150 square meters (2 BR w/den). You also have some kind of form that says you get the property for 7 years (or 70 years... I could not hear which this was exactly), and after that time the goverment can take your property if they wish. Some kind of eminent domain thing since the goverment owns all land in China, and you are just building on it.
Sunday night I went out with two Japanese ladies from Dell and we went to an Italian place here called Cafe Igosso. The food was very good and they had a pretty good wine list. After having some Italian food we went a few blocks away to a new German brewhaus that just opened in Dalian a few weeks ago for desert. Desert was apple struttle and German beer. There was a band playing too, so it was a fun way to end to the weekend.
posted by Steve Harms at
9:48 PM
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