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Q: whom do I buy/rent land from?
I would like to do up an old farm house in the mountains or even build my own one.
I realise that every province, indeed most likely every county will have different laws but they should be broadly similar, I would assume at any rate.
Im in guangdong now and i have asked an estate agent but he laughed at me and didnt take me seriously.
Any hints, tips and general negativity will be accepted with gratitude and humility.
There are some lovely sparsely populated coastal hills/mountains not too far West of Zhuhai, just take the coastal highway S32 from the city and you will see them not too long before it meets the G15 highway.
Don't know if the land there is for rent or sale but I would definitely live there during holidays if there was a house for rent. There are some coastal towns around in the valleys but not big industrial mess, many rice fields if you are into that sort of thing, the area is relatively clean.
fada:
Is the bridge finished yet do you know? The one connecting hk/sz to mk/zh? It was well underway the last time i was out the airport direction in shenzhen. Would make my journey considerably easier. What you have described sounds about right for me
Have some read about ownership/renting of the property in China from the links below:
Chinese Property Law:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_property_law
Property Buyers Guide:
http://www.overseaspropertymall.com/buying-property/guides-and-tips/prop...
He laughed at you! That says it all about the property market here.
Can you get the building materials you need to build your own house?
fada:
Flat out laughed in my face. Honestly, as far as materials are concerned i would have used alibaba or taobao or just pay a guy in a hardware store to give me contacts. I am unaware of any self builds here.
laowaigentleman:
When I was in my teens I helped my dad to renovate the house we lived in at the time. We extended the house itself and built a new veranda. When I ask about materials I mean things like decent timber rather than the shitty concrete they use here.
Most houses built where I'm from are made from timber. We put up gib (drywall) as well and I also did the drainage and roofing iron.
I know nothing about plumbing or electrical stuff, but you're the first guy I ever heard of who talked about building a house in China.
I had considered it briefly. My partner is from Hunan and she has a cousin who has built his own place - rather he paid labourers to do it for him. If I built my own, I'd want to lay solid foundations made from timber rather than from concrete and rebar. The thing is, I think those materials would be scarce and therefore very expensive here. It's a big country, but I don't think there's a market.
I hope you're successful. You might eventually be emulated.
fada:
The last time I touched a hammer and nails was in secondary school, im sure with enough busted thumbs and a lot of help it could be done. I'm thinking outer walls would be stone but the 3 small buildings would most definitly be timber framed, as for the roof, a builder will have to do it cause i have zero faith in my ability to contruct a roof. In my mind this should be so cheap i would be almost losing money not to do it. :)
My wife & I fancied doing this in a place called Hai Ou Dao, near the Nansha region of Guangzhou. My wife talked to 1 of the locals who claimed 1sqm of land would be about 2000rmb. She reckons a 2 story house in 100sqm would be about 500,000 rmb
dont know about land rights (70 years?) or anything.
fada:
I'm in love with northern architecture, it has to be 四合院 or nothing for me! :) chinese artistic woodwork is second to none in my opinion and i would love to have a little place just covered in it.
There are some lovely sparsely populated coastal hills/mountains not too far West of Zhuhai, just take the coastal highway S32 from the city and you will see them not too long before it meets the G15 highway.
Don't know if the land there is for rent or sale but I would definitely live there during holidays if there was a house for rent. There are some coastal towns around in the valleys but not big industrial mess, many rice fields if you are into that sort of thing, the area is relatively clean.
fada:
Is the bridge finished yet do you know? The one connecting hk/sz to mk/zh? It was well underway the last time i was out the airport direction in shenzhen. Would make my journey considerably easier. What you have described sounds about right for me
I would love to share an acreage in the bush or on the beach with you...... ... chickens, goats, rice and greens.......... guangdong ... good luck. Dong Hai Dao is where I am trying to get a shack and a garden....... electricity and internet availability are there today...improvements probably not happening soon,
I suggested to my wife about buying a place in some country village.
She laughed at me the same as your estate agent did. Movement of people is to the city, not the reverse.
It's a shame really. When I was in rural Hunan a while back with a Chinese mate, there were some cracking little houses that had just been abandoned. His family owned some of them, and they would sell.
I am sure if you had the money you could buy an entire village here. My wife's family, for example, still own a couple of empty houses in their hometown. They did have 3, but they sold one to developers. They are keeping the others in the hope the very nearby city keeps spreading and the developers want that land too, or the Government want's to build a road.
My wife finds it amazing that I would want a house in an area that will not be developed. She says why buy a house if the value does not go up? In her mind, countryside = poor.
Exact opposite to developed nations.
dongbeiren:
The countryside=poor mentality always frustrates me, I just spent a weekend going through beautiful areas of countryside only to hear derisive remarks from Chinese looking down on those country people. Sure, a lot of country people lack education and are rough around the edges but the government bears most of the blame for that. It was refreshing to find there are still some unspoiled areas in China but they are quickly being developed and those that remain undeveloped will continue to be regarded as inferior.
ScotsAlan:
I also find it strange that there are no suburbs here. Not like in the west.
A city is high rise to the edge, then it abruptly stops and becomes fields with people living in shacks.
The classic western dream is to work in the city then retire to a country cottage with a rose garden. Indeed, in the UK, the desire for second homes in the country are driving property values so high that local country folk can't afford to live there.
fada:
We should all chip in and buy a few acres and build our own little holiday community here. Weekend bbqs, fishing in the mountains, few beers next to a little stream, walled compound of course.....haha, a big wall, with tastefully decorated barbed wire on top and some robotic sentries to keep the unwashed masses at bay. Is there such a thing as planning permission here or simply do what you want if you own it and hope you dont get caught if you dont?
ScotsAlan:
We would all be deported for organizing an illegal cult 
.
As for planning, I am told there is a system here. If you own land, you need to apply for permission to build there, but when the permission is granted it does not stipulate anything about the house.
I have a Chinese friend who is planning on building a house on his family land. He has been doing the groundwork for a few years now, and once he gets building permission he could build anything from a one bedroom mud brick shack to a mansion.
I think there is another law however that says anything more than 8 stories high must have an elevator.
fada:
Ok having read what i wrote, it does sound quite cultish.
Thats pretty interesting about planning permission being as simple as yes you can build.
Holy smokes, your friend has been waiting years for a decision, it does not bode well for 先生老外
ScotsAlan:
Nah, my friend has not been waiting for years for permission. I was not clear. He has not applied yet. He has been doing the groundwork for a few years, and when he applies he will be granted permission with no problem.
It's pretty much considered his right to build his own house on his own land. Edit. I mean the physical groundwork for the house. Leveling the land etc.
fada:
Ah right ok then, that is understandable, thanks for clearing it up. Time to start saving the pennies and give this a go i think
I've learned that pretty much two types of ownership....with and without the papers.....many chinese build houses on land no one cares about and no one saying anything about it. but if you want true ownership you must get the paperwork right and from someone who can give it to you....
buying an apartment is easy and probably the safest bet for a foreigner, but small for the money compared to a house in the countryside...
Putting in your wife's name and yours is probably the best bet for having it in the future, because the government at anytime can change rules about foreigners owning property...
that's why people buy in America, its very difficult for the government to take your land, and if they do they must pay for it.
I'm hearing more and more that i will be screwed by the local peasants at every turn and have my house robbed when I'm not there, which will be most of the time. I know sometimes the natives can be stupid, but honestly i find those idiots in the minority, i have no experience with country folk here
