25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester - demolished
Seriel Killer's Homes are not desirable
If there is, say, a man arrested and subsequently charged with murdering at least 11 women over a number of years we are able to read about such a heinous crime in the newspapers. As was the case of Fred West and his wife Rosemary. Biography of West Their house, pictured above, was the scene of the murders and was demolished in an effort to rid the neighbourhood of the legacy of such an evil couple. The not so publicised reason for the demolition was to prevent the property prices being negatively effected in the area. I doubt that any estate agent's particulars would mention the fact that Cromwell Street was once the home of a serial killer? That isn't what any one wants from a des res.
Buying and Selling uk/hk
Having dipped my toe into the Hong Kong property market quite recently I am becoming familiar with the system of buying and selling compared with the system in the UK. It is quite different, a little bit more scary - no actually much more scary.
Exchange of Contracts
In the UK a house can be on the market with an agent and if someone wants to put an offer in then the vendor can accept that offer. Both parties then approach their solicitor to begin the legal conveyancing process. No one is actually legally obliged to complete the purchase ie. pay for it, until exchange of contracts takes place. The exchange may not take place for months and so at any time either party can withdraw from the agreed sale or purchase. This can be disappointing and frustrating but nothing can be done when this happens.
In Hong Kong once an offer has been accepted the purchaser must immediately stump up a deposit of 5% of the agreed price and two weeks later another 5% must be paid when an official Assignment is signed with an agreed date for the completion to take place and also when the rest of the money is handed over.
If either party decides not to continue with the sale or the purchase the deposit is forfeited by the purchasers and they are legally bound to pay the double deposit to the vendor. If the vendor decides not to sell they must return the deposit plus the same amount again to the potential purchaser as compensation for withdrawing from the agreement. See - scary isn't it?
Valuation
Another aspect which is different, is the valuation of property. In the UK an Estate Agent will come and have a look at your property, tape measure in hand, and will poke about in your roof space, garage and bathrooms tutting and humming as he values your pride and joy, your home sweet home, your castle. Once a valuation price has been established it will go on the market for that price. If someone then wants a mortgage to purchase the property a qualified representative of the bank or building society will call around with a bigger tape measure and do more tutting and perhaps humphing at damp proof courses and roof insulation thicknesses. Only after that quite thorough inspection will you be offered money to make the purchase.
Virtual Valuation
In Hong Kong the valuation of a property is done either online or over the phone. No one from the Estate Agency or the Bank will actually view the property or even care what state it is in but will come up with a price. The valuations are done based on the square footage and sales of similar properties in the area. Not really that skillful or accurate in my opinion. So if you spend pots of cash on that lovely new bathroom with Italian fittings it means bugger all and will have little impact on the bank valuation.
Death List
There is also one other issue I have just become aware of which does effect the valuation of property in Hong Kong and that is the 'haunted house', haunted meaning if any one has ever died in the property.
Unlucky Number
As we all know the Chinese are very superstitious and any mention of the word death or dead or even just a word that sounds a bit like it ( the number 4 or 14 for instance) must never be uttered. So there will be no house number 4 or 14 in a street, there will be no tower number 4 or 14 in a block of high rise buildings and no 4 or 14 apartment on floor 4 or 14.
As well as that there is a published list of so called 'haunted houses' so that potential buyers can see if anyone ever died in the place they are considering buying. If someone did die then it will mean the valuation is lower than the surrounding properties.
Here is the link to the 'Haunted House' list Check this before making an offer
It is depressing reading and there are far too many 'jumpers' who committed suicide. It is a fact that the preferred method of suicide in Hong Kong is either burning charcoal in an enclosed room so the fumes kill, or jumping from a high building and there are a lot of tall buildings in these parts.
Unlike the West's house, which has now disappeared from the street, it is not possible to demolish an apartment in a huge tower block so what happens to these 'haunted houses'? Do people buy them at a lower prices and live happily ever after or do they avoid them and they remain empty for years...
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