There is no legal definition of "haunted house" in Hong Kong. What the general public understands as "haunted house" is that there are abnormal deaths in the unit, such as murder, suicide, manslaughter or serious accidents, which are more commonly regarded as It's called a "haunted house". As for death due to old age and illness, even if the person dies in the house, most people will not label the unit as a "haunted house". However, if the resident is in the prime of life but dies suddenly at home due to illness, is it considered a "haunted house"? It turns out that different banks and valuation companies have different views.
Recently, we received a pre-assessment case. The client was considering purchasing a unit that was significantly lower than the bank's appraised value of 30%. Although the client knew that a resident in the unit had passed away due to illness, the client did not think it was a "haunted house". The customer is very confused that the owner has given too much discount on the price. Are there other problems? Can the bank grant a mortgage?
The difference between online valuation and real valuation
Before asking us for help, the customer had already conducted an online valuation by himself. One of the large banks valued the valuation at more than 9 million yuan, which was close to the recent transaction price of similar units in the housing estate. However, the owner of the unit sold it for only 7 million yuan, which was different from the market value. More than 30%. However, according to our experience, online bank valuations may not be accurate, and having an online bank valuation does not mean that the bank will approve a mortgage. As expected, when we inquired about the verbal valuation from the same bank, the bank immediately responded that the system indicated that the unit was an "accident unit" and may not be able to grant a mortgage.
So we immediately turned to banks that could accept mortgages for the "accident unit" to inquire, and learned that the valuation of the "accident unit" was exactly the asking price of NT$7 million offered by the owner. After confirming the true valuation of the unit and its availability for mortgage, the customer quickly decided to purchase it. At the same time, we seek "redress" for the customer from the bank and use news to prove that the unit is not a "haunted house". We hope that banks that do not accept mortgages for "accident units" will also be willing to grant mortgages, so that customers can increase their choice of mortgage banks. .
Property purchasing advice
Based on this case, I would like to remind everyone that when looking for a "bamboo project", it is necessary to do a verbal valuation from one or two banks. Compared with online bank valuations, it will be more "below the market" and it will be easier to know whether there are possible abnormalities. Will affect the mortgage. At the same time, in addition to bank valuations, you should also ask the real estate agency, management office, and check online to see if there is any news about "accidents" in the same property. In addition, you can also search the records to see if the previous owners of the unit passed away while holding the property. If this is the case, you will need to further understand the cause of death and whether the location was within the unit. Of course, the easiest way is to find a professional mortgage agent to assist in pre-assessment, so that you can buy a unit with more confidence.