purchasing a home in China

[SirLancelot]

You won't have any problems as long as your wife has BOTH the bank book and her corresponding ATM card. Actually, she can use the ATM card anywhere in China and get up to 30k per day.

 

Hi Bill, how do you go about transferring funds from one bank to another within China?

 

For example, say you have an account with China Construction Bank and I have my account at Bank of China. If I needed to pay you 100,000RBM without having to withdraw that amount in cash and carry it over to your bank, is there a way to transfer it to your bank?

 

Do I bring my BoC ATM/DEBIT card to your China Construction Bank and they can process the transfer? Or does it need to be a wire transfer between the bank?

 

I'd appreciate your comments. Thanks.

[GZBILL]

You won't have any problems as long as your wife has BOTH the bank book and her corresponding ATM card. Actually, she can use the ATM card anywhere in China and get up to 30k per day.

 

Hi Bill, how do you go about transferring funds from one bank to another within China?

 

For example, say you have an account with China Construction Bank and I have my account at Bank of China. If I needed to pay you 100,000RBM without having to withdraw that amount in cash and carry it over to your bank, is there a way to transfer it to your bank?

 

Do I bring my BoC ATM/DEBIT card to your China Construction Bank and they can process the transfer? Or does it need to be a wire transfer between the bank?

 

I'd appreciate your comments. Thanks.

 

Actually, I have never done an over-the-counter domestic inter-bank transfer. I always use my online banking service to do that.

 

If you want to do it over-the-counter, you'd go to Bank of China with your ID card (transactions over 50K RMB require showing ID) and your ATM card (assuming you are going to a branch within the city where you maintain your account, otherwise with bank book + ATM card) and tell them you want to transfer to another person's account at a different bank.

 

You have to have the correct account number, of course, and also the exact name on that account. If the account number and name are not an exact match, the transfer will bounce. It's also good to have a Chinese person or someone fluent in Chinese to help you because it can be a little complex.

 

I'm not sure what the fee is for a domestic transfer. I know that almost no Chinese person will use this domestic transfer service since they'd rather spend their whole day in lines at two banks and run the risk of getting robbed instead of forking over the 50 RMB or so fee.

[SirLancelot]

If you want to do it over-the-counter, you'd go to Bank of China with your ID card (transactions over 50K RMB require showing ID) and your ATM card (assuming you are going to a branch within the city where you maintain your account, otherwise with bank book + ATM card) and tell them you want to transfer to another person's account at a different bank.

 

You have to have the correct account number, of course, and also the exact name on that account. If the account number and name are not an exact match, the transfer will bounce. It's also good to have a Chinese person or someone fluent in Chinese to help you because it can be a little complex.

 

I'm not sure what the fee is for a domestic transfer. I know that almost no Chinese person will use this domestic transfer service since they'd rather spend their whole day in lines at two banks and run the risk of getting robbed instead of forking over the 50 RMB or so fee.

 

Ok, so it is possible to do that. That's what I wanted to make sure as I never did this before in China either.

 

To be safe, bring ATM card & bank passbook and passport. For the destination account, need to know the exact name of the person of the destination account and their account number. There's no "routing" number I need to know, correct? I just tell my bank that it needs to transfer over to China Construction Bank and they'll know, correct?

 

Thanks for your comments.

 

I don't think anyone likes to pay bank fees, but for a bigger amount, I feel incredibly unsafe walking around with the cash. I'd rather pay a fee to have the bank send it bank-to-bank.

[chilton747]

I'm not sure what the fee is for a domestic transfer. I know that almost no Chinese person will use this domestic transfer service since they'd rather spend their whole day in lines at two banks and run the risk of getting robbed instead of forking over the 50 RMB or so fee.

 

 

It never ceases to amaze me what these people will do to save a jiao. Given this fact, my way of doing business vs. my wife's way of doing business is different. That in itself will bring some complications. Somewhere we will have to meet in the middle. But I do understand that when in China, do as the Chinese do. Bill you are giving me a great perspective of how things in China are done as far as the process of buying a house goes. Without your input in this matter I would be totally lost and find myself in the midst of a few disagreements with my wife . Right now as I am posting this she is on her way to Zhongshan to look at a site. She is taking an 18 hour train ride with no seat and no bed. I offered to have her fly but her response was "you know I no like spend money."

Thank you sooooooooo much for your help. I owe you big time!!!!

[SirLancelot]

It never ceases to amaze me what these people will do to save a jiao.

 

Chilton, you best be careful with the use of "these people". Ross Perot got in some serious trouble for calling African Americans "these people" during his campaign run for the Pres of the US.

[chilton747]

It never ceases to amaze me what these people will do to save a jiao.

 

Chilton, you best be careful with the use of "these people". Ross Perot got in some serious trouble for calling African Americans "these people" during his campaign run for the Pres of the US.

 

I am not running for President thank goodness. You know rednecks are also "these people." I have been the target of jokes all my life and i enjoy it .

Edited September 27, 2007 by chilton747 (see edit history)

[SirLancelot]

I am not running for President thank goodness. You know rednecks are also "these people." I have been the target of jokes all my life and i enjoy it .

 

It's all good.

 

Good luck with your home purchase.

[chilton747]

I am not running for President thank goodness. You know rednecks are also "these people." I have been the target of jokes all my life and i enjoy it .

 

It's all good.

 

Good luck with your home purchase.

Thanks good buddy.........Hope to find some good hills to jump there with my blue truck

[GZBILL]

If you want to do it over-the-counter, you'd go to Bank of China with your ID card (transactions over 50K RMB require showing ID) and your ATM card (assuming you are going to a branch within the city where you maintain your account, otherwise with bank book + ATM card) and tell them you want to transfer to another person's account at a different bank.

 

You have to have the correct account number, of course, and also the exact name on that account. If the account number and name are not an exact match, the transfer will bounce. It's also good to have a Chinese person or someone fluent in Chinese to help you because it can be a little complex.

 

I'm not sure what the fee is for a domestic transfer. I know that almost no Chinese person will use this domestic transfer service since they'd rather spend their whole day in lines at two banks and run the risk of getting robbed instead of forking over the 50 RMB or so fee.

 

Ok, so it is possible to do that. That's what I wanted to make sure as I never did this before in China either.

 

To be safe, bring ATM card & bank passbook and passport. For the destination account, need to know the exact name of the person of the destination account and their account number. There's no "routing" number I need to know, correct? I just tell my bank that it needs to transfer over to China Construction Bank and they'll know, correct?

 

Thanks for your comments.

 

I don't think anyone likes to pay bank fees, but for a bigger amount, I feel incredibly unsafe walking around with the cash. I'd rather pay a fee to have the bank send it bank-to-bank.

 

I agree with it being better to pay the fee and avoid the risk of being held up.

 

There's no routing number. Just give them the bank name, account number and EXACT name on the account.

[chilton747]

My wife is in Shenzhen now and she has talked to the real estate person. She says that tomorrow she will see the place along with several other people. I hope she likes it but if she doesn't then she will turn it down. She is very discriminating when it comes to spending money so I trust her very much. I have the ICBC account number for her and her exact name on the account so we will see how the wiring of the money goes next week. My bank said it would not be a problem to wire the money.

BTW, she did manage to get a seat on the train as one person left a seat and she quickly took the seat. She says she enjoyed the trip and spoke with people on the train. That made me feel much better She even picked up a mobile phone there for 100 rmb as she said the internet bars were too expensive It was great to hear her beautiful voice

Edited September 28, 2007 by chilton747 (see edit history)

[GDBILL]

My wife is in Shenzhen now and she has talked to the real estate person. She says that tomorrow she will see the place along with several other people. I hope she likes it but if she doesn't then she will turn it down. She is very discriminating when it comes to spending money so I trust her very much. I have the ICBC account number for her and her exact name on the account so we will see how the wiring of the money goes next week. My bank said it would not be a problem to wire the money.

BTW, she did manage to get a seat on the train as one person left a seat and she quickly took the seat. She says she enjoyed the trip and spoke with people on the train. That made me feel much better She even picked up a mobile phone there for 100 rmb as she said the internet bars were too expensive It was great to hear her beautiful voice

 

If you are doing a wire from outside of China to an account in China, it will take a few days. Never believe that crap your bank tells you about 24 hours.

[chilton747]

Well my wife is back from Zhongshan now. Looks like a no go on the house she went to look at. There was a tour of the place with approx 30 other people. She told me "house no good" so I will wait and find others to look at when I go the end of this month. If anyone knows of any other places in Zhongshan to look then please let me know.

[GZBILL]

Well my wife is back from Zhongshan now. Looks like a no go on the house she went to look at. There was a tour of the place with approx 30 other people. She told me "house no good" so I will wait and find others to look at when I go the end of this month. If anyone knows of any other places in Zhongshan to look then please let me know.

 

I don't know Zhongshan. You should not waste your time looking at houses that aren't built by the top 10 national builders. Ordinarily I'd only consider the top 5, but in Zhongshan you might have to lower that a bit.

 

Hopson seems to be everywhere in China and they are #3. Unfortunately I don't know their Chinese name, but I'll ask my secretary once the vacation is over.

[chilton747]

Well my wife is back from Zhongshan now. Looks like a no go on the house she went to look at. There was a tour of the place with approx 30 other people. She told me "house no good" so I will wait and find others to look at when I go the end of this month. If anyone knows of any other places in Zhongshan to look then please let me know.

 

I don't know Zhongshan. You should not waste your time looking at houses that aren't built by the top 10 national builders. Ordinarily I'd only consider the top 5, but in Zhongshan you might have to lower that a bit.

 

Hopson seems to be everywhere in China and they are #3. Unfortunately I don't know their Chinese name, but I'll ask my secretary once the vacation is over.

 

Thanks Bill and I will try and get the name of the builder she was dealing with. Perhaps someway I can find this top ten list. Thanks again buddy.

[GZBILL]

Well my wife is back from Zhongshan now. Looks like a no go on the house she went to look at. There was a tour of the place with approx 30 other people. She told me "house no good" so I will wait and find others to look at when I go the end of this month. If anyone knows of any other places in Zhongshan to look then please let me know.

 

I don't know Zhongshan. You should not waste your time looking at houses that aren't built by the top 10 national builders. Ordinarily I'd only consider the top 5, but in Zhongshan you might have to lower that a bit.

 

Hopson seems to be everywhere in China and they are #3. Unfortunately I don't know their Chinese name, but I'll ask my secretary once the vacation is over.

 

Thanks Bill and I will try and get the name of the builder she was dealing with. Perhaps someway I can find this top ten list. Thanks again buddy.

 

I'll get you the list in Chinese after the holidays. There are certain national builders that are reputable and you'll definitely stand a better chance with them than with others.