I want to rent a house in Seoul, Korea.

South Korea's housing prices are particularly high, and buying a house is a very painful thing for some poor families and new urban immigrants. Perhaps as descendants of nomadic people, Koreans like to move around, and many people don't want to live in the same place for a long time, so the phenomenon of renting houses by Koreans is very common, and housing leasing has become a quite large and mature industry.

Generally speaking, there are the following types of houses for rent in Korea:

One is called "accommodation". Because most of the people who live here are college students, there is no need to pay a deposit first, just pay a certain rent every month. The landlord will provide basic supplies such as tables and quilts, as well as 1~2-day meals. The second is the examination institute. As can be seen from the name, it is mainly rented to people who meet various exams. The house in the examination institute is small, the facilities are simple, and the monthly rent is correspondingly cheap, so many college students prefer to live here; The third is a one-bedroom or apartment, which generally has bathrooms and kitchen utensils, and other facilities are basically absent. Renting this kind of house usually requires both a deposit and a monthly rent, and it is more expensive, so the people living here are generally single, newlyweds or students with relatively rich families.

What surprises foreigners most is the so-called "biography" rental model.

My present house is rented through Chuanqi. After listening to my conditions, the agent of the intermediary company "Seoul Real Estate" immediately called up all eligible houses from the computer and then drove me to see them one by one.

When I found myself interested in a house in a commercial and residential building, the intermediary said that the house was rented in the form of "biography".

My understanding of the so-called "changing hands" is that I paid the landlord 28 million won (about 224,000 yuan, 65,438 yuan+65,438 won in 0 yuan) when I moved in, and I don't need to pay any rent during the "changing hands" contract. After the contract expires, the landlord will return the 28 million in full.

In Korean, "Zhuan" is a Chinese character, and "Zhuan" means "lease, lend". "Chuanqi" is an out-and-out economic term and a unique property right/creditor's right system in Korea.

The encyclopedia dictionary explains that before Korea got rid of Japanese colonial rule, the practice of "biography" was mainly limited to Seoul and its surrounding areas. With the large-scale population movement caused by the war, the practice of renting houses began to spread in large and small cities in South Korea, and now it has become an indispensable part of Korean housing culture. According to statistics, at present, about 23% tenants live in Chuanqi's house, and only 19% live in monthly rent.

After seeing the house, it's time to sign the contract. When signing the contract, I had differences with the landlord on the terms of the contract. The landlord insisted on renting the house in the form of a biography for at least two years. I insist on signing for only one year. The landlord tried to get up and leave several times, but he sat down again under the persuasion of the intermediary. Finally, a compromise was reached under additional conditions: the landlord may not be able to return the deposit in full in the month when the contract expires, but will return it in1March. In the meantime, as long as someone stays, I have to move out at any time.

The contract was finally signed, but I was more and more afraid. What if the landlord doesn't pay back the money when the contract expires? Why don't landlords want monthly rent, so "cheap" tenants?

I couldn't help looking for an agent and telling him my worries. The intermediary is not surprised. He said that in the case that the original housing supply was in short supply, there were indeed many landlords who were rude to the tenants and defaulted on the deposit, and the tenants could do nothing. Later, in order to protect the interests of the weak and standardize the "legacy" system, South Korea made specific provisions on this kind of real estate utilization relationship in the Korean Civil Code promulgated in 1958. The agent said that if you are not at ease, you can take this rental contract to the city court for notarization.

When I came to the court, after checking the contract and the landlord's personal materials, the staff quickly stamped the red riding seal-something I thought would cost several hundred yuan to do well, but I only paid 500 won.

The staff explained that article 303 of the Korean Civil Code specifically stipulates that the obligee pays the transfer money and occupies, uses and obtains real estate according to its purpose. When the transfer right is extinguished, the creditor has the right to give priority to the creditors with lower ranking and other creditors. South Korea's "Residential Lease Protection Law" also clearly stipulates that even foreigners do not have to worry about the landlord not paying back the money.

Legendary changes

In recent years, the number of "portals" in South Korea has decreased by 4%, and the corresponding monthly rent has increased by 4%. The main reason is the high interest rate of banks in the past. Landlords usually deposit large deposits of tenants in the bank, and they can earn high interest income every month, which also saves the trouble of collecting rent from house to house every month. However, with the decline of interest rates, some elderly people who live on houses are generally reluctant to rent their houses by "changing hands", but in the form of monthly rent.

But for those who really need financing and investment, it is still very attractive to rent a house through "transfer". Because it is not only difficult to borrow money from the bank, but also the interest is high. In recent years, South Korea's real estate industry is very hot, and investors have been speculating on real estate with red eyes, which of course requires huge funds.

Roughly speaking, I only have 30 small rooms on this floor, and the landlord can raise 800-900 million won from this floor. According to Korean law, the amount of "transfer deposit" is generally 60~70% of the hourly price of the rented house. At the beginning of this year, the average price of Empresses in the Palace in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, rose to about 654.38+007 million won. Therefore, investors can use the borrowed money to reinvest in the new house, continue to "transfer" the rent, or change hands to earn appreciation profits.

With the economic globalization, investment channels are getting wider and wider. At present, most landlords in South Korea invest this money in securities, real estate, overseas funds, businesses and so on. A financial adviser of the National Bank said that the household savings rate in South Korea is only about 4%, and 35% of urban households don't even have any savings.

In the asset structure of Koreans, the proportion of overseas assets in financial assets is increasing. Especially in recent years, the stock markets of China, Viet Nam, Indian and other developing countries are extremely hot. China Fund, Indian Fund and Overseas Real Estate Investment Trust Fund are all very popular financial products. At the end of last year, in order to curb the appreciation of the won, the Korean government also introduced a policy to encourage citizens to buy real estate overseas. Therefore, no matter which investment means, its income is higher than monthly rent and bank interest.

It can be seen that the "transfer" system can survive because under the protection of a sound legal system, landlords can obtain long-term financing based on this, and this fund can bring more income than monthly rent. What the landlord transfers or sacrifices is only the possession and use right of the house for a period of time. At the same time, there must be a certain number of renters in society. After paying the "transfer deposit", they obtained the right to use the house and the income, and also saved the monthly rent. Therefore, both parties to the contract have their own needs and are mutually beneficial.

In this sense, the "Chuanqi" system not only promotes the full utilization of Korean real estate, the financing of funds and the growth of wealth, but also helps to alleviate the housing problem.