Why I REFUSE to buy Property in China

Property drives the economy here, prices keep going up, it's a fantastic investment opportunity! Or is it?
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Music used: Neon Nox - Checkpoint
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[@shosc16]

You predicted the future. Look at the Chinese property crisis now, 5 years after this was uploaded …

[@barbarasara4033]

Time to buy now?

[@dogpound7162]

I hope that's how they build their warships etc.

[@ieuanhunt552]

They've never built their own aircraft carrier. Which is the only warship that isn't obsolete.

[@isodoubIet]

@@ieuanhunt552 must be why carriers always need a fleet of destroyers, guided missile cruisers, frigates, submarines and supply ships to babysit them.

[@ldnstan2454]

@@ieuanhunt552 What are you talking about? An aircraft carrier cannot operate without escort from Destroyers/Frigates, which are incredibly important for air/missile defense.

[@arthurbenedetti9146]

most their products follow this level of quality so...

[@duuke4618]

Graham Ramiza you won? Should really read some history on Ww2....

[@neskorock]

This video age really well. Watching it today and all make sense.

[@itec745]

It's a reflection of the society and it's culture. Looks good on the outside but the inside is questionable....

[@fenryblenk5541]

doesn't even look good on the outside

[@a6703]

All fur coat and no knickers🤣

[@fenryblenk5541]

@Darwin Magsino that doesn't make sense

[@renjihowl6149]

@@a6703 lmao I felt that

[@monseurwanksalotte3477]

@man0z oy vey shut it down . ) > =# "

[@drew2f]

Watching again in 2021. Evergrande is about to implode and Serpentza called it five years earlier.

[@Shams03079]

I live in a 19th century building in France and it's still in a perfect condition (if not a better condition than before). When we bought our apartment I was surprised to learn the year of construction (1867) even a little scared that it might all colllapse one day ... Best part is that the the common area still has the original wooden staircase and the appartment still has its original wood floor.

[@Brandespada]

I lived in a 19th century building in Paris and I can tell you...it's not that good. To start with, they retrofitted a tiny, one-person lift that demanded intensive upkeep.

[@Shams03079]

@@Brandespada it depends , no elevator where I live it's a small building and its a small city, 6 appartements in total. Some buildings in Paris are very old and are still in great condition, some are not.

[@jinc1950]

I’m S.Korean and I live in both Paris (in an old building) & Beijing (in new building) Despite limited property growth in Paris, all these Haussmann apartments in Paris maintain its top condition I was quite amazed at that

[@sammyd7857]

Everyone knows about Chinese quality

[@1pasupaty]

True my Indian house lasted for 75 years good and in perfect condition

[@PGG98]

Looks like I'm not the only one revisiting this one :D

[@Outworlder]

This video aged like fine wine. *chef kiss*

[@jsm3233]

With the Evergrande situation, this video is still extremely relevant five years later. It sounds like the US in 2008. Speculation and excessive leverage is going to cause a mammoth crash. The only question is will the economic damage be contained to China?

[@wakkawagga443]

If it is just evergrande, yes for sure, but as i understand it most companies in china have leveraged themselves in the 260% region. I could become a massive domino effect. And if that happens you will see a lot of international investment bankers in the states checking how to open their windows in the 50th floor. I‘m not entirely sold on this though. I give china another 5 years to royally fuck it up and this will be the last warning call noone will listen too.

[@prestonphelps1649]

yes. chinese money in realestate all over the world , unfortunately .

[@robertagren9360]

Answer is no. China's economy affects the entire globe.

[@mastercommander4535]

Was a fishing village when I went. That was only 45 years ago ...seems like yesterday

[@AfricanFlightStar]

So you only get a 70 lease, and not a freehold purchase? That would be my number 1 reason not to buy. Great info, cheers!

[@GardeningZ]

AfricanFlightStar The improvement is yours, property tax free for 70 years, and I doubt the government will take the huse back. They can not take billion houses back. You may have to price certain price to renew the land lease.

[@LeFatalpotato]

And in any other country in that regard, you pay around 1% property tax per year, which would mean in around 70 years or so(with compound interest) you pay the worth of your house to government. No one truly owns their house as long as property taxes exist, Chinese communist party just has a different way of handling things.

[@user-yn6uk9ux6h]

yes but that 70 years leasehold is renewable

[@bermrailin]

@@user-yn6uk9ux6h how old would you be then. Can you leave it to someone in your will?

[@howardlam6181]

@@GardeningZ The government have taken down buildings in beijing and take back land for themselves.

[@jgranger3532]

"What is owned by all is cared for by none" - Plato

[@darthutah6649]

Tragedy of the commons in a nutshell

[@carvercapitalequitypartner122]

Such as the company lunch room microwave oven.

[@peterzinn9070]

Clever man Plato. Still correct.

[@parodienonrichieste140]

caveat emptor - Cicero

[@onegerard1]

@@peterzinn9070 he spend some time in a cave talking to shadows he knows nothing. just like john snow

[@eruetifoster5162]

The greed you've described is happening in NZ to. People buying up excessive amounts of properties driving up prices putting it out of reach of first home buyers. It really changing society here at least the Chinese govt are trying to do something to slow it albeit ineffectually but that's more than my govt.

[@pokya-anakrantau8845]

Erueti Foster Absolutely matey; we are seeing that greed and selfishness manifested in Auckland.

[@LinuxGalore]

Same here in Australia, got Chinese investors buying buildings then getting a tax write off. The government says they wont remove the tax rebates as it keeps rents down. The problem is the chinese investors often dont rent out the apartments anyway so first time home owners are technically paying taxes to keep property prices up for foreigners.

[@pokya-anakrantau8845]

Richard Neal They are economic pests

[@eruetifoster5162]

Richard Neal Serpentza latest video has a guy talking about the affect of rising house prices in USA caused by Chinese parachute children. Lots of wealthy kiwis are making things worse by their greed it's not just the Chinese.

[@pokya-anakrantau8845]

Erueti Foster Yes mate, I have commented on that too - Chinese greed is out of control!

[@melissab4710]

A friend of mine who is employed to travel to China to oversee construction says EXACTLY what you're saying. He has so many stories of shoddy workmanship and inferior construction materials. The stupid shonky shortcuts they try to take to make an extra buck would be criminal over here.

[@padraig5335]

He did say they do anything to make a buck in a scammers video.

[@KidsWithGuns1992]

It's not just in building, it's in everything they do. Anyone I know in any business line have always talked down about the chinese in business. They are exceptionally greedy and unwilling to put the work in. For example when I was a cleaner for a few years, you could guaruntee chinese restaurants would be FILTHY in the kitchen (to the point of it being illegal). The standard of the restaurant behind the scenes would always be so low, it actually made me stop eating at chinese owned restaurants because I knew I could very easily get sick. I now work in real estate, in probably the biggest advertising real estate company in australia. I've seen so many business deals with chinese go wrong (pretty much all of them) as they NEVER pay their debts and they do things like fly you overseas for meetings, book you hotel, etc, and then don't pay the checks so it bounces and you need to pay it. They are an exceptionally morally corrupt country and behave like children in the business world, with no care whatsoever of long term implications.

[@DrGreenthumbPhd]

@@KidsWithGuns1992 go to LiveLeak.com and search "china collapse" or something along those lines, new video every day.

[@twinwankel]

@@KidsWithGuns1992 Chinese restaurants are filthy because they have traditionally undercharged for food. As a result, none of the workers are paid fair wages and are worked like slaves, 12 hour work days, 6 days per week. I know because I worked in these restaurants when I was a student. You buy cheap food, you get what you pay for. Unfortunately, nearly all Chinese restaurants are run this way and if an owner wanted to pay fair wages, then he/she would be out of business immediately because no one would want to pay double for Chinese food which is what should be charged at. If people would stop going to Chinese restaurants, maybe that would force the system to reset and then maybe the restaurants would be cleaner and workers would get paid fair wages. I doubt if this will ever happen.

[@electron2601]

I worked as a delivery person at two different Chinese restaraunts in the past. Both employers let me go out of the blue without any warning or obvious reasons.

[@Hydde87]

Lived for 6 years in Shanghai and this video resonates so much with me. From the build quality of the apartments, to the criminal overpricing and the feeling of an impending property bubble. I lived in the center of Shanghai at the top floor of an apartment in a complex, and while the view of the city skyline was just amazing, there is little else I could say to vouch for the place besides perhaps its convenient location. In the years I've lived there, our electricity crapped out multiple times, during winters our pipes burst more than once. After one particularly stormy night I got woken up at 5 am by some enraged neighbors living one floor below. They yelled at me to come down to their apartment to see the issue. When I arrived I could see a gaping hole in their roof from which water was gushing down, apparently some of the pipes between our floors had given out. They conveniently tried to put the responsibility on me for paying the repairs, only it weren't really our pipes that had given out but instead it was related to the drainage system of the building not being able to handle all the rain that felt that night. I unfortunately have many more stories like these. My landlord once shared with me that his apartment was worth upwards of 6-7 million RMB. That was several years ago and the apartment should nowadays be worth somewhere between 1 to 2 million US dollars. It's just not representative of its build quality at all. We recently had to leave the apartment on very short notice as our landlord decided he needed to 'urgently' sell the place. He's a wealthy and well-connected man and I'm guessing he got some advice from his higher-up friends that now might be a good time to sell his property. There's another recession lurking around the corner and who knows this one might be the one that pops the housing bubble in China. I don't feel ripped off having rented this place for several years, it's been a good investment for what it was, it's right in the middle of a booming city and surprisingly in terms of quality it was still above average, but I pity the fools who will end up purchasing it for well over a million bucks.

[@MrShonky01]

Hydde87 very honest 🇦🇺🙏

[@hahahat47]

why renting a place if you feel ripped off?

[@gratefulbear2183]

Hahaha T he literally says “I don’t feel ripped off having rented this place for several years” why do you have to be such a contrarian POS?

[@IndoGunsnGear]

Uhmm its in a central district in possibly the busiest city for trade in the world, does that answer your question?

[@alanwayne7643]

Dang.

[@dianedong1062]

Everything in this video was accurate according to my own personal experience. I've lived in several cities around China over the past 15 years, and it's normal to see crumbling concrete, exposed rebar, cladding falling off of facades, and other signs of decay in buildings that are less than 5 years old. I look at all this and think about what a HUGE waste of energy and materials it all is! The embodied energy in all of those building materials plus the energy needed for construction and demolition is all WASTED! With long term scientific planning, all of those valuable resources could have been put to better use, but instead they've been stupidly sacrificed to Mammon.

[@laowhy86]

Great video. But it's Irish salt in the wound for a guy like me who is slave to 2 absolute crap properties in a crap city in a crap area of the city with 2 mortgages, and a scramble to sell them before it all comes crashing down. Wish me luck.

[@serpentza]

+laowhy86 may the luck of the Scottish smile upon ya

[@ztezmaxim2683]

C- Milk, don't tell anyone the market is overinflated and sell. it is all marketing, and bribing the realtor that brings the winning buyer

[@laowhy86]

Ztez Maxim Laowinning

[@laowhy86]

serpentza I don't want Beard to smile at me

[@swedish_sadhguru3854]

Why do you pay mortgage for 2 properties? Why not just one?

[@julienlamberto9857]

Precisely why I don’t live in China anymore. The properties, like many things in China, look nice on the surface, but the quality is complete shit.

[@treeplusplus]

You say this, but I’ve gone and visited people who live in their houses and apartments in Hebei since they were children and the properties are still standing and looking to be in quite good condition.

[@ND1966p]

Exactly like Doha in Qatar... the buildings look lovely and shiny when they’re first built, but very quickly they crumble and turn to shit, neglected and falling down, but the Qataris just build more... and all with bad materials, which catch fire, or fall down.. lots of similarities between China and Qatar

[@codered4422]

Two words: Silk Road. What quality do you expect from genetic traders?

[@jeffersonaraldi7168]

In shithole Russia is far worse!

[@codered4422]

Jefferson Araldi Inshallah.

[@marieleotta2501]

And Dubai

[@williamtukei1488]

Don't be jealous other nations ur country is bank rupt

[@John_VN]

Very similar to Vietnam. Landlords sign a contract saying they'll repair things that break, but they don't. I end up fixing it then replacing the amount of the repair with the receipt when it's time to pay the next rent installment. Landlord is unhappy, but gives in.

[@Klassenfeind]

everything you say in this video is 100% true. plumbing is crap, electric line installations are crap.

[@realstevenxue]

"everything" lmao

[@realstevenxue]

He's a damn foreigner

[@Arangggg]

and you're a dirty mainlander.

[@realstevenxue]

A tsang And you're a dumbass😂 lmao, that's your best comeback?

[@Arangggg]

steven xue 💤💤💤💤💤

[@OOICU812]

"Made in China" pretty much says it all.

[@aussiepatriot7573]

Your smartphone says is as well.

[@guidedmeditation2396]

Thank goodness you didn't buy property in evil China.

[@bjk6574]

China makes cheap as well as quality. Depends on what you pay

[@IndoGunsnGear]

@@bjk6574 these idiots buy cheap products because they were cheapskates and expect it to work like premium products

[@alexfang2594]

@@IndoGunsnGear Exactly In china you could buy really good products but it will cost more. Cheaper products are cheaper in quality. Where do you think that quality comes from even for clothing assembly lines. They pay their workers lower wages and force this expectation to keep on pumping out cloths like they are machines. Less time for quality control. Less time to add better quality to your work. Even in Canada, I worked for a chinese company before and was in both sides of the coin. Both companies paid us like garbage. One company was decent but management turned it into utter garbage and people left and they refused to fire the employees that caused the company to lose money. The other company was always garbage, basically a Chinese sweat shop production line. The expectation was refurbish a desktop in 3 mins no matter the hardware. Daily expectation was 100 a day. Sales would sell customers Core 2 Duos as a processor these processors would take 5 - 15 mins to boot up. For just a little bit more money they could have had purchased and sold the customer on Pentium processors or even i3 processors. But some companies only care about profit margin.

[@fabianschmitz4388]

Hey Serpentza, i have been watching your vlog recently. I think you are really doing a great job and I respect the way you are putting a lot of effort of providing an objective point of view into your reporting. Although it must be sometimes challenging to stay objective in some situations. I also share your concern of opportunistic behaviour that is leading to a lack of values within the chinese society. Having a japanese mother and grewing up in germany I have experienced both cultures. I am happy to be in the position to choose the best parts and values of western and eastern mentality. Although Japan is not China and east is not west. I nevertheless believe that they all have something in common. They all have been through the same economic growth stage (Industrialization) of opportunistic and selffish behaviour which lead to pollution, exploiting the environment and lack of values (Altruism) within the society. Europe had been trough it in the 18th and 19th century. Japan was facing it in the 70s and 80s I believe and China is now going through this stage of industrialization. My point is that this behaviour is due to the Homo oeconomicus ,,a theoretical human being who rationally calculates the costs and benefits of every action before making a decision" and not caused by any specific ethnicity. Nevertheless the huge difference between Asia and Europe is their educational system. The educational system in asian countries is based on collectivism. There is no better or right or wrong system. However if you dont go with the flow you will be rejected by the society because you don't fit in the system- thats why many artist and musicians come to Europe (Berlin). In addition to that China is not a democracy nor a dictatorship but lead by one political party. Individualist or people that have other opinions are having a hard time over there. You must have experienced it way more than I did. My father is running a music school company for asian students helping asian people to come to europe and preparing them for the entrance examinations in german academic universites. 25 years ago the majority of students came from Japan. Now the majority is from China. Most of the students from China are very polite and well educated. They come from rich families who send them to Europe to receive education in classical music. They start of by doing what their parents want them to become but they eventually will also understand western culture and mentality that they may take back to China to strenghten the intercultural relationship between China and the West. Although you are facing a lot of hatred and harassing moments in China. You are also an ambassador of intercultural understanding between China and the West. Keep doing what you are doing. You have my support sincerly Fabian

[@binyi1114]

Hi Fabian, der ist kein "ambassador" zwischen China und die West. Der zieht China und die Chinesen einfach über Dreck und ums Blick anzulocken. Davon profitiert der einfach. Ich stimme zu deine Argument über den Unterschied zwischen Ost und West. Aber ich nicht verstehen kann, ist warum du den Typ unterstützen möchte.

[@eeshawn8856]

HI,Can i make a friend with you in facebook.I think your standpoint is very great.

[@ddd-hd1xi]

Yeah..winston better put away the hatred

[@fabianofrank4785]

Do you know what japanese have in common with the west ? Their sympathy for Nazis and fascists governments ;)

[@shane250]

So that's why the Chinese bought almost a quarter of Canada's housing market in Toronto and Vancouver?

[@DavidKirwanirl]

Not just Toronto/Vancouver, its everywhere....

[@shane250]

@@DavidKirwanirl Yeah, but I don't think it reaches 25% of properties everywhere else.

[@rohitgadhiya]

Please help me understand this. How can a person who is not a citizen of Canada be able to buy properties in Canada?

[@shane250]

@@rohitgadhiya There are very few countries that so not allow foreign citizens to buy properties. China, Singapore, and new Zealand are some of them. Some countries just take a higher purchase tax from foreign buyers. But in the US and Canada, it's not only allowed, but you're not even taxed more than a citizen esident. Thus will help you with the "how". If you ask the same question with a "why"... the answer is very simple: money. The more competitive the market is, the more the properties will sell for, and the higher the taxes will be. So assholes who don't care about their residents just open the real estate market to the entire world.

[@FuelAirSparkTime]

Its a goddamn invasion.

[@Niran333]

This video is really a good insight into the reality of what's really happening. Thanks for this :)

[@pokya-anakrantau8845]

Spadea Ho Yes

[@sebastianempty4310]

Cracks in the walls after 3 years? Those buildings must be collapsing after like 10-25 years?

[@djhaloeight]

all those empty ghost cities full of cheap chinese apartment buildings. shit looks like inception and will probably fall apart like in the movie too 😂

[@Assterix]

Ikr my grandma's house holds up well after 20+ years

[@RT-oz7ph]

djhaloeight watching plenty of KZbin. Ghost cities haha

[@adithyad2858]

In India we say "original" or "Chinese". Chinese products generally are synonymous to fake, poorly built substandard products.

[@philipaudio6297]

You get what you paid for. Good things are not cheap, cheap things are not good.

[@jasony486]

lol, what does India produce, bro? Piles of shit?

[@dadalaugh4454]

@@jasony486 Brain for idiot

[@user_cv8wysmstt]

I thought "Made in India" is even worse.....

[@adithyad2858]

@@user_cv8wysmstt only a few morons tend to think that.

[@xcitemex6353]

i moved into a brand new apartment in Hengda. the property developer bult something like 6 x 30 floor apartment blocks. The first two weeks all the driveways were lifting. next 3 weeks, water features were off. next 3 weeks my fucking ceilings in the apartment dropped to the floor. Its different world overthere. They are happy to have ghost cities. Where my warehouse was in Guangzhou , they built a bus interchange. No buses where there for three years. But they did employ a security guard to walk around it. Needless to say it became a dilapidated heap of shit.

[@ricdavid7476]

This guy is spot on. i am a property professional in London uk the way the world governments stopped a world wide depression in 2008 was to start inflating a real estate bubble that is unprecedented in world history. i have been in property for over 50 years and seen recessions come and go we are now sitting on the edge of a precipice that is so steep that it will take generations to recover from we are entering uncharted and very very dangerous and dark times

[@djtoman6875]

As a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, your words are very chilling.

[@streetrider2487]

GOOD. THAT WILL KEEP THE CHINESE BUSY INSTEAD OF BULLYING THEIR NEIGHBOURS. CHINA CRASH IS GREAT FOR THE WORLD,.

[@liloleist5133]

Rising Sea Levels will literally bubble up on a lot of coastal properties.

[@sharnistevens1428]

@@themandrake888 Its easy to tell someone to move away, but its not easy if you have family that is dependent on you, like elderly parents, or you're sharing custody of children, or your job is located in the city and you can't get a similar job in another city. I don't know why foreigners are allowed to buy property in the bay area, US citizens should have their rights protected, foreigners shouldnt be able to buy property for themselves or their children...

[@danthep]

they are going to know the appartment down in another 5 years and rebuild something 4 times bigger, so why bother with quality?

[@MrTynanDraper]

The #1 reason should be that you can not become a Chinese citizen or even permanent resident so you will never have the legal security to make such a huge financial investment in China. You could lose it too easily.

[@pokya-anakrantau8845]

DavidRsaid Absolutely true

[@kimmelzhang4185]

I tell you this according to my personal experience, Chinese citizenship makes the ownership less secure.

[@pokya-anakrantau8845]

Kimmel Zhang Elaborate please

[@keepcreationprocess]

Ohhh, that is not true. He is married you know. And he definately has a family to taking care of that. No worries, he has many Chinese connections.

[@florianlaur5300]

But you get deported the minute you're divorced or your partner dies. He probably has a Z visa or something and those expire if certain conditions aren't fulfilled anymore. Even if you're married and you lived there 60 years, theoretically, they can kick you out the moment wifey is gone. Not sure how such a thing is handled in real life, but that's what I heard and read.

[@shaysuketchi5630]

You remind me of The Transporter if he had a younger brother following in his foot steps, lol.

[@juliantheapostate8295]

I lived in a Scottish house built in 1824. Still structurally sound and in good condition

[@korbindallas8224]

I love the cheesy 80's style music in the beginnings of your vids. Makes me feel like I'm in another Jean Claude Van Damme montage.

[@maarres1]

Yeah retrowave rocks!

[@jsnlgrrtt]

Korbin Dallas

[@Dexduzdiz]

😅😭🤣

[@reviewerman9786]

"Doesn't matter where you go in China" you got that right.

[@jennyxuchi2147]

"People don't want to take responsibility for things that aren't theirs." So true.

[@toyotagaz]

In hindsight Good choice

[@xThetomhawk]

That's why they are so fast at building shit in Germany we need much longer for the same buildings, we just have thousands quality checks and laws.

[@trustmeimblack1620]

Interesting. It's nice that you're trying to stay optimistic, but the eventual outcome is written all over your face. The same thing happened here in the States, with everybody buying properties just to flip them and make a quick profit. Eventually, the bubble had to burst, and people were stuck with properties whose values were now substantially less than what the owners still owed to the banks. The result was people just walking away from their properties, and in many cases, scavenging what they could from their houses, leaving the banks who foreclosed with utterly useless wood or concrete boxes. A friend of mine saw his condo's value decline from the $150,000 he paid for it to a measly $16,000. He decided, like everyone else in his building, to just stop making payments, since he owed much more than the property was now worth. From what you said, it seems China is headed down that same path.

[@HexCoreV2]

D.SéЬasтiaпо Sçalia no the housing bubble was essentially the banks giving mortgages to anyone. And I mean anyone dead or alive. Then they repackaged these mortgages together and marked them as good, all the while all the mortgages were terrible in quality such as defaults no pays etc. There’s a movie that goes into good detail called the Big Short, worth the watch.

[@captnemo75]

People everywhere are greedy. And only the banks profit in the end. Even now all the same elements that contributed to the last crash are back in place. Only a matter of time! Little know fact; the US banks welcomed walk aways as they were given the difference between what was owed and what the foreclosure sell price was. In addition the Government elected to prevent these institutions from going bankrupt so the taxpayer footed that bill as well. With big corporations and unscrupulous politicians now pulling the strings with trend toward more and more deregulation of all aspects from safety to health to finance, the outcome is only inevitable

[@kib9749]

Any one who understands the fundamentals economics will agree with you, you’re a wise man, Winston!

[@mowaterfowl1479]

I wish you were doing "tell it like it is" videos in Japan. Still, I love watching your videos.

[@jaymcd8577]

This video confirms an attitude I've felt about the world and asiatic countries in particular, this careless and feckless mentality ultimately off not caring about tomorrow, just do it! and do it quick and cheap for that immediate return to profit from. Its crazy and reckless and can't go on, its no way to run the world.

[@captnemo75]

This mentality is not contributable nor restricted to only Asiatic countries.

[@immortal2u]

Funny to think that American infrastructure was built to last once, as were homes. And crumbling or not, still outlast even the newest and most posh developments in China.

[@MattJesuele]

Japan and Korea are not like that (maybe others too but those two I can speak to). It’s definitely not just an “asiatic” thing. It is pretty Chinese though...

[@GabiN64]

it also seeps into how they treat their employees: underpay, long hours, micromanagement, fewer benefits.

[@celeucidwu]

Well, not all chinese...mostly just mainland China

[@simonbarr9476]

Chinese investors have also pushed the price of property beyond NZ'ers reach in NZ. This happened a few years ago in Ozzie too. More regulation is needed to curb this. Property should be about having a house, not an investment.

[@evilborg]

You can see the pain he has in his eyes about how property is maintained in China.

[@BlackJack-hp1jy]

I personally think it's the hatred he got from his first marriage divorce with a second marriage Chinese woman who, due to some family pressure, married him(his side of the story). Now he's just trying to cash out as much as possible from China. I respect his right, his freedom of speech, his anger from a divorce, but I also feel very sorry for him. While him sharing hatred and anger toward mainlanders, his current wife is 100% mainlander, which makes his children 50% mainlander. What about his 50% responsibility of the choices he made in a marriage?

[@BlackJack-hp1jy]

@TacticalMoonstone oh, sorry! I happened to rewatch this video and other videos that I am interested in. I started to see comments while listening the video, and forgot it was made in 2016! But he did get divorced at that moment right? And he said something about his first divorce in other videos, and he said he used to live in his first wife's apartment for quite some time. I think it was in the video titled police couldn't leave him alone, and sometimes they visited him at his wife's apartment. Anyway, I am pretty sure about some details he mentioned in his videos, but I could be wrong at the timeline. My attitude is, according to his side of the story, his first wife didn't intentionally do anything wrong or rip him off. She was a victim too, and they both shared blame on their failed marriage. He never said anything about her losses in the marriage, which is weird for any decent man. I do appreciate his heads-up about marrying a Chinese woman.

[@trainy0169]

@@BlackJack-hp1jy u rasict like most Chinese:(

[@BlackJack-hp1jy]

@@trainy0169 Now we finally picking this word, so the youtuber is not??!!Hmm, as long as you are happy, salty man!!

[@BlackJack-hp1jy]

@@learnfaster164 recommend you watch his video titled"Are Chinese Women heartless?"He said yes and so are Chinese men. He first introduced the "wife or mother" joke among the Chinese. That joke does exists for a long time, but it is like people teasing their baby to pick their most loved one from mom and dad.The point of the joke is to tell you there's no absolute answer. China has a law that children have to visit their parent, like once every two year or so, and they have to provide necessities for their survival, which would only cost 200-500 US dollar a year. He made it sounds like a felony in the USA, but it actually only cost you the price of a parking ticket.He's been living in China for over 10 years, and he absolutely knows about everything. He married a Chinese woman because he knew a lot of them are very educated and are relatively wealthy coz their family only has one chid, but he still say they are all heartless. I don't want to get involved in his business and his life coz it's very obvious if the same standards were used.

[@disgruntledtoons]

This video is turning out to be remarkably prescient.

[@themovietheatre]

Never happens to me in Montreal. The building's over 100 years old.

[@_jamesbradley__]

Another fantastic vid. Total *truth* ! I've lived in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau. (worked for several different airlines). Insane market, keeps going up.

[@cecileyoras6671]

Mike 72 That’s probably why Chinese are all desperate to live in the west.

[@chonilin3058]

Thank you for giving this important information

[@RamonChiNangWong078]

This video aged like wine. wish I had bought some sea salt + grind sand to rub on this mainland wound

[@yangfanghao]

You are right, most Chinese are still farmers, they used to live in rural area and suddenly their neighborhood became a big city. They don't know what HOA is and they don't want to pay any fee for common sharing properties. Those communities were trashed and will worth much less in 2 - 3 decades. Only high-end community would be kept in well shape in future China. So, don't buy any properties in low-income communities. if you really want to live there, just rent it. The monthly rent times by 50 is the real value of those property. It would be dirty cheap in 10 - 20 years from now on.

[@ronaldchin944]

Nice video. I have owned property in China and my wife currently owns several properties and I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment. There is little to no maintenance on any of the buildings so they physically depreciate as the prices appreciate. Very dangerous when you think about it. Luckily it has worked out for us but the bubble will burst at some time.

[@qjtvaddict]

Ronald Chin buy during the crash

[@wyw201]

When it does crash the prices are never going back, the demographics are going to tank with the one child policy active for 30 years. In Beijing alone there are tons of empty "investment" properties owned by major corporations

[@roxcyn]

Ronald Chin - go against the grain. Maintain the properties unlike other people.

[@dgillies5420]

I recently visited Bulgaria and was amazed to find the same thing! There is no concern over community property, no concern to maintain public areas in large apartment buildings or the surrounding environs! It is amazing to see concrete rubble and completely destroyed sidewalks right outside shiny new highrises!

[@hugolindum7728]

yiwei wu Beijing could be different. It is now being converted to a government only city.

[@carvercapitalequitypartner122]

The crash of the property bubble is going to be fantastic on a massive scale. I'll be watching. If maintenance is poor now, just wait till after the crash.

[@GlobalPenguin2012]

Very good layman explanation for real estate. Good job on the explanation

[@sunbin64]

If you had bought property in Shenzen 10 years ago, you'd be rich!

[@ToiYeuYAHWEH]

Amusing the chinese gov doesn't steal it from you for whatever reason.

[@ToiYeuYAHWEH]

梁宏鳴 But then again, who would want to invest in china. Even the big corporations are pulling out like crazy.

[@andrewescocia2707]

yeah he says that in 3 years the building was a dump , but also that the price was going up 100% a year . so keep it for 2 years and sell...

[@Janman81]

The problem is that you don't know if prices will crash in 3 years or tomorrow. Guess wrong and you're financially ruined.

[@brian-us6vw]

the property back then vs now no one even buys it lol

[@fachrulrozinasution1972]

Dude you got a hella rocking playlist! Stay awesome!!!

[@needmoreramsay]

7:01 absolutely respect the fact they have a decent "green" buffer zone along the highway. Excellent idea.

[@milandjukic3589]

Top man Serpentza good presentation and stay safe over and watch your back from the uk 🇬🇧 😉

[@prof.hectorholbrook4692]

Just found your brilliant channel & watched several of your vids. My being married to a lovely (professional) lady from HK who was born and grew up in rural southern mainland China (but we live together with our son in UK), I've so far found your vids compelling and altogether BRILLIANT! (Or awesome, as you'd say). Well done!

[@serpentza]

Welcome to the channel!

[@safarieten]

Nothing you report in any of your videos makes China look attractive to a foreigner.

[@paoDaoGe]

+John Paul Brotherton That's the point! Chinese government wants foreign talents to work, not to stay.

[@rodriguezchen]

I love his videos, so down to earth

[@richfuckable]

but he is broke as fuck before and now. He is always broke as fuck

[@sololistyu4593]

that's why he is making all this shit videos to make a living, and people don't give shit. Lowest class in the Chinese community, pathetic

[@richfuckable]

he is basically a white bum from West Africa and still a borderline bum in china

[@carnao75]

I found your video very interesting now in 2019. An financial expert saw the same housing bubble in Japan around 2005. Now seeing that indicators showed which carried over to China. Then 2008 we saw the housing collapse in the US. Thank you for your video.

[@SkywatcherSandra]

Very informative video. Ty for sharing your information and time with us ALL. HUGS and blessings

[@leofreihofer]

Was confused at first when he said the property prices are constantly going up and he is not investing. After seeing the decay due to the property not being kept up it makes sense now. I seen on TV and read several articles about the housing bubble in China could make the housing bubble that happened in the USA look small in comparison.

[@justtravel2960]

Actually Chinese are making grow the prices in an insane way in Australi, New Zealand and Canada for example, this is becoming very dangerous because someday will blow the bubble and will be worst than ever.

[@wizard-of-other-oz]

In Europe as well

[@shuzinhali6627]

That is something really upsets and annoying and not good for the society

[@urmantaqi3253]

Very informative and valuable info. Thanks Winston!!

[@vithomas]

I delibrately checked the price of the first apartment, price has gone up by 50% to 100%. This is insane. I'm sure after 3 years the quality got even worse yet the price rocketed.

[@Birdsfly11]

Yup been to Beijing back in 07 and 13 to visit girlfriend and the apartment she rented I thought was maybe 25 to 30 years old do to it looking very worn and things not working. Found out it was only about 6 years old O^O WHATTTTT? Like watching your vids so keep up the good work. Ganbei!

[@hemasingh8033]

R u still together? U learn language??

[@jakel4054]

She probably dumped him

[@jewberggoldstein7112]

@@jakel4054 Why? I hope they aren't together. Mixed race babies are ugly

[@nelliee6736]

@@jewberggoldstein7112 what is wrong with you!?;

[@DavidIstre]

Great video! These have been some of my sentiments for quite some time. Since 2012 when we lived in Hefei and we started noticing massive uninhabited skyrises staying empty, and yet, property prices were still rising. That's not natural. Some reform is definitely needed. So I've been shy around investing here.

[@stephanieweil583]

Here in the USA I've also noticed the same issues regarding construction quality. New buildings go up, they look good for a couple years. But then the rot sets in. The concrete cracks, the lights fail, vandalism is not cleaned off, etc.

[@camranh_royal]

the globalist elites tried really hard to make America just another china..they weakened their society and their living standards. Silent war

[@wizard-of-other-oz]

@@camranh_royal globalist elites, or you just got a bunch of low-quality immigrants, unable to remember the rules? How can you distinguish between helping poor refuges and intentional weakening of the country? Be careful with conclusions...

[@camranh_royal]

@@wizard-of-other-oz Sort of agree with ya'

[@Harikusa]

Damn! Your videos are too interesting! Can't stop watching and I have work tomorrow and it's already past 1am :D

[@ewiem4351]

The 70 year government lease caught my attention. Apparently the Chinese aren't able to actually own real estate. No wonder nothing is maintained. This state of affairs can't last. In fact it's amazing that it's lasted this long. The world is gonna feel a big aftershock when it inevitably collapses.

[@pokya-anakrantau8845]

Jason Cullen Mate, it is the Chinese Greed and Self Centredness. Period.

[@ewiem4351]

Oliver Loi Greed and self centeredness are exactly why property ownership works to society's benefit. It's fundamental to a successful capitalist system that benefits evreryone. Unfortunately the Chinese government hasn't learned this.

[@MrPepsicola123]

china isn't capitalist its communistic, but they practice pure capitalism. and many western countries are not pure capitalistic societies, they were at the beginning but that almost ruined the countries that capitalism was founded in. that is why government had to step in and put laws restricting capitalism.

[@ewiem4351]

MrPepsicola123 I don't know who said this but it certainly applies to China's system - "There can be capitalism without free enterprise, but there can't be free enterprise without capitalism."

[@ewiem4351]

***** Because that takes the form of crony/corporate capitalsm. China seems to use a variety of this, where only party insiders can be businessmen. The small entrepreneur who develops a product in his garage and needs free enterprise to build a successful venture is basically out of luck.

[@charlieb9248]

Those management companies are jokes. I lived in China for 3 years and once a man was dedicating in the stairwell. Told the management company I'd like the stuff cleaned from the stairs. They said OK. The next day the threw a tile on top of it and said "good enough, no one can see it so it doesn't exist." Love your channel btw.

[@Longtack55]

Dedicated to Defecating?

[@misterdd7239]

troll spotted.

[@leojones22]

Troll, washing off the shit with water is much more cheaper than putting a new tile on it. Nice fairytale, grub.

[@alankwood]

Excellent informative videos. Well done.

[@rexguy7823]

I refuse to buy property because it's been going up like crazy, I've left it too late and now I can't afford to

[@garyandrews4198]

x

[@mailt7371]

I mostly agree with your point. There are many serious problems with Chinese building properties.

[@editor1ganesh]

As regards to Quality, world has experience of Chinese products! The worlds largest manufacturer of crap.

[@timothyconstantine3791]

lol you get whatever you paid for. if you want higher quality products then pay more for other countries' ones

[@kevinolesik1500]

9:48 insane housing density !

[@Robert-ri7mt]

5yrs old. Excellent work. Aged so well.

[@streetrider2487]

made-in-china....nuff said.

[@DorothyGTyas]

My exact thought! ☝😨

[@robertdorr6607]

iphone...made in China. You people are clueless if you think the Chinese are incapable of high quality craftmenship.

[@foreman3712]

@@robertdorr6607 yea but if you talk about the average quality of the products

[@robertdorr6607]

You confuse the capacity to do something with doing something. USA 100 million dollar F35 fighters jets, best in the world? Or, most dangerous to pilot? The Chinese have produced radar that uses quantum tech that detects the west's best stealth, that's not stolen from anyone, but home engineered to meet the threats their country faces. On the whole, you may get a better hammer in the USA over China, on average. But, that is the result of prices paid and consumer demand that has grown over hundreds of years, during which time the Chinese have been recovering from foreign domination of their country and people at the hands of European and USA colonial powers. Maybe I just dislike the unending ebb of intelligence mated with an abundance of self perceived certainty of opinion from the rank and file idiots who comment here that makes me waste the time to correct the fools. Probably.

[@lobster1002]

@@foreman3712 if you go to walmart alot, you will get low quality stuff. if you go to apple, you will get apple products made from china.

[@shortyass001]

Yes. It's only 70 years lease. Waiting for it to crash and see how many will go bankrupt. LOL!

[@wingwing1694]

shortyass001 You are wrong, it’s not 70 years

[@wizard-of-other-oz]

@@wingwing1694 so how many it is?

[@kalebyang3471]

But China has no property tax, and China can renew it after 70 years, not just 70 years, the price is very low.

[@fridericusrex9812]

1:46 That's how the subway line looks like in the capital of Canada right now.

[@simonhodgkinson7006]

I would like to say thank you as I have been learning a lot more of Chinese culture from you and Laowhy86

[@opl500]

My advice when you see a bubble? Run. Don't touch it. 99% of the people get wiped out.

[@jaymcd8577]

If this is China's attitude to its own country, what does that say of all the droves of Chinese building and developing real estate and such, all over the world?

[@sharnistevens1428]

I worry for Africa :(

[@kenyattauhuru4462]

the railroads throughout Africa

[@ConfuzzledTomato]

They'd still have to build according that countries building codes. Can't break the law just because they're Chinese

[@shallnotbenamed814]

They are doing great here in Dubai. Most of what he show is due to lack of maintenance from owner\s

[@emperorkalt7545]

Confuzzled Tomato yes, but they can use cheap equipment and materials.

[@MaNoLoZzZZZzzz12]

I stayed in Shenzhen for 14 days on 2011 for the Universiade. I love the city! Now traveling to Beijing in a few days and your videos are very helpful, thanks!

[@hamidn818]

Great videos .Thanks

[@utopian5411]

Look, in China there is no property tax. It's like you pay all rent of 70 years at 1 time, While In US the property tax is pretty high and it rise over time although you own the property but you still have pay tax every years. Can't really tell which one is worse....

[@bjolantanni992]

but in US you get better quality, and much more places.

[@utopian5411]

David TANN Hmm... may be u are right about the quality

[@bjolantanni992]

Utopian Well China is getting stronger on economy, but in China you barely can find a nice place to live, most of people living in apartment which is small, crowded and expensive. I know in the US you need to pay housing tax, but living quality is much much better than China, living quality in China is really crappy. I think he is right, you don't get what you pay for in China.

[@utopian5411]

David TANN True about that. I was mainly saying the 70 years policy is not as bad as other people think it is. Just don't any property in 1st tier city. I think you can still find some good price/ quality property in city like chongqin and foshan, the price of properties is reasonable imo.

[@JIAIANG]

property tax is coming !

[@monsterp1970]

Absolutely agree. Same reasons I never bought in Bangkok too!

[@andy4an]

can you at least buy property outright there, or is it leasing from the government there as well?

[@pleiadesds2012]

You can buy condominium or a car. Land you can't own. I bought condo in Bangkok and sold after 1 year. Profit 2000$

[@dominictobias9387]

You can buy condos, but they are all on lease to the land owner (like anywhere to be fair). You can get leases for 100s of years though. You can own up to 0.4 acres of land in some metropolitan areas but it's complicated (have to hold a certain amount of liquid assets in a Thai bank etc)

[@paulmakinson1965]

Wow, you don't really own the place, it is just a 70 year lease.

[@habibhussain825]

What about extending the lease ?

[@LeFatalpotato]

You don't own any place in any part of the world, you just rent it from the government with a huge down payment, thanks to the property taxes, which is usually around 1%/year, which would take around 70 years with compound interest to make up for the houses price. It is truly a miracle how people can be so blind to this kind of stuff.

[@djimanufacture7682]

@@LeFatalpotato true, land is owned by government. We only expect nation stability to let us keep the land.

[@LeFatalpotato]

@@djimanufacture7682 yeah, I wouldn't trust CCP to safekeep my 60 day old feces, but I don't like the idea that just because they're taking the property taxes lump sum you own your property in a different manner than people in free countries do.

[@djimanufacture7682]

@@LeFatalpotato in my country Indonesia, we have the same policy. But in reality, owned or having a using right only has no real different. You can sell your owned land or take over it.

[@Jarod-vg9wq]

I wanna get a vhs that says “stay awesome”😂😂😂

[@Alfosan2010]

I'm a simple man, I see Serpentza, I press like.

[@serpentza]

Thanks mate!

[@Kittensinabox]

1:52 I've seen attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those chinese malls will be lost in time, like tears in rain.

[@gardensofthegods]

Kittensinabox Blade Runner

[@immortal2u]

Blade Runner!

[@Wolfhound223]

You sir always have great music in these vids :D

[@delarow]

your videos age like fine wine, fambo. stay awesome

[@rem145]

The issue is westerners are used to actually owning and being responsible for property for a bit more time and understand the ramifications of non-maintenance

[@george-qt1se]

Chinese lack of quality is to be expected

[@maryl2008]

Thanks for sharing this info. An insight into how people are living in China

[@Andy_puglife]

Crazy reading this in 2023 watching the Chinese Real Estate bubble implode

[@corymayfield2343]

@serpentza great video and interesting insight. I do wonder, what about houses though, having the land and all?

[@zoremsanga1683]

U r catching up the real truth of china

[@jackmclane1826]

Another example from Shenzhen: There are fancy pedestrian bridges, large, wide arches, nice architecture, stainless steel and facing concrete. Brand new and the stainless steel is rusting away due to a very basic mistake in welding. And when stainless steel rusts, it rusts FAST! It normally doesn't but under bad circumstances it can start and usually doesn't stop any more. Especially if you are close to salt water in humid conditions. Like Shenzhen. You can scrap these bridges in a year and start all over again.

[@jagpriddle]

Excellent videos bro. Telling it exactly like it is.