If I'm putting 90% of the value, why don't I just add another 10% and buy the property outright? Are there restrictions on who can buy a house/apartment in Korea?
You perhaps missed that you get the whole deposit back. The landlord doesn't keep it. You could buy the property outright, or you could live somewhere for essentially free, as long as you don't value the interest on that cash more than you value the place you're staying.
Giving that much money to a landlord is absolutely terrifying to me given the history of landlords I’ve had. I’d much rather own the property and deal with any transaction costs associated with selling.
Thats not the good bet - based solely on this information - the landlords would be fine on their own property, they would have lost a portion or all of a prior renters deposit in some other speculate bet instead of just letting it sit in a bank account, new renters deposits are paying for the ability of the landlord to pay the prior renters
Of course that prior speculative bet could be in mortgage(s). You would need to look at other weakness in that economy to rationalize whatever bet you want.
Didn’t miss it, just also noted that if the landlord loses the money or goes bankrupt or just skips town, in a foreign country without strong connections and shaky command of the language, you are likely screwed.
Opportunity cost. Landlord can use the money to invest elsewhere and make more than the minimum 12% APY.
It is like 0% interest loan for the length of the tenant stay.
Not quite sure what the exact laws are, but generally the landlord fixes stuff. They will even replace lightbulbs, within reason. If there is a small thing I can fix on my own, I'll just do it myself.
Usually there is a monthly management fee that ranges from $50 to $100+ dollars that covers cleaning of common areas, repairs, etc.
