Chitchat Bwahahahaha .......... Money faced Hongkies forced to lived with Ghosts!

[Asterix]

Hong Kong’s home prices are so scary, people will live with ghosts to get a discount

• More than half of respondents in a survey by Squarefoot said they would consider living in a home which hid a tragic past – if the price was right
• Flats which were the scene of a grisly death generally sell for around a third below market value in the world’s most expensive city to buy a home

Which is more frightening: a haunted house or one that takes a lifetime to save up for? For most people Hong Kong’s sky-high property prices are a more terrifying prospect than the thought of living with ghosts, if a recent survey is anything to go by.
More than half of the respondents quizzed by Squarefoot, an online property portal in Hong Kong, said they would consider living in a home which hides a tragic past – if the price was right.
In Hong Kong, flats linked with grisly, untimely deaths – murders, suicides and the like – usually sell at huge discounts. Not only is the possibility of sharing a home with the spirits of the departed an unpalatable thought for many, it is also bad for Feng shui, the ancient Chinese belief that the external environment affects the fortunes of people inside.


On June 10, a three-bedroom flat in Taikoo Shing from which a man jumped to his death five years ago sold for a little over HK$18,000 (US$2,300) per square foot. That is almost a third less than a flat the same size that sold a couple of weeks earlier in the same building of the mass residential site, which is popular with families.

A flat in the New Territories whose previous tenant had hanged himself was snapped up for slightly more than HK$3 million in March, almost 30 per cent below market value. Later in the same month, a 602 square-foot flat in which the body of a well-known local singer who had committed suicide was found sold for HK$10 million after 10 rounds of bidding at auction – again, 30 per cent lower than similar flats in the same neighbourhood.
“If you asked these buyers whether they are afraid of ghosts, they probably are, more or less. But they are more afraid of sleeping on the street,” said Alvin Cheung, associate director at Prudential Brokerage.

“Before people think it is unlucky to stay in a haunted home, they think how lucky they are to find a home – whether it’s haunted or not is not the problem. Whether you have enough money to buy one is the key issue.”

Hong Kong buyers turn up in droves to snap up discounted flats
Of the 1,001 Hongkongers aged 18 to 65 surveyed by Squarefoot in early May, 54 per cent said they would be willing to buy a property where a murder, suicide or other untimely death had occurred, with price being the motivator.

On average, respondents felt that a 37 per cent discount would be appropriate for a haunted flat. A small handful were braver; some 3 per cent of respondents said they would consider sharing a flat with spirits of the deceased for as little as a 10 per cent discount. The survey also found that haunted flats are relatively more appealing to those aged below 40.
Buyer walks away from US$32 million Hong Kong luxury home
“Normally people would not choose a haunted home, but the city’s housing prices are not in a normal range right now. Young people who would like to get a home have no choice when they do not have much savings,” said Derek Chan, head of research at Ricacorp Properties.
Hong Kong – which has been
the world’s most expensive city for nine straight years
, according to the Demographia International Housing Affordability Study – saw its home prices increase 8.7 per cent in the first four months of this year.
The study showed that a family would on average need to save up for 21 years without spending a single dollar to afford a home in the city. In comparison, a family in Singapore needs to save for 4.6 years to buy a home.
Unravelling the mystery behind a ‘haunted’ Hong Kong flat
This may explain the attraction of so-called haunted houses (“Xiong Zhai” in Chinese).
In Hong Kong, estate agents are legally obliged to tell a prospective buyer about a property’s sinister past.
As prices have crept up to record-breaking levels, enquiries about discounted “haunted homes” have increased, according to Asif Ghafoor, founder and CEO of online property portal Spacious.
Property market will tide over extradition bill protests: CK Asset
The company’s mobile application has a function enabling users to point their phone at a building for on-the-spot information, which includes whether it falls into the “haunted” category.
“It is one of the most used functions,” said Ghafoor. “Unnatural death in a home is a very serious issue when people in the city consider buying or renting the place, because those who believe in it would feel horrible staying nearby a ghost.”
“Home seekers now have to go for whatever they can afford. It does not matter whether it is private homes, government subsidised ones, or even haunted ones,” said Cheung.
For those who do not want to move in with ghosts, living with other living beings is another way of mitigating exorbitant house prices.
Co-living spaces have become increasingly sought after
in Hong Kong .
“Co-living is more flexible. Couples, particularly married ones, are usually about to make big decisions about where to live together and whether they are going to buy a unit. They can end the monthly-based lease easily and move out at any time,” said Alex Bent, co-founder and managing partner at District15, developer of The Nate, a co-living space in Tsim Sha Tsui.

https://www.scmp.com/business/artic...so-scary-people-will-live-ghosts-get-discount

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Just follow this guy,...

In Hong Kong, the man with a novel solution to its housing, poverty issues
Ricky Yu found decent homes for low-income Hongkongers, by rallying people to rent out their places at below market rates — in the world’s most expensive housing market. He is one of CNA’s Champions for Change.
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Ricky Yu built a tenancy model driven by family development and neighbourly cohesion.
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By Derrick A Paulo
By and Ng Yoke Boon
23 Jun 2019 06:15AM (Updated: 23 Jun 2019 12:10PM)
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HONG KONG: He was visiting the homes of the underprivileged when he met a mother and son living in a unit in a building waiting to be redeveloped.
“The son was doing his homework, and I noticed that behind him, water was dripping. It had a foul smell, like sewage … The mother was mopping the floor while chatting with me,” recalls Ricky Yu. “The situation was unbelievable.”

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It is the kind of situation, however, that is familiar to many of Hong Kong’s low-income families living in squatter housing or in rundown subdivided flats, which typically are about 100 square feet and rented out for nearly HK$5,000 (S$867).
Their only other choice is to apply for the government’s public housing units, but the supply — despite an increase — cannot keep up with demand.

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Cramped flats.

As the housing and poverty issues hit home for Yu, a novel solution was about to take shape, born out of his belief that “the government isn’t omnipotent” and that “people themselves can work out a long-term, complementary solution”.

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So in 2010, he quit his corporate job and founded Light Be, a social enterprise providing alternative housing solutions for low-income families by tapping a spirit of common goodness.
Its Light Home tenancy model is this: Landlords rent their properties to vulnerable families at below market rate for a maximum of three years — in the world’s most expensive housing market.
This housing solution is not an end in itself. Yu means it to give the tenants time to put their lives back in order by, for example, looking for stable employment, so that they can climb out of poverty.

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Yu with Light Be tenants.

“We hope that through Light Be, we can give them the incentive to upgrade themselves,” says the 51-year-old.
It has not been easy, but his model has worked: Hundreds of families have not only become less dependent on welfare, but have also thrived on developing themselves.
He is one of CNA’s Champions for Change, a series marking the channel’s 20th anniversary this year by celebrating 20 individuals whose imagination, talents and efforts have uplifted communities across Asia.
INSPIRED BY A NOBEL LAUREATE
Before he started his social housing network, Yu was facing “a midlife crisis”. He was a top executive of a multinational, but was wondering what else he was “chasing after”, apart from making money for his bosses and himself.

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He also felt that the stress of finding affordable housing was increasing. “Many Hong Kong people have prioritised their housing needs over their own development. This isn’t ideal,” he says.
“Personal development should take priority, and housing, the means to an end.”
And having come from an underprivileged family, he knew what it was like to be poor. “Even though you don’t know these people, you’re connected in a way. We’re all Hong Kong people. I can empathise with them,” he relates.
He had three choices, he reckoned, to resolve these issues: Donate periodically to non-governmental organisations; get involved in politics; or create his own housing system, a choice inspired by Nobel laureate and Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus.

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Yu chose to set up Light Be.

The latter’s microcredit concept of lending to the poor, for them to start small businesses, changed Yu’s “perspective on the world”, showing him that “it isn’t necessary to be a charity in order to provide assistance”.
This is why Light Be grants three-year leases. “It’s like a degree course. We treat the tenants as students, who are here to learn how to develop themselves, and then ‘graduate’,” he explains.

The majority of people do have a fighting spirit to help themselves, as long as you … give them opportunities and guidance. Given enough time, they’d make changes.​

From the beginning, he wanted to help single mothers and their children, whom he saw as society’s most vulnerable members. But convincing people that his programme would work was a challenge.
WATCH: A radical way to help the poor in Hong Kong (5:02)


“No one believed that landlords would … accept rent lower than market value, (nor) that the tenants would vacate the apartments on schedule,” he recounts.
Light Be’s own communications manager, Amen Tsang, was a sceptic. “When I first heard of the idea, I found it admirable but a little naive and silly,” she admits. “How would anyone use a home to help others?”
But she changed her mind after encountering a potential tenant, a mother whom Yu was surveying, whose answer to the last question — about her “biggest dream” — was to work at a construction site.
“My heart ached. As a woman, her ambition was to be a construction worker. That’s impossible! I cried for a long time,” recalls Tsang.
“I told Ricky, no matter what, this is the correct thing to do — no matter how tough it’ll be, I’ll help you and persevere."

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Amen Tsang.

Her boss did the legwork by going around networking, as he was not familiar with real estate nor social enterprise.
That was how he met his business partner Francis Ngai, the founder and chief executive officer of Social Ventures Hong Kong, who was “looking for game changers” and found one in Yu.
Using Hong Kong’s properties to resolve its poverty problem was “unheard of at that time”, but Ngai calls it a change that its population of seven million plus are “looking forward to” now.
WATCH: Wanted: Homes in Hong Kong (2:28)


TRUST BUILT UP, BURDENS LIGHTENED
It took almost two years, however, before they found a willing landlord, who bought a unit with her own money to see if the model could work.
“The landlord had a lot of trust in us. She felt that this experiment wasn’t only for Light Be. She saw it as doing something good for Hong Kong,” describes Ngai.
Finding suitable tenants was less difficult, with Light Be’s selection process, which starts with a referral from a social worker.

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The first flat.

“After that, there’d be an interview session, and we’d see if the potential tenant is responsible and has plans to develop himself or herself,” Yu elaborates.
“Many (social workers) supported us, even though they found it quite unbelievable. Still, it was like, why not try? And then the trying gets better and better. And eventually, we’re working with many social workers.”
Light Home tenant Tseng Tseng says Light Be’s rules are good, so that every tenant can reside “comfortably”. “We must be able to pay the rent and must also have the capability to improve our livelihood,” says the single mother.
“My way of thinking is to do my best to meet the requirements … Being able to move into a Light Home is my blessing.”

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Tseng Tseng.

To date, Light Be has more than 100 flats for tenants like her. And since it was set up, 80 per cent of the landlords have been renewing their contracts every three years, says Yu.

After deducting the operating costs, the earnings are very little, but the landlords are still willing to accept this little amount. So it works.​

Landlord Teresa Poon, for example, is “very happy being a part of this programme” and affirms that property “can be a tool” to help others.
“They may encounter setbacks and other troubles. And I feel that we should give these people a chance. Light Home is able to do this,” she says.
Collaborations with the government and support from donors have also allowed Light Be to grow in new ways. Abandoned buildings, for example, have become the foundation of Light Be’s second housing model, known as Light Housing.

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One such building, repurposed by Light Be.

“There are many buildings left vacant. In most cases, these buildings are too small, or the land size is too small. Either the government or private developers are unable to redevelop the project,” says Yu.
So in 2016, the first Light Housing project was launched: A five-storey former textile factory renovated — with funding from a charity foundation — to provide flats for as many as 90 families who have three or more members.
These quarters have given Samuel Yung’s family a “stable” and “safe” home, unlike the squatter housing where they used to stay, which was in a “remote place”, had “many issues” but whose rent was still a third of his salary.
“The worst was when it rained. The house would leak badly. We were so uncomfortable. At times, snakes would enter the house,” says Yung, whose family has been queuing for public housing for about four years.

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Samuel Yung (left).

Their “burden has lightened” also because of their lower rent now.
STRESS ON COMMUNITY NETWORKS
Financial help aside, what also sets Light Be apart is its support system, which it hopes will make an impact on the tenants’ lives.
Activities including business start-up courses are held for Light Housing tenants; a carpentry corner is available to them; and most of them “have got to know each other”, says Yu, calling it “an initial success”.

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Getting to know one another.

This stress on community networks applies also to Light Home tenants, who are required to share their units. Two or three single-parent families are matched up per unit, which Light Be’s CEO says “has its benefits”, especially for single mothers.
“With co-housing, if one mother falls sick, another mother could help keep an eye on the kids,” explains Yu. “This would compensate for the single-parent family structure.”
It especially helps someone like Tseng, a cafe waitress who gets paid only when she works. Her co-tenant Feifei can babysit her girl Siu Chee, who is in Primary Three and who also has Feifei’s daughter as a playmate.
“I’m glad for the friendship between the girls,” says Tseng. “Without the Light Home programme, I think I’d be lost. I’d have to depend on my family, and I’d be a burden on them.”

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Tseng, Feifei and their daughters.

Light Be’s managers play a role, too, in the support system. Every tenant household has a manager who checks on them monthly.
“Our job is to solve their current issues, and help them improve and prepare themselves for the future,” says senior manager Walter Woo.
“When we first meet the residents, they’re at the lowest point in their life. We hope that after they’ve moved in, they’d be able to adjust.”
He admits that there had been times when he thought of giving up, “but seeing the residents … make progress has been a great motivation”.

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Woo pays Yung’s family a visit.

Tseng, for example, says she was once “insecure and anxious” when she was having marital problems. But she is now looking forward to “graduating” from Light Home in November with a “confidence about life”.
On average, the programme’s tenants are able to “move out and move on to a better life” within two years, says Yu. Looking back, he finds it all “amazing”.
“We not only didn’t end up bankrupt, we’ve also achieved so much,” he says. “If you were to have asked me seven years ago, I’d have said this is a mission impossible.”
But he is not done yet. The programme is expanding to Hong Kong’s outlying islands such as Lamma.

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Lamma Island. (Photo: AFP/Tengku Bahar)

And to nurture tenants’ creative interests and talents, he is developing several Advanced Light Home projects, such as a Readers’ Light Home with many books or a Painters’ Light Home.
To this end, there will be collaborations with artists like Eric Ng, who will organise workshops for the families to “introduce art to them”.
“When (the children) return home, there are easels and paper for them to use for drawing and painting,” said Ng, who is also an education worker.
“I hope that in future, they’ll develop an interest in art. But it isn’t important if that doesn’t happen. They’ll remember that they had a good time when they were staying here.”
Yu even has plans to create a Light Village, “to bring back the village vibe, the communal bond”. “Hong Kong very much needs this. People are earning well, but they’re drifting further apart as a society,” he says.
“Making money is one thing that gives life meaning, but it isn’t the only thing. This is my life’s goal, and also the vision for Light Be.”
Watch this episode here, and also read about the Singaporean who found a way for inmates, people with disabilities to help seniors. View the details of the other Champions for Change profiles here.

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Source: CNA/dp
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...ution-housing-poverty-issue-light-be-11652678

 

[meepokboy]

Hong Kong's house prices are inflated by the mainland Chinese. most of the properties there are private properties and only the rich can afford them. poor people can never afford the downpayment in their lifetime

 

[mojito]

Poor more scary or ghost more scary you tell me?

 

[jw5]

Poor ghost is the most scary.

Poor more scary or ghost more scary you tell me?