Owning a house is considered a life achievement for many. When you’re owning your property for the first time, it’s important to have your name attached to the asset itself. With this legal protection, you’re sure to enjoy the sole ownership that comes with it. 

However, once you’re doing transactions in other countries, this isn’t always the case. For example, foreigners aren’t allowed to own landed properties in Vietnam, which makes title holding impossible for certain real estate products. In these cases, your best bet is to authorize a capable entity to represent your ownership rights. Homebase is a proptech company that has the vision, resources, and aligned incentives to help you do so.

In this article, we will talk about why allowing Homebase to legally hold your title brings you more gains in the long run, in terms of costs, efficiency, and dispute resolution.

House titles vs. deeds: What are the differences?

A deed is a legal document that declares a person’s ownership of a property, whereas a title is a concept of ownership rights. 

It’s crucial to grasp the understanding of these two definitions. When you’re buying a house with Homebase, you and Homebase will share equal ownership statuses (hence titles). The only difference, then, is that Homebase will have our name on the deed. 

Even so, your ownership rights are 100% unaffected by this representation. In other words, you're still the legitimate owner of your property.

Why does Homebase hold my title?

First, Homebase will buy the real estate that you want, and at the same time personalize the purchase package for you. That's why two payment options: Fully buyout and Monthly minimum exist to provide maximum flexibility for each individual customer.

By the time you enter a contract with Homebase, you may not yet be able to purchase the property outright. Homebase will provide a solution to purchase the real estate upfront from the seller and retain the right to buy back the property for you later. This is to prevent the situation where you can’t buy back the property in the future as it disappears from the market. Also by maintaining ownership of the property for the entire contract period, Homebase can support up to 90% of the initial payment.

So, at the time of the contract, the real estate was purchased and owned by Homebase. However, you also have a deposit for that property and are buying it back gradually. Once the property is acquired from Homebase (100% payment), Homebase will transfer ownership of the property back to you.

Why should I trust Homebase to hold the property I want to buy back? 

You can rest assured that your property is in good hands. We’re backed by some of the most prestigious, multi-billion dollar funds from around the world (Y Combinator, Antler, VinaCapital Ventures, Class 5 Global, Pegasus Technology Ventures, among others).  

What’s more, our capital providers hold us to very high standards of financial prudence. This means that we need to be as transparent as banks when it comes to transactions. A representative from these institutional investors will also be in charge of title escrow as a way to protect you in transactions. 

Homebase's plan is sustainable and long-term development. With a company that is under the strict management of such reputable and branded investment funds, Homebase must follow a strict control process. We will never use, exchange or trade the real estate without your consent. 

Top benefits when Homebase holds the title

Expedite the ownership process

Homebase holds the title in the beginning to deliver a stress-free homeownership journey. Our in-house team of lawyers and experts handle all the paperwork ourselves to get everything done within one week and have you move in as soon as possible. 

Share rights and responsibilities

It’s helpful to understand how this works: When you’re buying a house with Homebase, you’re slowly buying back your ownership portions over the course of the contract. Starting with as little as 10%, you’ll deposit every month to increase this number until you reach 100%, at which point you can purchase the house in its entirety and have the property's title fully transferred to you.

Until you reach that point, or decide to terminate your contract before expiry, Homebase holds the title to ensure our shared incentives and responsibilities towards the property itself. In other words, since we are co-owners (we put in some amount and you put in some), it makes sense to assign one stakeholder the property’s title and the other the actual use of it. This is to make sure that the property’s maintenance is in our best interest until we decide to part ways.

At the beginning, Homebase and you will pre-agree on a yearly appreciation rate for you to buy back. Therefore, we’ll share the risks and rewards of joint ownership when the property increases or decreases in value. 

Safeguard you from potential disputes

When you’re renting a house with someone else, it’s often the case that joint ownership does not work out due to conflicting interests. For example, your partner and you might argue over who’s the ultimate property owner on paper. To avoid this hassle, Homebase will temporarily hold the title, thus protecting us from having this difficult conversation.

Full access to the property 

Even if Homebase is technically the legal owner, nothing prevents you from making use of it. Decorate, remodel your home, or rent it out without having to share profits with Homebase!

Do I still have full rights over my house if Homebase holds the title?

Absolutely yes! You will still have full access to your house any time, re-decorate, or rent it out to your preference. Homebase’ holding the title doesn't prevent you from doing so. This is because you will sign the Power of Attorney (POA) contract with us. POA is an important document that grants you full use of the property, even when we’re holding the title.

Learn more about the POA contract here.

Start owning your property in Vietnam without hassles today!

We hope this article has given you helpful information to entrust Homebase with your purchase. Should you have more questions, don’t hesitate to contact us by phone/WhatsApp/Zalo at (+84) 964 245 404 or email: contact@gethomebase.com.

We’re looking forward to clarifying any thoughts you may have about our product! Start owning your dream property in Vietnam with us from today.