Investment | Why I Approach Real Estate with Caution: The Hidden Traps Behind Property-Based Immigration

Hello everyone. Today, we are discussing a very popular category within the immigration sector: property-based immigration.

Many people hear about real estate immigration and assume it is a massive, straightforward topic. However, upon closer reflection, there are not actually that many genuine property-based programs out there. Today, I have decided to drop the formalities and show you my authentic conversational style—which is quite talkative and detailed. You might have read my articles or watched my videos and thought I was already chatty, but truth be told, I have been suppressing my natural tendencies!

I am actually a strong introvert (what we call an "I" personality type). You might not see it in my content, but outside of work, I am extremely introverted. For instance, if you and I were having coffee, we could sit in silence for half an hour, and I would not feel awkward at all. However, once the topic shifts to my professional expertise, I can talk endlessly. So, today, I am going to use my true conversational voice to share my deep-seated perspective on real estate investment.

My Family's Choice: Over 20 Years of Renting

To understand my perspective, you have to look at my background. Personally, I am someone who rarely buys property.

My family has a unique trait: for the past 20 years, we have almost exclusively rented. When we lived in Beijing, I rented an apartment in Central Park (新城国际), a fantastic international community. Why did I rent? Simply to be within walking distance of our office.

I still remember when I first moved into Central Park. Do you know the property prices back then? I rented a tiny 60-square-meter studio, and the purchasing price in that complex was around 7,000 RMB per square meter. When my spouse became pregnant and we had our child, I upgraded to a three-bedroom apartment in the same complex. As the kids grew up and needed more space, we upgraded to an even larger three-bedroom, still in Central Park. Amazingly, I had the exact same landlord for 10 years. We had a highly stable, cooperative relationship. When I eventually relocated to Hong Kong, we even had a farewell dinner to express our mutual gratitude.

During my decade of renting in Beijing, I watched the property values in Central Park skyrocket from 7,000 RMB to roughly 170,000 or 180,000 RMB per square meter. Yet, my family never once stepped in to buy.

The story is the same in Hong Kong. Real estate here is notoriously expensive, but the place I rent is extraordinary—in the winter, I can even record videos out in the yard. However, the property is owned by a large local family clan; they own homes across the entire area and exclusively rent them out. They refuse to sell, so we happily rent. We have been living there for 10 years now. I am currently looking for a new place, simply because a decade is a long time and we want a change of scenery. But fundamentally, my family remains a renting family.

The "Reverse Indicator" of Property Investment

That is only half of my real estate story. The other half belongs to my spouse. She is a fascinating case study—I jokingly call her a "reverse indicator" for buying property.

As many know, the period from 2010 to 2018 was a golden era for real estate in the Chinese market; buying almost any property yielded a profit. But not for us. Whenever my spouse decided to purchase a property, either the development project encountered issues, or the property value completely stagnated. She also bought a property in Hong Kong (which I do not live in), and it hasn't generated much profit either. I always joke with her, "How is it chemically possible for us to hold a property for 10 years during a boom and still not make money?"

My analysis of her investment style is this: she buys based on flashy showrooms and superficial aesthetics rather than functional floor plans. She gravitates toward unusually large properties with highly eccentric layouts. Naturally, a massive, weirdly shaped apartment is incredibly difficult to resell. As a result, our family has never gained any financial advantage from real estate.

People often look at me and ask, "Have you really never made any money investing in real estate?" The honest, slightly embarrassing answer is no, I haven't. I share this background because everyone's professional viewpoint is inevitably shaped by their personal experiences.

Because of this history, I view real estate with immense caution. We didn't make 10x returns by blindly buying property in 2010, and we didn't make money carefully analyzing the Hong Kong market later on. When you factor in the purchasing price, property management fees, maintenance, and hidden costs, real estate has not been a profitable venture for us. On the other hand, renting quietly for years has brought us a peaceful, happy family life, which I believe is perfectly fine.

Why Our Performance in Property-Based Immigration is "Average"

This personal background has formed my foundational business view on real estate: caution, caution, and more caution.

As a global immigration firm, Globevisa holds an incredibly high market share in transparent, non-real estate immigration categories—often capturing 30% to 40% of the global market. However, when it comes to the highly hyped property-based immigration sector, our market share is comparatively "average."

I often reflect on why this is the case. In my typical talkative fashion, I will share what I believe are the core reasons (though admittedly, this is also a great way for me to shift the blame so it doesn't just look like poor management on my part!).

1. We Do Not Touch Programs Without Legal Backing

Many programs on the market are heavily advertised as "property immigration," but they actually have zero legal connection to immigration laws. These properties sell incredibly well, but we refuse to touch them.

For example, a few years ago, you may have seen massive promotions for "Japan Property Immigration" or "Thailand Property Immigration." Many agencies made a fortune telling clients that buying a house in these countries grants residency. We made absolutely zero revenue from this. Why? Because neither Japan nor Thailand has a legal framework for property-based immigration.

How do these agencies operate, then? They exploit international information gaps. Selling international real estate yields massive profit margins. In Japan, they might sell you an overpriced house to run as an Airbnb, and use a fraction of their massive commission to quietly apply for a standard Business Manager Visa on your behalf. When the visa inevitably cannot be renewed the following year (because you aren't running a real business), you are left stranded. They call this "property immigration," but it is a facade. The same applies to Thailand: there is no property immigration law. Agencies simply take your inflated property payment and use a small cut to buy you a Thai Elite Visa, packaging the two together.

This same deceptive model is rampant in the Philippines, Cambodia, small property investments in Dubai, Fiji, and Vanuatu. Simply put: they sell you a questionable property, take a massive cut, and use a tiny portion of those funds to secure a minor, unrelated visa through standard channels, claiming it's a "property immigration" package. In these specific markets, our sales volume isn't just lower than our competitors—it is strictly zero. We fundamentally refuse to participate in this.

2. Price Wars and Hidden Traps

Sometimes clients tell me, "The properties your firm recommends are more expensive than others." I respectfully disagree; our properties are accurately priced.

We operate on a strict baseline: if a developer offers us an astonishingly high commission rate, the property inherently has problems. There is no such thing as a free lunch; an unusually high margin always conceals a trap. If you cannot spot the trap, you are being naive. Therefore, we refuse to work with projects that offer absurdly high commissions. If a property is truly high-quality, why would the developer need to give away such a terrifying percentage to an agency? The most logical conclusion is that the property is severely artificially inflated.

However, the market is flooded with these projects. Because our competitors are working with these massive hidden margins, they can afford to engage in aggressive price wars. They will offer you a 20% discount, gift you a Tesla, cover your family's vacation, provide private jet transfers, or send you flowers on your birthday for the rest of your life. It puts us in an awkward position because we simply cannot compete with profits built on inflated prices. Due to the opacity of the international real estate market, these dangerous projects continue to thrive.

3. Bound by Strict Compliance Standards

Because Globevisa is a large-scale global operation, we have deep familiarity with developers across various countries. We conduct rigorous background checks and know their track records intimately.

When a highly marketed project comes along, we can immediately spot the red flags. We might know that the developer has a history of fraudulent projects, that their claimed "luxury brand partnership" is entirely fabricated, that their building permits are incomplete, or that the development is merely a "PPT project"—a flashy presentation that will never actually be built. Because we know the truth, we dare not sell them.

But the market is hot, and if we don't sell these properties, someone else will. The consumer market is not always mature, and many investors are easily captivated by stunning marketing materials. I am powerless to stop that.

Ultimately, this is our operational style. We might not make the maximum possible profit when the market is booming, but as the old investment adage goes, when the tide goes out, we won't be caught swimming naked. That is how we comfort ourselves.

To Be Continued...

Having said all this, I suddenly realize just how chatty I have been. I have been talking for quite a while, and I haven't even gotten to the core strategies yet! I am absolutely certain our marketing team will split this monologue into a two-part series.

Since that is inevitably going to happen, I will obediently pause here for now.

That is all for today's session. If you are interested in truly compliant, legally sound property-based immigration programs, please feel free to leave a message.

Thank you.