Podium shophouses in a handed-over apartment building: 6 things to check

Example: Urban Green podium shophouses (Hiep Binh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) — basis: the developer's project presentation slides version 24.06, the shophouse early-payment calculation sheet of 9 October 2026, Báo Đầu tư 4 May 2026 · Updated 8 November 2026.

Podium shophouses are the commercial units on floors 1–2 of an apartment building, opening onto an internal road or main street. Buying a unit in a project under construction, you pay by progress and have to guess customer numbers in advance. Buying in a project already handed over, you can check almost everything before signing. Below are 6 things to check, each with real Urban Green figures so you can apply them to other projects.

1. Already completed: what you get now, and what you still have to do

The biggest difference from a shophouse under construction is time: once the contract is signed you take the premises, and can fit out and trade or rent it out without waiting for construction.

Example — Urban Green: 2 towers of 23 storeys with Coteccons as main contractor, topped out on 24 January 2024; the shophouse podium was handed over from Q1 2025 (developer slides). With the 95% payment policy, buyers receive the handover notice in the same instalment as signing the sale and purchase agreement (calculation sheet of 09/10/2026).

What to check at this step:

• Handover standard: Urban Green shophouses are handed over in shell condition — you have to budget the cost and time of fit-out before opening (see shell or finished handover).
• Current condition of the unit: empty or already let. If let, ask for the lease, its remaining term and deposit, and whether the buyer can take over the lease. HPR is asking the developer to confirm the rent of each Urban Green unit, so the article does not state it.
• Management and parking fees for shophouses: Urban Green has no published document yet — ask in writing, as these come straight out of your income (holding costs).

2. Real resident numbers in the building

A podium shophouse's regular customers are first of all the residents right above. In a handed-over project, this figure can be measured rather than estimated.

Example — Urban Green: 684 of 734 apartments occupied as of 18 June 2026 (developer slides version 24.06), about 93%. Báo Đầu tư (4 May 2026) reported that the project began handing over apartments from 04/2025.

How to check:

• Ask for the number of units handed over and the number currently occupied — these are two different figures. Note the date of the figures.
• Visit on a weekday evening and at the weekend: lights in the apartments, cars entering and leaving the basement, pedestrians in front of the shophouse row.
• See what businesses the neighbouring shophouses run and which shops are actually open. A street with a mix of trades is usually easier to re-let.

3. Read the area correctly: gross and net

Shophouse price lists usually state the gross area (measured to the centre of the external walls), while the area you actually use is the net area (to the inner face of the walls). How to tell them apart in detail: gross-wall and net floor area.

Example — the 22 Urban Green shophouses still for sale (calculation sheet of 09/10/2026):

Item	Information
Gross area	147.3–384.5 m²
Net area	137.1–359.7 m²
Floors	2 floors (floor 1 + floor 2)
Ceiling height	4.5 m per floor

At both ends of the range, net area is about 6–7% smaller than gross. When comparing unit prices between projects, convert to the same type of area. A 4.5 m ceiling per floor allows signage, high-level storage or a mezzanine — ask the management board about the specific rules before designing.

4. Compare unit price by view, not just total price

Within the same podium row, the frontage position determines passing trade and rent. Comparing the price per m² by view group shows clearly how much extra you are paying for the location.

Example — Urban Green, unit price after the 30% discount for 95% payment, based on gross area, excluding VAT (calculation sheet of 09/10/2026):

Position group	Unit price after 30% off	List price per unit
The Bliss tower — hanging garden view	About 44–47 million VND/m²	11.45–15.33 billion VND
The Bliss tower — park, playground view	About 52–59 million VND/m²	12.34–29.78 billion VND
Street No. 6 frontage (The Bliss and The Aster towers)	About 62–65 million VND/m²	16.74–34.49 billion VND

Units fronting Street No. 6 cost about 16–20 million VND more per m² than hanging-garden-view units. For a unit of about 180 m², that difference is roughly 2.9–3.6 billion VND. The question to answer: does the business you plan to run, or the tenant you are targeting, need passing trade from the street, or will it mainly serve residents within the development?

5. Legal status: certificate and land use term

Podium shophouses in apartment buildings are usually recorded on the certificate as commercial-service units. Look at a certificate already issued for a similar unit in the same project to see the land use purpose and term.

Example — Urban Green: the Ho Chi Minh City Land Registration Office issued a certificate for a commercial-service unit on floors 1+2 of Tower B on 21 April 2026; the land plot is recorded as urban residential land, freehold, in common use by the owners. Under the calculation sheet of 09/10/2026, the final 5% is only paid within 14 days of the developer's notice of handover of the certificate for your unit.

How to check:

• Ask to see a copy of a similar unit's certificate (with personal details redacted) and ask about the certificate status of the exact unit you choose.
• Check the developer's name on the sale and purchase agreement: Urban Green contracts are signed with Ladona Real Estate Co., Ltd., with Kusto Home as development company.
• Ask for copies of the project-level legal documents (construction permit, completion acceptance) — HPR is requesting this set of documents from the developer for Urban Green.

The full list of documents is in checking a project's legal status; the types of certificate are explained in how the red book and pink book differ.

6. Costs on top of the price: VAT and maintenance fee

Shophouse list prices usually exclude VAT and the maintenance fee. Add both before comparing with your budget.

Example — unit B-SH.28 in The Bliss tower, 161.8 m² gross, park view (calculation sheet of 09/10/2026):

Item	Amount (provisional)
List price	12.58 billion VND
Price after 30% off (95% payment)	8.81 billion VND
VAT — not charged on the land use right value	0.83 billion VND
Contract price including VAT	9.64 billion VND
2% maintenance fee	0.18 billion VND
Total to prepare	about 9.81 billion VND

Payment schedule for this unit under the 95% policy: a 200 million VND reservation (non-refundable, deducted from instalment 1); within 14 days of signing the sale and purchase agreement, pay 95% of the contract price plus the 2% maintenance fee — about 9.13 billion VND after deducting the reservation; the remaining ~0.48 billion VND is paid on the certificate handover notice. On top of this come the cost of fitting out the shell premises and the monthly management fee (being updated).

Ask how long the policy remains valid: the 09/10/2026 calculation sheet does not state an expiry date, and HPR is asking the developer to confirm. How to read a policy to get the real price: reading a sales policy, calculating the real price; other fees: costs on top of an apartment's price.

Rental income: calculate it yourself, do not rely on commitments

Podium shophouses are often bought to let. Calculate the cash flow with a low rent, include vacant months and deduct the management fee, rather than using the profit levels in promotional materials. Tools and methods: gross and net rental yield and occupancy rate. An HPR consultant will send unit-by-unit prices with the letting status confirmed by the developer.

This article is for reference only, is not investment advice and does not commit to any profit, rent or price growth. Exact prices, taxes and fees follow the developer's official calculation sheet at contract signing.

1. Ask about the handover standard (shell or finished), the unit's current condition and — if already let — the lease, remaining term, deposit, and whether it transfers to the buyer.
2. Ask for the number of occupied apartments with the date of the figure; visit the shophouse row in the evening and at the weekend.
3. Note both the gross and net area of the unit; convert to the same type when comparing prices.
4. Calculate the price per m² by view group and ask yourself: does your business need street frontage?
5. Look at the certificate of a similar commercial-service unit (purpose, land term) and ask about the certificate status of the exact unit.
6. Add VAT, the 2% maintenance fee, fit-out costs and the management fee; ask how long the policy remains valid.
7. Build a cash-flow table with a low rent and vacant months — do not rely on advertised profit levels.

Sources in Vietnamese; titles kept in the original, with a short English translation in brackets.

• Urban Green developer — project presentation slides version 24.06 (2026): 734 apartments, 684 occupied as of 18/06/2026; 2-storey shophouses, 4.5 m ceilings, handed over in shell condition from Q1 2025.
• Urban Green developer — shophouse price and early-payment calculation sheet of 09/10/2026: 22 units, gross / net area, list prices, 30% off with 95% payment, example unit B-SH.28 (VAT, 2% maintenance fee), 200 million VND reservation, 5% instalment on certificate handover.
• Certificate for a Tower B commercial-service unit, issued 21/04/2026 (Ho Chi Minh City Land Registration Office) — a customer's copy; HPR only quotes the land plot information and does not publish the image.
• Báo Đầu tư — Kusto Home hoàn tất pháp lý cho khu căn hộ Urban Green sau chưa đầy 1 năm bàn giao (Kusto Home completes legal procedures for Urban Green less than a year after handover) (04/05/2026): apartments handed over from 04/2025.
• Nhà đầu tư — Lễ cất nóc dự án Urban Green tại thành phố Thủ Đức (Urban Green topping-out ceremony in Thu Duc City) (25/01/2024): topped out on 24/01/2024.
• VietnamFinance — Kusto Home khởi công dự án Urban Green tại TP Thủ Đức (Kusto Home breaks ground on Urban Green in Thu Duc City) (07/12/2021): main contractor Coteccons.
• Details of each figure: the Urban Green project page — Prices, Policy, Progress and Legal sections.