Own capital when buying an investment apartment: what % of the price?

Basis: Real Estate Business Law No. 29/2023/QH15 — Articles 23, 25 (deposit, payment for homes to be formed in the future) · Housing Law No. 27/2023/QH15 — Article 152 (2% maintenance fund) · Decree 10/2022/NĐ-CP, amended by Decree 175/2025/NĐ-CP (0.5% registration fee) · Circular 41/2016/TT-NHNN, amended by Circular 22/2023/TT-NHNN (risk weights for home-mortgage loans by LTV and a 35% repayment ratio) · loan conditions of Vietcombank and VPBank and the DKRA and VARS-IRE rate surveys · Updated 24/10/2026.

Own capital when buying an investment apartment is not just the part of the price the bank does not lend. The cash to prepare has three parts: the own-capital ratio (usually 20–30% of the price), costs on top of the sale price (about 2.3% of the price for a unit that includes VAT), and a reserve fund to pay loan interest while the unit has no tenant. For a 3 billion VND unit with a 70% loan, these three add up to about 1.13 billion VND.

1. Own-capital ratio: how much the bank will lend at most

The State Bank of Vietnam sets no common maximum loan for commercial home loans; each bank sets its own by the property value and your income. Some published benchmarks:

• Vietcombank — the "Nha moi thanh dat" package for people aged 20–35: loans up to 70% of the home's value, terms up to 40 years (reported by the Vietnam Banks Association on 21/04/2025).
• VPBank — home-loan guide: banks usually lend 70–80% of the home's value, so prepare at least 30%; collateral at least 120% of the loan; total repayments no more than 40% of income (VPBank, 19/08/2025).
• Developer policy — for example Green Skyline (notice 133/2026/CSBH-TB, applying from 15/09/2026): a 50% or 70% loan option at Shinhan, Vietcombank, VietinBank, requiring only 15% own capital until handover; a 70% loan comes with 0% interest support for up to 18 months or a fixed 5.5% for up to 36 months.

The loan ratio is on the value the bank appraises, not on the price you pay. If the appraisal is below the contract price, you must cover the difference — ask the bank for the appraised value before paying a deposit.

Banks also have reasons not to lend the maximum: under Circular 22/2023/TT-NHNN (effective 01/07/2024), the higher the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of a home-mortgage loan, or repayments above 35% of income, the larger the risk weight the bank must apply. Weak income documents usually get approved at a lower loan ratio than advertised.

2. Cash items beyond the own-capital ratio

Item	Level	3 billion unit (example)	When paid
Reservation / deposit	Deposit at most 5% of the sale price, only when the project is eligible for business	up to 150 million VND — deducted from instalment 1	When choosing the unit
First payment instalment	At most 30% of the contract value, including the deposit	up to 900 million VND	Signing the sale contract
VAT 10%	On the price excluding land-use fees	Usually included in the list price	By instalment
Maintenance fund	2% of the apartment value, stated separately in the contract	about 55 million VND	Before receiving the home
Registration fee	0.5% of the contract price	15 million VND	When processing the pink book
Final instalment	5% of the price — the developer may collect no more than 95% before the pink book	150 million VND	When receiving the pink book

Assumptions for the example column: a 3 billion VND price including VAT, pre-tax price 2.75 billion VND; maintenance calculated on the pre-tax price. Details of each item: costs on top of the apartment price. Not counting the pink-book issuing fee, furnishing and management fees.

Buying a unit that already has a pink book (secondary) has no staged schedule: you pay almost all the own capital at notarisation, the previous owner has already paid the maintenance fund, and only the 0.5% registration fee remains (comparing primary and secondary cash flow).

3. Reserve fund: loan interest and vacant months

A unit bought to rent out usually has a few months without rent — after handover there is still furnishing and finding a tenant — while the loan has already started to be repaid. The developer's interest-support package also ends at a fixed point, after which the rate floats: the VARS-IRE survey for Q2/2026 records rates after the promotion of about 13–15% a year, and DKRA in August 2026 records the common fixed rate for 12–24 months at 10.9% a year.

A cautious suggestion (not a rule): set aside 6 months of repayments at a 15% a year rate. A 2.1 billion VND loan over 25 years costs about 20.6 million VND/month at 11% and about 26.9 million VND at 15% — a 6-month fund of about 160 million VND. How to test the payment when the rate rises by 2–4 points: how much borrowing is safe.

4. Sample worksheet: 2 billion, 3 billion, 5 billion units

Reference example. Assumptions: the price includes VAT; maintenance 2% on the pre-tax price (about 91.7% of the price); registration fee 0.5% on the contract price; 25-year loan, equal instalments; reserve = 6 months of repayments at 15% a year. The bank approves exactly the loan ratio on the purchase price.

70% loan (30% own capital)

Unit price	30% own capital	Maintenance + registration fee	6-month reserve	Total cash	Payment/month at 11% → 15%
2 billion	600 million	about 47 million	about 108 million	about 750 million	13.7 → 17.9 million
3 billion	900 million	about 70 million	about 161 million	about 1.13 billion	20.6 → 26.9 million
5 billion	1.5 billion	about 117 million	about 269 million	about 1.89 billion	34.3 → 44.8 million

80% loan (20% own capital)

Unit price	20% own capital	Maintenance + registration fee	6-month reserve	Total cash	Payment/month at 11% → 15%
2 billion	400 million	about 47 million	about 123 million	about 570 million	15.7 → 20.5 million
3 billion	600 million	about 70 million	about 184 million	about 850 million	23.5 → 30.7 million
5 billion	1 billion	about 117 million	about 307 million	about 1.42 billion	39.2 → 51.2 million

Reading the tables:

• With a 70% loan: total cash is about 38% of the unit price; with an 80% loan: about 28–29% of the unit price.
• Borrowing more reduces upfront cash but raises the payment: for a 3 billion unit, an 80% loan instead of 70% costs about 3.8 million VND more a month at 15%.
• The income needed to keep the payment at the 15% rate from exceeding 40%: a 3 billion unit with a 70% loan needs about 67 million VND/month, and with an 80% loan about 77 million VND/month — not counting expected rent.

5. Primary market: cash need not all be available at once

For a home to be formed in the future, the 2023 Real Estate Business Law limits the first instalment to at most 30% (including the deposit), at most 70% before handover and 95% before the pink book. An example applying the ratios of Green Skyline's 70% loan option (notice 133/2026/CSBH-TB) to an assumed 3 billion VND unit:

Milestone	You pay yourself	Bank disburses
Signing the sale contract (10%) and 2 months later (5%)	450 million VND	35%
Receiving the home (10%) + maintenance fund	300 million VND + maintenance	35%
Receiving the pink book (5%) + registration fee	150 million VND + registration fee	—

Actual Green Skyline prices are by discount for each unit type and exclude the maintenance fund — see Green Skyline policy. Even if paid in stages, keep the money ready for the handover and pink-book milestones and for the reserve fund from when interest support ends, because the handover schedule may slip.

HPR projects currently distributed

• Green Skyline — reference price from 2.75 billion VND (1-bedroom+), with 50% / 70% loan options and 15% own capital until handover.
• Setia Edenia, La Pura, Norton Park — the developer has not published a price list or loan policy; register for price notifications on the project page to get the official payment schedule before working out capital.

This article is for reference and does not replace legal / financial advice for a specific case.

1. Ask the bank in writing: the maximum loan ratio, how the unit is appraised, the promotional rate, the promotional period and the margin after the promotion.
2. Get the developer's payment schedule for the exact option you choose (standard, loan, fast payment) — with the notice number and date of the policy.
3. Calculate own capital = unit price − approved loan (by appraised value, not purchase price).
4. Add the 2% maintenance fund, the 0.5% registration fee and the pink-book issuing fee; check whether the price includes VAT.
5. Calculate the monthly payment at the current rate and at 15% a year; keep the payment below about 40% of stable income, not counting rent.
6. Set aside a reserve fund of at least 6 months of repayments at 15% a year, plus management fees for vacant months.
7. Record each item in a monthly cash-flow table, marking the handover, pink-book and end-of-interest-support milestones.

• Vietnam Banks Association — Vietcombank ra mắt gói vay "Nhà mới thành đạt" hỗ trợ người trẻ mua nhà (loan up to 70% of home value, 40 years), 21/04/2025.
• VPBank — Điều kiện, thủ tục vay ngân hàng mua nhà từ A đến Z (lends 70–80% of the home's value, collateral 120% of the loan), 19/08/2025.
• Nha Dau Tu — Lãi suất vay mua nhà bình quân đã vượt 10%/năm (DKRA August 2026, VARS-IRE Q2/2026), 28/08/2026.
• Vietnam Lawyers Magazine — Ngân hàng Nhà nước điều chỉnh giảm hệ số rủi ro một số khoản vay bất động sản từ ngày 01/7/2024 (Circular 22/2023/TT-NHNN), accessed 24/10/2026.
• LuatVietnam — Từ 01/8/2024: Chỉ được thu tiền đặt cọc không quá 5% giá bán nhà ở tương lai (Real Estate Business Law 29/2023/QH15, Articles 23, 25), accessed 24/10/2026.
• He thong phap luat — Điều 152 Luật Nhà ở 2023 (2% maintenance fund), accessed 24/10/2026.
• Thu vien Nha dat — Mức thu lệ phí trước bạ nhà đất năm 2026 là bao nhiêu? (Decree 10/2022/NĐ-CP), 19/12/2025.
• Green Skyline — sales policy 133/2026/CSBH-TB dated 14/09/2026 of Thai Binh Investment JSC (applying from 15/09/2026) on the HPR project page, updated 15/10/2026.